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Old 25 Jun 18, 07:17 AM  
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CRUELLA
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We are staying over two nights in la to visit universal and have a private Hollywood/la day trip planned .
So decided to watch some you tube videos on Hollywood and Santa Monica pier ,feeling underwhelmed right now!
Maybe we need to re think our itinerary and do more research .
So am looking for ideas? We are more interested in scenery rather than shopping,can’t do too much in the way of walking/hiking as we have a 6 year old in tow!
Any wow factors you have discovered?
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Old 25 Jun 18, 07:35 AM  
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firsttimemouse
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I’ve visited the Getty centre and the Getty Villa before and really enjoyed both of those. Depends if it’s your kind of thing I guess.
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Old 25 Jun 18, 07:50 AM  
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Griffith Park & Griffith Observatory might work for you. Santa Monica Pier will be nice for views, it's a lot quieter in the mornings than the evenings if you can work your tour that way. There's a nice park across the road from the pier with a great play area where your 6 year old could take a break (Tonga Park).
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Old 25 Jun 18, 09:43 AM  
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Griffith for sure, you can do the show in the planetarium. Great scenery (and view of the hollywood sign) and then the park is a nice walk.

With a 6 year old Monica Pier with the small fun fair will appeal. You could also go down to Venice beach where there is a skateboard park. Maybe even hire bikes to go down the beach if you are up for it.

Near Hollywood is the La Brea Tar Pits which may be of interest.

If you are going between Anaheim and Hollywood then there is the Science Museum which has the Space Shuttle and loads for kids to do.
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Old 25 Jun 18, 10:04 AM  
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I’m not Hollywood’s biggest fan but I think it’s a shame not to see it at least once .

Santa Monica is nice enough , he might like the pier with the rides .

Griffiths observatory is worth a look ( closed on Mondays though ), Science Musuem with the space shuttle would be good , we went a few years ago .

Do you need 2 nights in LA though , you can easily do universal in a day so one night would do maybe ?
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Old 25 Jun 18, 06:52 PM  
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CRUELLA
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Originally Posted by daytonababe View Post
I’m not Hollywood’s biggest fan but I think it’s a shame not to see it at least once .

Santa Monica is nice enough , he might like the pier with the rides .

Griffiths observatory is worth a look ( closed on Mondays though ), Science Musuem with the space shuttle would be good , we went a few years ago .

Do you need 2 nights in LA though , you can easily do universal in a day so one night would do maybe ?
We only need two nights because our flight in is a late one so no time on arrival day to do any sightseeing
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Old 25 Jun 18, 06:57 PM  
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Thanks Griffiths observatory is on my list so maybe I’m on right track with that and will look up the tar pits
So difficult! Need to find a hotel for our la stay really not sure where ,think I’ll be watching more videos !
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Old 25 Jun 18, 07:02 PM  
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Originally Posted by 400ixl View Post
Griffith for sure, you can do the show in the planetarium. Great scenery (and view of the hollywood sign) and then the park is a nice walk.

With a 6 year old Monica Pier with the small fun fair will appeal. You could also go down to Venice beach where there is a skateboard park. Maybe even hire bikes to go down the beach if you are up for it.

Near Hollywood is the La Brea Tar Pits which may be of interest.

If you are going between Anaheim and Hollywood then there is the Science Museum which has the Space Shuttle and loads for kids to do.
Agree with all this

And if you do Griffiths Observatory go whilst it's light enough to see the Hollywood sign and the city of LA spread out flat in front of the obnservatory , but time it so you can see LA in its famous grid pattern all lit up at night too (as seen in many movies!) !

(I loved the planetarium by the way, some fabulous interesting stuff in there, had to be dragged out by family! When we got out there were astronomers set up with their big telescopes outside giving talks and allowing the public to look through the scopes, which was, again, interesting!) )
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Old 26 Jun 18, 02:00 PM  
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Originally Posted by Cloverlady View Post
Agree with all this

And if you do Griffiths Observatory go whilst it's light enough to see the Hollywood sign and the city of LA spread out flat in front of the obnservatory , but time it so you can see LA in its famous grid pattern all lit up at night too (as seen in many movies!) !

(I loved the planetarium by the way, some fabulous interesting stuff in there, had to be dragged out by family! When we got out there were astronomers set up with their big telescopes outside giving talks and allowing the public to look through the scopes, which was, again, interesting!) )
Me too. Absolutely loved Griffith Observatory and the larger Griffith Park but sadly only had a few hours there. It’s absolutely massive, great hiking trails, zoo, museum, horseriding. I could easily spend a few days just exploring the park. We also took in a concert in nearby Hollywood Bowl absolutely amazing venue.

As you can see I’m a rare bird that loved LA but I agree with others than Hollywood, the general area around the walk of fame is not going to impress anyone and it’s a shame that so many just see it and the pier and then write off LA as a dump because as much as I loved the city, Hollywood and Santa Monica were my least favorite spots.
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Old 26 Jun 18, 02:55 PM  
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I had a ‘wow’ moment at Griffith Observatory! We’d parked, got a clear view of the Hollywood sign and then walked around to the back of the Observatory and saw that fantastic view over LA; it was breathtaking! We went on a little hike (about a mile) starting and ending at the Observatory which allowed us to see the Observatory from a few different angles.

I can see why Santa Monica might not impress you on Youtube videos but I felt really relaxed when we went there (different holiday to when we visited Griffith Observatory). I felt there was a nice ‘vibe’ to the area. We parked on a big shopping centre car park, bought some Tiffany earrings and then spent a few hours on the beach and pier. We did do a little bit of shopping there too.

The Walk of Fame/Dolby Theatre/Chinese Theatre area was a bit of a disappointment, I wanted it to be really glamorous but it’s certainly not! I wouldn’t miss is off my itinerary though, it’s worth an hour or two for having photos taken with the stars and hand/foot prints. We had a little tour of the Chinese Theatre too which was interesting.
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