10 Fun & Entertaining things to do in Downtown Los Angeles. Downtown LA is home to many attractions and as a tourist you can easily spend a couple of days doing things in Downtown LA. In this video I share my favorite things to do to keep yourself amused.
Broad Museum & Disney Concert Hall at the LA Music Center
Grammy Museum LA Live
LA Arts District
– highest density of murals in the city, which you can explore on your own or on any number of tours.
Union Station
– architectural landmark, with a gorgeous waiting hall and public areas
Little Tokyo
Chinatown
– known as New Chinatown, was developed around the Central Plaza in 1938, just west of Old Chinatown, where Union Station is now. Before the move, this area was LA’s Little Italy, and is still home to St. Peter’s Italian Church and Casa Italiana Cultural Center. LA’s Chinatown is less dense than New York or San Francisco. The shops don’t line the streets as thickly, but there are still a few cute stores and plazas through the serpent gateway heading north on Broadway from Cesar Chavez.
– The neon pagoda lights and lanterns at Central Plaza make a colorful display at night. Most of the notable landmarks in Chinatown are a few blocks from the
Take a Tour of Los Angeles City Hall
– Docent-led City Hall Tours are available weekday mornings from 9 am to noon. The last tour usually leaves around 11, but it’s not a fixed schedule. If you make a reservation, you’re more likely to land on the right hour for a tour, and might even get your parking covered.
– You can walk in (through the metal detectors) and explore on your own with the self-guided tour materials available at the information desk on the 3rd Floor. Be sure to take the elevator up to the observation deck on the 27th floor. You have to take the Express Elevator to the 22nd Floor, then another adjacent elevator to the 26th floor. Finally, you walk up one flight through the Mayor Tom Bradley Room and exit onto the Observation Balcony that circles the building.
Olvera Street
– Olvera Street (Calle Olvera) is a historical district in downtown Los Angeles, and a part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. It was officially founded in 1781 in Los Angeles, and was renamed to Olvera Street in 1877. Many of the Plaza District’s Historic Buildings are on Olvera Street, as well as some of the oldest Los Angeles monuments including the Avila Adobe built in 1818, Pelanconi House built in 1857, and the Sepulveda House built in 1887. The tree-shaded, pedestrian mall marketplace with craft shops, restaurants and roving troubadours is a popular tourist destination. The street has been described as a “Top Five” in the “Great Streets of America” journal.
GRAMMY Walk of Fame
– Around LA Live
Bradbury Building on Broadway and Third
And more not included in this video:
Los Angeles Central Library
The Last Bookstore
OUE Skyspace
Grand Central Market
LA Fashion District (Santee Alley)
Grand Park