I'm in LA for a few days on vacation, then heading to Vegas.
While trying to avoid people's general hatred of this liberal bastion of Hollywood fappery, what's good in this city? It'll be in April and I'll have a car and I'm staying in Santa Monica.
I love my good food and movie history. Also any oddities are welcome. Also hiking is in my sights.
What's good in 2026?
Honestly, Los Angeles is a pretty shit tourist place. It's more of a "I like to go out to eat or enjoy nightlife" type of place. But everything's so spread out, it's basically a shit show. Honestly, the only "thing" I would recommend is the Getty. Maybe the La Brea tar pits, too.
Otherwise, the only thing I found interesting about LA was driving around places and recognizing them (for instance my first time through I drove through Reseda (Karate Kid), Malibu, and places like that).
But things like the Hollywood walk of fame are terrible unless you like bums. And it's not like it's close to anything else. Same with Venice Beach. First time I went there was close to 20 years ago and it was trash then, and I can't imagine things have gotten better.
Same deal with San Diego. It's a pretty town (can't say that about LA), but outside of the zoo, Midway, and maybe La Jolla, there's not much. Gaslight is the only place worth a shit for restaurants/night life.
Really, the gem of California is nature. Driving the PCH is awesome. The national parks from Joshua Tree to Death Valley to Yosemite.
Also, I can highly recommend Valley of Fire as well. We've camped there a few times and it's awesome.
