Los Angeles is the largest city in California, and 2nd largest in the United States (behind NYC). The City of Angels is one of America’s great cities. The individual neighborhoods are known around the world. The city has a lot of everything… sports, universities, dining, culture, entertainment, businesses, etc. It is impossible to quickly define a city that has so much going on.
Hollywood is the film industry capital of the world. LA is also known for the music, television, and radio industries.
Los Angeles is one of the rare cities that has several individual neighborhoods whose names are known worldwide. Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Bel Air, Santa Monica, etc. The areas are physically close, but they feel worlds apart.
LA has been described as the world’s largest beach town. Visitors and residents enjoy Venice Beach, Marina Del Rey, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach. Santa Monica was named as one of the top 10 beach cities in the world by National Geographic.
Many of the most-visited theme parks in the world are in the Los Angeles area. These include Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, Disney’s California Adventure, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Legoland.
Los Angeles is not short on culture. The city has some wonderful museums celebrating classic cars, the Grammy’s, Japanese American history, and Hollywood. One of the coolest projects soon to be built is the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
Los Angeles has been one of best sports cities in the US for a very long time. LA has hosted the Olympics twice (1932 and 1984) and will host the summer games again in 2028. After a couple decades without a NFL football team, Los Angeles now has two teams (Chargers and Rams), and it is building an incredible facility, to host both teams beginning in 2020. The NBA’s Lakers, MLB’s Dodgers, and NHL’s Kings are historically some of the top organizations in their respective leagues. University of Southern California (USC) and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) are both based in the LA area, and also field some world-class sports teams.
Los Angeles has pretty great weather throughout the year, but November through March is the rainy season. If visiting around new years, definitely check out the Rose Bowl Parade.
The best times to visit are April-May and September-October. The weather is warm (but not hot), dry, and sunny. You can miss the crowds of summer.
Summer is peak tourism time, and the crowds can get a little nuts... especially at the theme parks and the beaches.
September and October are our favorite months in LA. The city gets a bit of an Indian summer so early fall feels a lot like the summer.