The block-long, pedestrianized 'birthplace of Los Angeles' (circa 1781) may now be a festive Mexican marketplace with gaudy decorations and souvenir stalls that scream ‘tourist trap’, but you can still find authentic experiences here. Visit Avila Adobe, the city's oldest house, shop for Chicano art, slurp thick Mexican-style hot chocolate, or pick up handmade candles and candy. At lunchtime, construction workers and cubicle drones swarm the little eateries for tacos, tortas (sandwiches) and burritos.
Olvera Street
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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…
5.51 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…
14.43 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…
15.41 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…
8.64 MILES
Dodge dinosaurs, hang with Homer Simpson and morph into a Minion on the sometimes hair-raising, always entertaining attractions at Universal Studios…
7.03 MILES
If you go to Los Angeles and don’t catch a glimpse of those nine letters looming large on a Hollywood hillside, did you really even visit Tinseltown? Just…
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
0.45 MILES
LA is unlike any other city, and this cathedral is unlike any other cathedral. Seat of the US's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese (some five million…
Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
8.75 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,…
Nearby attractions
1. Italian American Museum of Los Angeles
0.02 MILES
Aptly located inside Italian Hall – built in 1908 as a social hub for the area's Italian community – this small, interactive museum sheds light on the oft…
2. América Tropical Interpretive Center
0.03 MILES
Everyone from Hollywood stars to LA intellectuals attended the 1932 unveiling of América Tropical, a rooftop mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros, one of…
3. El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument
0.03 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…
0.04 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…
0.12 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…
0.15 MILES
Built on the site of LA’s original Chinatown, Union Station opened in 1939 as America’s last grand rail station. It’s a glamorous exercise in Mission…
0.16 MILES
The city’s oldest fire station (1884) is now a one-room museum filled with dusty old fire-fighting equipment and photographs.
0.16 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…