Los Angeles

Perched on the slopes of Mount Hollywood, this Art Deco landmark offers sweeping panoramas of the Los Angeles basin and hands-on astronomy exhibits that captivate visitors day and night.

Dramatically terraced across the Santa Monica Mountains, this world-class museum houses European paintings, sculptures, and illuminated manuscripts alongside Richard Meier's iconic white travertine architecture.

A kinetic stretch of oceanfront where bodybuilders, street performers, muralists, and skaters collide in a perfectly chaotic celebration of LA's free-spirited culture.

Downtown LA's honeycomb-skinned contemporary art museum dazzles with its permanent collection of Jeff Koons and Cindy Sherman works, plus a famous infinity room by Yayoi Kusama.

The hand-built stone bungalow of pioneering journalist Charles Lummis sits quietly in Highland Park, a surprisingly intimate historic landmark surrounded by a native plant garden along the Arroyo Seco.

This quirky museum in Los Feliz displays an astonishing collection of vintage velvet paintings, from Elvis portraits to psychedelic landscapes, celebrating kitsch as a serious art form.

A hauntingly beautiful stretch of collapsed 1920s streets and tilted sidewalks that slid into the Pacific, now covered in graffiti murals and beloved by locals for its apocalyptic coastal views.

California's largest used and new book store occupies a grand former bank vault in Downtown LA, with a labyrinthine upper level where books are sculpted into tunnels and arches.

Ori Menashe's Arts District warehouse restaurant is a pilgrimage for house-cured charcuterie, wood-fired pastas, and handcrafted cocktails in a soaring industrial-chic space that never goes out of style.

Nancy Silverton's beloved Hollywood institution elevates Italian dining with its legendary mozzarella bar and house-made pastas served in an elegant, warm room that feels like a Roman dinner party.

Chef Niki Nakayama's Palms restaurant serves a deeply personal modern kaiseki experience with California ingredients, earning two Michelin stars and a near-impossible reservation list.

Housed in a stunning 1929 Charlie Chaplin-era building on La Brea, this French-Californian brasserie delivers impeccable pastries, seasonal tasting menus, and a buzzy all-day atmosphere.

Santa Monica's oldest restaurant and bar, open since 1934, is a nautically themed seafarer's den serving stiff drinks, generous pours, and a comforting dose of old-school LA grit.

This unpretentious Glassell Park neighborhood bar pours an outstanding rotating craft beer selection on a sprawling outdoor patio shaded by mature trees, drawing a loyal local crowd nightly.

A multi-floor Downtown LA landmark bar and entertainment complex housed in a historic 1935 cafeteria building, layered with taxidermy, tiki rooms, and craft cocktails across its atmospheric levels.

Situated in the Arts District, this craft brewery and taproom serves creative small-batch beers in a cavernous warehouse with rotating art installations and a lively weekend beer garden.

Housed in a 1927 Art Deco landmark on Vine Street, this Hollywood nightclub transforms from a concert hall into a pulsating dance venue with resident and headlining DJs spinning until the early hours.

This intimate West Hollywood music venue has launched careers from Elton John to Tom Waits and continues to book essential emerging and established artists in a storied room that still crackles with energy.

Occupying the magnificent Beaux-Arts former Los Angeles Stock Exchange building Downtown, this multilevel club draws world-class DJs to its ornate main room, rooftop, and labyrinth of underground spaces.

Echo Park's beloved indie rock institution books cutting-edge local and touring acts in a gritty, no-frills room that has championed LA's alternative music scene for over two decades.