If you want more of Los Angeles, we have your fix right here. This is it, our final look at The City of Angels and all she has to offer. We may even throw in a few bonus attractions for good measure.
Los Angeles is a great sports city, with a myriad of options at different times of the year. Between early October and May, the NBA season is in full swing. Sure, you can check out the Clippers, the orphan child of professional basketball in L.A. but why would you do that when you can see the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers? The Showtime moniker refers to the great Lakers teams of the 1980s, when they were at the summit of the NBA and ran the court with panache and style, with Earvin “Magic” Johnson at the helm and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the middle. The Lakers of today, with superstar Kobe Bryant in charge, are still a top draw in La-La Land. While Clippers tickets are a much easier score, do whatever you can to see the Lakers at the Staples Center, if only to witness the sheer spectacle of the game and gaze at the likes of celebrity regulars Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington and Flea and Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
In the quest for Los Angeles sports supremacy, only one team can compete with the NBA’s Lakers. That would be the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. Although television viewership for baseball in America is way below basketball, football and even NASCAR, teams like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and yes, Dodgers, still emanate icon status. As such, they engender loyalty as fierce as any in professional sports.
Formerly the Brooklyn Dodgers, with legendary players such as Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges, notorious owner Walter O’Malley sent his team to Los Angeles in 1958 after a sweetheart deal was brokered with the city to build a shiny new stadium in Chavez Ravine. Unfortunately, that meant the relocation of a small Mexican village. That sordid story will have to wait for another time however. When you sit in the stands at Chavez Ravine and watch the Dodgers play to a capacity crowd, as they inevitably do despite years of recent playoff disappointment, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that baseball will always be America’s pastime. A Dodgers game is a phenomenal Los Angeles experience.
The Los Angeles city skyline is rather drab in comparison to New York City and Chicago, let alone London and Shanghai. One of the architectural exceptions however, is the familiar headquarters of Capitol Records. The spiral, tubular structure resonates with music history, as Capitol was the original label to a host of legends, from Nat King Cole to Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross to David Bowie, as well as artists today like Coldplay and Beastie Boys. While the company offers no official tour, not even the chance to observe the gold and platinum records, if you love music, this is essential on your Los Angeles itinerary. Who knows? You may get luck with the security guard. Notably, Capitol Records is on the corner of Hollywood and Vine, a famous, iconic street corner. For a good photo opportunity, check out the mural on the south face of the structure that pays homage to the jazz greats from Capitol’s past.
The permanent home of the Academy Awards since 2002, the Kodak Theater is a spectacular live venue, in a city that boasts several. If you wait in breathless anticipation for the Oscars every year and make a point to see every nominated film, you probably want to pencil in a tour of the Kodak premises. Although the capacity is a relatively small 3,500, the stage is immense. As such, shows at Kodak are intimate from an audience standpoint but the spectacles are larger than life. In 2010 for example, Cirque de Soleil is going to take over the venue for an incredible 10 years, with breaks solely to accommodate the Oscars. A trip to the Kodak Theater, either on a tour or to see a show, is a reliable bet.
Other Los Angeles attractions of note include the Frank Gehry monstrosity/masterpiece in the form of the Disney Concert Hall. Similar to his famous Guggenheim design in Bilbao, Spain, the structure draws ire and praise at the same time. Check it out and decide for yourself, perhaps with tickets to see the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The historic home of the Oscars, the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, is just adjacent to the Concert Hall.
In the same corner of the city is the terrific Museum of Contemporary Art, a must for art lovers. Last but not least, a trip to Los Angeles would be incomplete without a tour of the countless ethnic ‘hoods, from Little Tokyo to Koreatown. For offbeat attractions and cheap, authentic eats, these districts are a tourist dream.
Start your Los Angeles trip off with some of the best hotel rates around.
These buildings are amazing. Its tottaly different from london here. Id love to visit when i travel the world. Hopefully on my Honeymoon. Yup !
A visit to the Getty Center is always amazing. Great art, architecture and views.