South of Old Plaza are a number of historic buildings, including the 1870 home of Pio Pico, California’s last Mexican governor. It was the city’s first three-story building, and later a glamorous hotel with 21 parlors and two interior courtyards. At the time of writing the building is closed to the public while it undergoes a seismic retrofit.
Pico House
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
5.52 MILES
With eyes on both the galaxy above and palm-flanked boulevards below, the Griffith Observatory hovers above LA like a hulking spacecraft. This is one of…
20.13 MILES
What started as a simple berry farm is now a sprawling 160-acre operation with rides, live shows and lovable Peanuts characters roaming the grounds. Knott…
14.28 MILES
Prepare for a sensory overload on Venice's Boardwalk, a one-of-a-kind experience. Buff bodybuilders brush elbows with street performers and sellers of…
15.27 MILES
Once the very end of the legendary Route 66 and still the object of a tourist love affair, this much-photographed pier dates back to 1908 and is the city…
Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
8.92 MILES
One of the most delightful, inspirational spots in LA, the Huntington is rightly a highlight of any trip to California thanks to a world-class mix of art,…
0.63 MILES
From the instant it opened in September 2015, the Broad (rhymes with 'road') became a must-visit for contemporary-art fans. It houses the world-class…
13.59 MILES
In its billion-dollar, in-the-clouds perch, high above the city grit and grime, the Getty Center presents triple delights: a stellar art collection …
8.62 MILES
Dodge dinosaurs, hang with Homer Simpson and morph into a Minion on the sometimes hair-raising, always entertaining attractions at Universal Studios…
Nearby Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights attractions
0.02 MILES
This museum offers snapshots of the Mexican–American experience in Los Angeles, from Spanish colonization in the late 18th century and the Mexican…
0.03 MILES
Follow the red lanterns to the small 1890 Garnier Building, once the unofficial Chinatown ‘city hall'. Changing exhibits highlight various historical,…
0.04 MILES
The city’s oldest fire station (1884) is now a one-room museum filled with dusty old fire-fighting equipment and photographs.
0.08 MILES
Founded as La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Ángeles (Our Lady the Queen of the Angels Church) in 1781, and now affectionately known as la…
0.09 MILES
El Pueblo’s central, magnolia-shaded square is crowned by a pretty wrought-iron gazebo. Sleepy and a little sketchy during the week, it often turns into a…
6. El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument
0.14 MILES
LA didn’t spring from the head of Hollywood directors; it was a full-blown community a good century before DW Griffith showed up. A short stroll northwest…
0.14 MILES
The oldest surviving house in LA was built in 1818 by wealthy ranchero and one-time LA mayor Francisco José Avila. After subsequent lives as a boarding…
8. América Tropical Interpretive Center
0.15 MILES
Everyone from Hollywood stars to LA intellectuals attended the 1932 unveiling of América Tropical, a rooftop mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros, one of…