Walkable areas in Los Angeles?

Future Cruiser · #1 (**permalink**) August 20th, 2011, 02:20 AM

Is there any part of Los Angeles where tourist attractions - museums, gardens, elegant buildings, etc. - are not too far apart? I want to see Los Angeles, not just fly in one day and embark my ship the next but if everything is so spread out I can't walk from here to there, it would be nothing but driving a rental car and trying to park. We will sail in 2013 (my mom and sister are going with me), so I have plenty of time to plan.

CA Cruiser · #2 (**permalink**) August 20th, 2011, 11:25 AM

Try googling HOHO (hop on/hop off) bus Los Angeles. There are a few companies and they have many different tours. You can see a lot this way and hop off if you want to stay longer at a specific place then hop on and go to the next site. We found this very helpful in many cities around the world.

Dhill · #3 (**permalink**) August 20th, 2011, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CA Cruiser

Try googling HOHO (hop on/hop off) bus Los Angeles. There are a few companies and they have many different tours. You can see a lot this way and hop off if you want to stay longer at a specific place then hop on and go to the next site. We found this very helpful in many cities around the world.

WOW thats sounds pretty cool never heard of that we will be going to new orleans in the future we will have to see if they have that there

lulu48 · #4 (**permalink**) August 20th, 2011, 01:49 PM

We docked at San Pedro it was walkable around the port area then you could also take a trolley & connect with the bus to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

San Pedro, California USA and the LA Harbor Area - Welcome!
If you have a car you could just drive there

Future Cruiser · #5 (**permalink**) August 20th, 2011, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CA Cruiser

Try googling HOHO (hop on/hop off) bus Los Angeles. There are a few companies and they have many different tours. You can see a lot this way and hop off if you want to stay longer at a specific place then hop on and go to the next site. We found this very helpful in many cities around the world.

Normally that would be a great idea but they seem to all focus on Hollywood instead of the attractoins I am interested in. If you know about one that avoids Hollywood, Beverly Hills, etc. and just focuses on the museums, gardens, architecture, and aquariums, I'm interested in that.

colorcrazie · #6 (**permalink**) September 24th, 2011, 03:47 PM

This is a tough one. We lived in L.A. for 13 years and the things you want to see are often very far apart. I would recommend picking some favorites. LaBrea Tar Pits and the county art museum are fairly close together, with decent parking. Or Huntington Gardens in Pasadena has a range of different types of gardens, plus small, but good, art museum, a true British tea house (you do need advance reservations for that...it is very popular). And it is all in one spot, with a huge parking lot. Actually, this is the one I would recommend. It is beautiful architecture as well.

You would need to rent a car, though. While San Pedro is fun, most of the type of things you expressed an interest in are not near there.

Hope you find what you want!
Marty

colorcrazie · #7 (**permalink**) September 24th, 2011, 04:48 PM

I need to amend my previous post. I highly recommend that you try and fly in a day early. Los Angeles is so spread out that getting to the areas that you want could eat up most of your time there. Whether you try and rent a car and drive or find a tour that goes where you want to go, you still will be dealing with long distances. And the traffic can be as bad as its reputation, or worse. It can take anywhere from 1-2 hours to get from San Pedro to Pasadena, for example. Plus, if you are driving, unless you know your way around, don't try taking side streets. There are some areas that are best to stay out of.
That said, I have always enjoyed San Pedro itself. And they used to have a trolley tour where you could hop off and on at various stops.
Keep us posted about your plans as they develop and I will try to help you make the most of your time there.
Marty

Juanito · #8 (**permalink**) September 29th, 2011, 10:58 PM

I used to work about 5 miles from the ports and I lived 20 miles away.

I liked the Long Beach Aquarium and Ports O Call. The aquarium in San Pedro is nice, too.

OK, normal people wouldn't be interested in this. But I just like taking harbor tours and looking at the huge container ships.

Future Cruiser · #9 (**permalink**) February 12th, 2012, 07:55 PM

FYI I will definitely be flying in - driving from one coast to the other is never an option for my family and I live in Florida.

Someone told me only Carnival ships dock at Long Beach so I expect to embark at the San Pedro pier. But I would love to go to Long Beach anyway just to see Queen Mary's public rooms, which are still being used.

I always knew flying in on embarkation day is stupid no matter where your cruise starts because once I had to stay overnight at a connection airport and another time I missed my connection flight when the first flight was delayed. How long we stay in LA is still to be determined.