Los Angeles feels so familiar, because you’ve seen it a hundred times in the movies. It is in effect a living movie set, which gives it the cool factor and often makes it a wish list destination for teenagers and adults alike. So, if you are visiting Los Angeles in its own right, or combining it with a Coastal California road trip, then there is plenty to thinking about when planning a trip to Los Angeles with teenagers.
Table of Contents
Where to start planning?
Priorities
First timers – if it’s your first time visit to Los Angeles with teenagers then you might want to prioritise some of the more obvious stops to satisfy your kids, such as, Hollywood Boulevard, Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive, Venice Beach and Santa Monica Pier.
Ask your teens what they would like to see and try to work around their preferences (if practicable).
Returners – if it’s a return trip, then you can be more free to avoid the tourist traps and explore some of the neighbourhoods and all they offer.
Size of the city
Don’t underestimate the scale of Los Angeles because LA is huge. You can easily lose an hour moving between destinations unless you cluster places together when planning. Think about the city in zones is advisable, to help cut down travel time between the sights.
For the purpose of this guide, I’ll assume it’s your first visit. With three days in Los Angeles in Teenagers, this itinerary is a good starting point for your plans:
DAY 1 - Self-guided walking tour of Downtown LA (DLTA)
Visiting the birthplace of Los Angeles seems like a good place to start your explorations of this enormous city. I’d advise doing this before you get stuck into the magic of Hollywood, to avoid any sense of anticlimax afterwards.
If you have a full day, then start with a leisurely breakfast before making your way to Los Angeles Union Station to start your self-guided walk around Downtown LA (DTLA).
Stop 1 - Los Angeles Union Station
Los Angeles Union Station was built in 1939 and is the largest railroad passenger terminal in the West of the United States, often called “the last of the great train stations”.
Los Angeles Union Station has a Spanish Colonial feel to its exterior but is an Art Déco gem inside – with Art Déco designs and lettering throughout. It really is beautiful inside, and if the main waiting room looks familiar, it’s because it was used as the police station in the original Bladerunner film staring Harrison Ford.
Stop 2 - El Pueblo de Los Angeles
Directly across the road from Los Angeles Union Station is the El Pueblo de Los Angeles National Monument, otherwise known as the ‘birthplace of Los Angeles’. This area was established by a handful of European families in 1781 and is the oldest part of LA.
At the centre of El Pueblo de Los Angeles is a park plaza with a bandstand. When we visited it was full of locals line dancing, chatting, and chilling out in deckchairs, which was nice to stop and watch for a while – a very chilled out vibe.
Calle Olvera (Olvera Street) is a pedestrianised street in El Pueblo de Los Angeles offering colourful market stalls under the shade of trees, lined with cafes and shops. The teenagers had fun browsing the gifts on offer, which included: painted skulls, Mexican wrestling masks, wooden puppets, stuffed llamas, sombreros, leather bags, and boho clothing.
One of the low-lying buildings on Olvera Street, is the Avila Adobe which was built in 1818 and is the oldest standing house in Los Angeles. You can go inside and only takes about 15 minutes to see, before grabbing taquitos covered in avocado salsa from nearby Cielito Lindo.
Stop 3 - Artwork on the way to Little Tokyo
For the next part of this walking tour of Downtown Los Angeles with teenagers, head out of Olvera Plaza on Los Angeles Street and cross the bridge over the Freeway, stopping to look down at the LA Freeway Kidsmural on the inside of the Freeway walls, which is a famous piece of graffiti which both our kids recognised.
Continue along Los Angeles Street until you reach E Temple Street, turn left down E Temple Street and look for the sculpture called Molecule Man on your left (an 8-minute walk from El Pueblo de Los Angeles) – a tall structure comprised of four metal men in 2-D, interconnected with each other.
Stop 4 – Japanese Village Plaza, Little Tokyo
Cross over the road and take a right along Judge John Aiso Street, until you reach 1st Street. Turn Left down 1st Street until you reach the Japanese Village Plaza in Little Tokyo (a 16-minute walk from El Pueblo de Los Angeles). There is a large Japanese style Bell Tower marking the entrance from this road so you can’t miss it.
The Japanese Village Plaza in Little Tokyo is just great. Whilst not a large area, it offers a small taste of Japanese – paper lanterns, Pokémon, Anime, supermarkets filled with cute Japanese toys and objects, and people in eye catching outfits milling around.
Food – as there are plenty of Ramen restaurants, this is the perfect place to pick up a light lunch if you’re hungry. Alternatively, if you’re not ready to eat yet, hang on a little longer until you reach the Grand Central Market at the end of our walking tour of DTLA.
Stop 5 - Angels Flight Railway
From the Japanese Plaza, walk up E 2nd Street and then S Hill Street to reach the Angels Flight Railway (a 16-minute walk), passing offices, government buildings and theatre buildings along the way.
The Angels Flight Railway is a bright orange wooden railway operating two cars up and down Bunker Hill. It is the ‘shortest railway in the USA’ and has been in operation since 1901 and has featured in several films including La La Land, when Mia takes a ride on it during a singing montage. It costs $1 per ride, and is over in the blink of an eye, but it has to be done.
Visiting Los Angeles with teenagers is always going to be about the movies, and so it wasn’t long for us until our kids spotted that the grassy area next to Angels Flight Railway, called Angel’s Knoll, was featured in the film 500 Days of Summer…if you say so!
Stop 6 – Grand Central Market, Los Angeles
Once at the bottom of the Angels Flight Railway, you will find the Grand Central Market just opposite. This market offers a range of eateries with options such as Mexican burritos, pizza, veggie burgers, sticky rice, and lots more. It’s quite a cool environment with neon signs and great food options, which is fun for the teenagers. So, just the big decision about what to choose….
Make sure to pop into the Bradbury Building just opposite the Grand Central Market. The atrium of the Bradbury Building should be recognisable by its beautiful wrought iron stairways and balconies from the original Bladerunner film. Sadly for us, they were having some work done that day, so it was difficult to get a good photo although it was instantly recognisable from the film.
The Last Bookstore – is a 7 minute walk from the Bradbury Building, and is ‘California’s largest used and new book and record store’. So, if your teens are into books and vinyl then maybe schedule a stop before leaving DTLA.
Book a guided walking tour
If you prefer to walk in a group, and benefit from the commentary of a local, then you can book a guided through through Get Your Guide, such as:
Additional sightseeing options:
As the above walking tour of DTLA only takes half a day then you should have time to add other activities to your itinerary to suit your teens:
- Rodeo Drive – channel your inner Pretty Woman for some window shopping and celeb spotting.
- Hollywood Sign – walk up to the Hollywood Sign in late afternoon when its’s cooler.
- Griffith Observatory – visit this iconic landmark on the hills at night, overlooking the city (and the Hollywood sign). It features in many films including Rebel Without A Cause (1955) and La La Land (2016).
Four options which work well together due to their location are:
- Academy Museum of Moving Pictures – an incredible modern building which opened in 2021 and houses an extensive collection of film memorabilia including ‘Dorothy’s Red Slippers’ from the Wizard of Oz.
- Peterson Automotive Museum – an incredible building filled with over 300 vintage cars and vehicles.
- The Original Farmers Market – opened in the 1930s and a famous place to pick up food and merchandise, and celebrity spot (although Studio City Farmers’ Market is maybe a better bet here).
- The Grove – a high end shopping centre with large Nike retail outlet (near the Academy Museum).
DAY 2 - Explore Hollywood Boulevard
When you think of Los Angeles, you can’t help but think of big budget movies, celebrities, the Oscars, and Hollywood. The movie industry is just part of the fabric of the city, and there is evidence of this all over – from the iconic Hollywood sign towering over the city, to stars in the pavement, adverts for studio tours and places you recognise from films themselves. The movies are everywhere here, you can’t escape them, which is why our second day in Los Angeles with teenagers is a Hollywood themed day.
Your starting point
Depending where you’re staying, the Capitol Records Building makes a good starting point for your stroll along Hollywood Boulevard.
We happened to be staying at the Kimpton Everly Hotel (IHG Group) which is a short stroll west along Yucca Street for one block to Vine Street and the iconic circular Capital Records Building.
Stop 1 - Capital Records Building
This wonderful white circular building, and HQ of Capital Records, was built in 1956. It has the nickname of ‘the house that Nat built’ due to the number of records sold by Nat King Cole around that time. It was the World’s first circular office building and houses admin offices, recording studios and sound labs.
Stop 2 - Hollywood Walk of Fame
A great thing to go in Los Angeles with teenagers, is to spot celebrity stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Whilst walking down Vine Street passed Capital Records, we started to see the pavement stars of the Hollywood Walk of Fame which runs for 15 blocks along Hollywood Boulevard and also for 3 blocks on Vine Street (1.3 miles, or 2.1 km in total), around the intersection of the two roads.
There are currently around 2,800 stars placed at 6 feet intervals along the Walk of Fame. The 5-pointed stars are made of pink terrazzo marble with brass surround.
Each star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame features the name of someone who has made a significant contribution to the entertainment industry in one of 6 categories, such as actors, producers, directors, or musicians. The relevant category is denoted by a symbol on the star.
Since 1960 the stars have been seen as a mark of achievement for those who are awarded one. I was chuffed to find stars for some of my favourites – David Bowie, Meryl Streep, Keanu Reeves and Kermit the Frog!
You can book an experience to put your name on a star for photos, or alternatively just find a name the same as yours and claim that. There were quite a lot of Lucys to adopt along the way…
Stop 3 - The Dolby Theatre, home of the Oscars
20 minutes’ walk further along Hollywood Boulevard, brings you to the Dolby Theatre (previously the Kodak Theatre), which has hosted the Academy Awards (Oscars) ceremonies since it opened in 2001. The Dolby Theatre is actually found within the Ovation Shopping Mall at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard and is a live performance auditorium with over 3,000 seats.
As you enter the foyer of the shopping centre you will see Muhammad Ali’s star on the right-hand wall, the only vertically mounted star.
There is a stairway ahead of you leading up to the Dolby Theatre, and other parts of the Ovation shopping centre. You pass a series of Art Deco style pillars listing the Academy Award Winners for Best Picture by year, so you can hunt for the Oscar winning films in the year you were born, or just remind yourself which films won awards.
Tip – there are two observation platforms in the Ovation Shopping Centre on Levels 3 and 4 which have good views across to the Hollywood Sign. If the platforms are busy, and it’s time for food, then head down to Level 2 to grab lunch at one of the restaurants which has a view of the sign from its outdoor terrace at the back of the Shopping Centre.
Stop 4 - Disney’s El Capitan Theatre
Directly across the road from the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, is the beautiful and now fully restored El Capitan Theatre owned by the Walt Disney Company, which hosts most of the Walt Disney Studios film premiers. The El Capitan was one of three themed theatres opened in the 1920s by Charles E Toberman (the ‘father of Hollywood’) who wanted to create a thriving Hollywood theatre district. The other two theatres were The Egyptian and The Chinese Theatre. Guided tours are available.
Stop 5 - TCL Chinese Theatre and the Forecourt of the Stars
On our trip to Los Angeles with teenagers, we chose to visit the TCL Chinese Theatre, found next to the Dolby Theatre, which looks like a Chinese pagoda and has two Heaven Dogs, imported from China, guarding the theatre entrance. However, before exploring the Chinese Theatre itself, you can take some time to admire the Forecourt of the Stars at the front of the theatre.
Forecourt of the Stars
The courtyard in front of the Chinese Theatre is filled with around 200 celebrity handprints and autographs immortalised in concrete. It features handprints from many Directors and Actors including Jack Nicholson, Kevin Costner, Frank Sinatra, plus Marilyn Monroe and her earring, Betty Gable’s legs, and the magic wands of Harry Potter’s trio. My favourite prints were those of the Star Wars robots – C3PO and R2D2!
Tour of the TCL Chinese Theatre
The Chinese Theatre movie palace opened in 1927 and hosted the Oscars 3 times in 1944, 1945 and 1946. We took the short tour of the theatre, which was really stunning inside with lacquered wood, beautiful Chinese wallpaper designs and an enormous carved wooden ceiling in the auditorium. There are displays of original costumes in the lobby, including Judy Garland’s Dorothy dress and Marilyn Monroe’s gold lame dress.
There were also a lot of Star Wars costumes in the lobby, including Darth Vader and Storm Troopers, which is perhaps no surprise as all the Star Wars films have premiered here, and die-hard Star Wars fans camp out at the Chinese Theatre for days before a premier to get seats.
Today the Chinese Theatre is an IMAX auditorium, and we would have booked to watch a movie there but sadly the film showing that day was not suitable for our youngest.
Thoughts on Hollywood Boulevard
Overall, we had a good time exploring Hollywood Boulevard and wouldn’t have missed it as part of our 3 days in Los Angeles with Teenagers, but it felt quite run down in parts and surprisingly unglamourous.
The advice for travelling anywhere in Los Angeles with teenagers is to watch your belongings (like in any major city), stick to the busier tourist areas, and only explore on foot during daylight hours, otherwise take taxis between destinations. That said, no-one bothered us and we didn’t have any moments of concern on our visit.
If you prefer to walk with others, then you can book a walking tour through Get Your Guide, and get the inside scoop on all the key buildings and stars along the way:
Take a Movie Studio Tour
After your time exploring Hollywood Boulevard, you will be ready for a studio tour with one of the main players – Warner Bros, Paramount or Universal.
We booked the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood through Get Your Guide because of the Friends themed exhibits which the kids were into at the time. So, have a look at the different studio offerings and see which one suits your teenagers the best.
The Warner Bros Studio Tour
It was fun being driven around the studio lots in a golf buggy, seeing a range of movie related sites including:
- the iconic water tower which features in the Warner Bros titles.
- prebuilt neighbourhoods where the house exteriors are used for filming but not the insides – the insides are used for office space.
- outdoor sets being built on the streets, which tend just to be a façade with brick walls behind.
- star trailers for actors parked up on set.
- a New York Street featuring the orphanage from the 80s film version of Annie.
- a row of brownstones including Dr Doug Ross (George Clooney)’s house in TV series ER.
- the café where Mia works in La La Land.
- the Gremlins house, and
- a lot of Gilmore Girls related buildings.
You also go into some of the studio buildings to see inside sets, where the rooms never have a ceiling or an upstairs, as this is where the lights and equipment go.
In terms of the Friends themed exhibits, there was:
- a replica couch and waterfall from the credits which provided an opportunity for photos.
- Central Perk themed café with memorabilia and merchandise.
- Joey and Chandler’s reclining armchairs and fuzzball game.
Finally, there was a costume gallery featuring lots of DC Comics exhibitsand the Batman car. There was also a Harry Potter section.
When planning a trip to Los Angeles with teenagers, I think that the studio tours at Universal, Paramount or Warner Bros will be much of a muchness, so you just need to pick the one which suits your taste in movies (for example, DC Comics or Marvel). It was good to do one Studio Tour, but one was enough.
Take a Celebrity Homes Tour
Finish off your Hollywood-themed day with a bus tour into the Hollywood Hills to spot celebrity houses and movie sights around the city. We booked the following tour through Get Your Guide which was fun.
By way of example, the highlights of the tour we took included:
- the fire escape used by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.
- a drive into the Hollywood Hills on Mulholland Drive, offering great views over LA and Burbeck where the Universal and Warner Bros studios are.
- the Hocus Pocus House.
- the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel.
- Rodeo Drive and Beverley Hills – where all the palm trees are perfectly in line and the fire hydrants are painted silver.
- Sunset Boulevard – The Viper Rooms (site of the sad passing of River Phoenix) and the famous music venue Whiskey a Go Go which hosted The Doors and Guns & Roses amongst others.
Interestingly, one of our teenagers was worried that the tour might be intrusive, which is understandable given the nature of the tour. However, the buses don’t get too close to the houses as most have long driveways or are in compounds. The tour did complete our ‘Hollywood themed day’ very well and we got to see some areas of the city which we might not otherwise have visited, so all good.
DAY 3 - Bike from Venice Beach to Santa Monica
On our California road trip our kids wanted to bike from Venice to Santa Monica, to visit the famous pier, so we made this the itinerary for our final day in Los Angeles with teenagers.
Start the day with a quiet stroll around the Venice Canals
It was a 30 minute taxi ride from our east Hollywood hotel to Venice Pier, so we set off early to try and avoid the traffic.
From Venice Pier you can walk east to look around Marina del Rey and the lovely houses if you have lots of time. Otherwise walk west along Ocean Front Walk until you hit 25th. Turn right away from the beach and towards the Venice Canals Walkway, about 12-minute walk.
The Venice Canals Walkway is a cute grid of four man-made canals, each about a quarter of a mile long and connected by wooden bridges, an area developed by tobacco tycoon Abbot Kinney in 1905. He wanted to bring a ‘taste of Venice, Italy’ to America and succeeded. The scope of the area has changed over the years, with some of the original canals being filled in to create more roads in the area. More recently the canal area was renovated in 1993.
We really enjoyed a quiet hour strolling around the Venice Canals Walkway. The houses are just gorgeous – all slightly different and highly desirable, with pretty, landscaped gardens and boat jettys. We were conscious about it being a residential area and made sure to stand aside for the occasional jogger or dog walker.
You don’t need a map of the area, just follow the paths along the canals and hop over the bridges to the next stretch of water and stunning houses, the perfect way to start your day before grabbing breakfast in Venice itself.
Exit the Venice Canals at N Venice Boulevard and head left back towards the ocean front.
Check out the gym equipment at Muscle Beach
Walk west on Ocean Front Walk until you reach the outdoor recreational area which includes the famous Muscle Beach Venice (as opposed to Muscle Beach Santa Monica). Muscle Beach was the birthplace of the physical fitness boom in the States in 1930s and home to famous bodybuilders, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, and body building competitions back in the day.
You need a pass to use the gym equipment so make sure that you keep off the machinery, or a voice will boom over the tannoid to tell you to get off – trust me!
Near the Muscle Beach outdoor gym are groups of painted palm trees and concrete structures on the beach, with pale blue lifeguard stations on the sand in the background.
Take photos at the historic Venice Sign on Winward Avenue
When you hit Winward Avenue, turn off Ocean Front Walk and walk up Winward to see the historic Venice Sign hanging across the road. The individual letters spelling ‘Venice’ are replicas of the original Venice sign installed by Abbot Kinney in 1905 when he developed Venice.
After taking photos of the Venice sign (from the front and the back), make your way to the Great White cafe for coffee and breakfast, before collecting your bikes for your cycle to Santa Monica.
Bike from Venice to Santa Monica
To bike from Venice to Santa Monica, you can hire bikes from Jay’s Rentals on Winward Avenue. We just turned up and they had plenty of choice – it was all fairly straightforward. Alternatively, you could hire roller blades or skateboards instead of a bike, whatever floats your boat.
Then simply cycle on the bike baths next to the beach and in-between the tall palm trees towards Santa Monica, about 2 miles (15 minutes) each way. As you bike from Venice to Santa Monica, enjoy sights along the way – the people, murals, and views of the iconic wheel at the end of Santa Monica Pier as it gets closer. It’s a view you’ll have seen numerous times in the movies, but it still feels special.
Note – as you bike from Venice to Santa Monica, be prepared to see numerous homeless tents and people sleeping amongst the palm trees. Venice Beach is one of the places to have experienced a dramatic increase in homeless numbers over recent years.
Find the end of Route 66 on Santa Monica Pier
Secure your bikes and explore Santa Monica Pier (built 1909) on foot, checking out the small amusement park and rides at the end of the pier. Look out for the Forest Gump bench which features in the movie.
You’ll find numerous bits of Americana on the pier including the marker for the End of Route 66 which struck me as odd, because you can’t get your car on the pier, but hey ho!
Then head into the centre of Santa Monica for a spot of shopping and coffee, but don’t buy too much as you have to transport it back to Venice on your bikes.
When you’re ready, pick up your bikes and return to Venice soaking in the experience along the way.
Search for the Venice Murals
During your time in Venice, you’ll notice many striking murals. Although many of the murals may change and be repainted periodically, some of the murals have been in situ for a long time. Two of the most famous Venice Murals are:
- Venice Kinesis by Rip Cronk – based on Botticelli’s Birth of Venice featuring a girl on roller blades, and
- Touch of Venice by Jonas Never – a monochrome mural named after Orson Wells film A Touch of Evil painted on the Samesun Hotel.
Find a healthy lunch on Abbot Kinney Blvd
If you didn’t eat during your time in Santa Monica, then head to Abbot Kinney Blvd for some retail therapy in the boutiques and independent shops, and seek out lunch at one of the numerous eateries. We ate at plant-based eatery, The Butchers Daughter which was good. All very LA.
Enjoy art and spectacular views from The Getty Centre
If you have time after lunch then take an Uber to The Getty Centre (17-minute cab ride) to enjoy some top-quality art from J Paul Getty’s collection (mainly European at this museum), gardens landscaped by Robert Irwin and incredible views from a ridge overlooking Los Angeles.
The Getty Centre is a work of art itself, designed by architect Richard Meier, and made from concrete, steel, and travertine marble from Italy. It opened in 1997 and is different to the Getty Villa Museum which is further along the coast and features older art and artefacts.
Whilst The Getty Centre is free to visit, you still need to reserve a timed slot before you visit, just so that they can manage numbers attending the museum.
Alternatively pick one of the other suggestions from above to finish your day in Los Angeles with Teenagers.
Where to eat in LA with teenagers
Lunches
Finding lunch options is the easy part on a trip to Los Angeles with teenagers, as there will always be something suitable to hand.
Farmers Markets, and food halls such as Grand Central Market, are great places to pick up something to keep everyone happy.
For a very casual lunch, your kids might be happy with a trip to In-N-Out Burger which only operates on the West and South West of America.
Dinners
This largely depends on where you’re staying in this enormous city, and how far you want to travel for dinner after a day of tiring sightseeing.
Also, on a trip to Los Angeles with teenagers, you might prefer to avoid stiff high end restaurants and try more casual places?
If so, Pizzeria Mozza on N Highland Avenue is a good option for dinner with teenagers, but make sure to book a table inside for the best atmosphere.
Overall thoughts…
Overall, we had a great time in Los Angeles with Teenagers, and could easily have spent more time exploring the different neighbourhoods of the city.
It was good to do the Hollywood side of the city once, but that’s ‘job done’ as far as I’m concerned. The kids would be as happy to find cool places to shop and generally soak up the sunshine and palm trees whilst keeping their eyes peeled for celebrities. Our count was zero on this trip!
It’s a very good place to acclimatise and get over jet lag, before heading off on along the coast for a Classic Coastal California Road Trip!
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