1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (94 page)

The Getty Center’s intimate sunken gardens, glass walls, and open floor plans provide fluid movement between indoor and outdoor space.

A side trip to Pacific Palisades reveals the original Getty Museum, now known as Getty Villa. The Pompeii-inspired home was commissioned from afar by the expat American oil billionaire Jean Paul Getty. It was completed two years before his death in 1976, and although he never visited it, he chose to be buried there. It was designed on an ancient Roman model, with meticulously styled gardens and fountains, and was reopened in 2005 after an extensive restoration. Today it houses the Getty’s superb collection of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities.

For over half a century, the city’s other cultural claim has placed it in the nation’s highest ranks: the massive collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, considered the most comprehensive in the West. Just a sampling of its 150,000 possessions is displayed,
assembled into areas of American, Latin American, Islamic, and South and Southeast Asian works. In the Japanese Pavilion, the collection of Japanese Edo paintings is said to be rivaled only by that of the emperor of Japan and is the only building outside of Japan strictly dedicated to Japanese art.

A curious postscript to the mind-boggling art found at LACMA is its odorous neighbor, the enthralling La Brea Tar Pits, a 40,000-year-old bubbling tar pit where excavations go on to this day. Nearly 400 species of mammals, birds, and fish—many of them now extinct—are said to be held within its oozing bed of wonders.

G
ETTY
C
ENTER
: Tel 310-440-7300.
www.getty.edu
.
When:
closed Mon.
G
ETTY
V
ILLA
: Pacific Palisades. Tel 310-440-7300;
www.getty.edu
.
When:
closed Tues–Wed.
L
OS
A
NGELES
C
OUNTY
M
USEUM OF
A
RT
: Tel 323-857-6000;
www.lacma.org
.
When:
closed Wed.
L
A
B
REA
T
AR
P
ITS
: Tel 323-934-PAGE;
www.tarpits.org
.

Winding Street of Dreams

Los Angeles, California

The freeways put a stop to Sunset Boulevard’s status as Los Angeles’s main artery, but that’s a good thing—all the less traffic for you on this iconic 22-mile boulevard, a fantastic drive that moves you from one end of town to the
other with great views and sightseeing along the way. Immortalized in the 1950 film classic
Sunset Boulevard,
it’s not the jaw-dropping route of the Pacific Coast Highway (see p. 836), but as you wend your way along its curves, you will encounter a little bit of every piece of the crazy quilt that is Los Angeles. From the palm trees to the stark looming mountains, from ethnic enclaves to the manicured perfection of Beverly Hills, from star-spotting to sites of scandal, all the way to the shimmering finale of the Pacific Ocean, Sunset offers a moving tour and taste of Los Angeles’s elusive magic.

Sunset Boulevard starts in downtown L.A., not far from Olvera Street, the oldest extant street in Los Angeles, which includes a bustling 19th-century marketplace where you can fuel up for your drive with fine Mexican food. From there it heads west through craggy Echo Park (home to Dodger Stadium), cutting and curving through the hills of newly hip Silver Lake before flattening out through Hollywood’s shabby and chic sections. At the corner of Vermont and Gower, glance up at the hills on your right for a good view of the iconic “Hollywood” sign and the sparkling art deco jewel that is Griffith Observatory (a supporting player in
Rebel Without a Cause
and recipient of a complete face-lift in 2006 funded in part by
Star Trek
’s Leonard Nimoy). Take a right on Vine if you want to head to the sights of Hollywood Boulevard. Otherwise, continue on Sunset through the stretch from Laurel Canyon Boulevard to Doheny Drive, which is known as the “Sunset Strip.” Even if you don’t see the street signs, you can’t miss it. Just look for the giant billboards, clubs, cafés, and pretty people. Check out Sunset Plaza, a short strip of costly shops and eateries, plus often lots of well-known faces enjoying both.

The independent city of Beverly Hills (see p. 806), almost entirely surrounded by Los Angeles, begins at Doheny. The landscaping is more groomed and the homes are much larger the minute you cross into the tony 90210 area code. The pink celebrity haunt
Beverly Hills Hotel (see p. 825) is on this stretch of Sunset, while a right turn up Benedict Canyon will take you to one of the sites of the Manson murders, though the actual house has been torn down. At the corner of Beverly Glen, Los Angeles proper returns with the leafy green and extremely exclusive Bel Air neighborhood. Turn left down Kenter Avenue if you want to see the site of the murder O. J. Simpson may or may not have committed. Continue west on Sunset to enter the upscale but still family-oriented neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, which is home to the Schwarzeneggers and other celebs. At Mandeville Canyon, you might want to start singing a Beach Boys tune—you are nearly at the ocean.

W
HERE
: from downtown L.A. west to the Pacific.
B
EST TIMES
: Dec–Mar for minimal smog to obscure mountains. Avoid rush hour.

Sun, Sand, and Shopping

California

This is the prototypical California beach moment: You’re in your shorts and flip-flops, standing on a sidewalk with palm trees and clear blue sky overhead. Scantily clad nubile young things zip past on Rollerblades.
Nearby, gently breaking Pacific Ocean waves lap onto the glistening sandy shore. Across the street a café overflows with tanned patrons, shaded by a canopy of bougainvillea. And you think, “It’s January.”

Welcome to Santa Monica. An incorporated city since 1907, bounded by lumbering Los Angeles on one side and the big blue sea on the other, L.A.’s most beachy community is no longer the sleepy, shambling, relaxed resort town it once was. But the flat streets of Santa Monica are still perfect for walking, jogging, biking, or taking in the sun once the morning fog lifts.

Santa Monica Pier’s Pacific Park features 12 rides including a large Ferris wheel with spectacular views of the Pacific.

The Third Street Promenade, once a somewhat shabby outdoor mall—also one of the first in the country—is now the very model of “new” urban spaces, and one of Southern California’s favorite gathering places with its shops, cafés, and movie theaters. While undeniably a pleasant place to stroll, you’ll also want to head to historic Santa Monica, well preserved and at its best at the world-famous Santa Monica Pier. A beloved institution since 1909, it boasts a collection of classic carnival rides, seashell souvenir shops and, best of all, a genuine 1930s all-wooden merry-go-round that’s likely to be familiar to anyone who has seen
The Sting.
A few blocks away you may run into West Side celebrities such as the Hanks-Wilsons and the Spielbergs at the upscale boutiques along Montana Avenue. The highly touted farmers market on Wednesdays and Saturdays brings out all the local amateur and professional chefs (some of whom put on special cooking demonstrations), searching out the best in organic,
seasonal produce in colors and varieties you didn’t know existed.

If you’d rather have your food prepared, and in a manner nothing less than
divino,
search out the tony Italian cuisine at Valentino, where legendary host-owner Piero Selvaggio treats his customers like long-lost family and the 100,000-plus-bottle wine cellar is acclaimed as “the greatest of them all.” Back on the beachfront and within sight of the pier is the delightful Shutters on the Beach, one of just two hotels in Santa Monica positioned directly on the beach rather than across the street. One of the most alluring accommodations in the area, it manages to combine the casual Cape Cod resort look (all rooms have balconies that open to let in the sound of the ocean) with all the luxurious amenities its VIP guests have come to expect, including a spa and seaside meals at One Pico and Pedals Café.

Just a stroll south of Santa Monica is the still funky, oddball, and delightful beach community of Venice, founded in 1905 by Abbott Kinney, who envisioned a Venice-of-America. Kinney designed it to include canals and Italian architecture and imported authentic gondolas, long since gone. Though the canals still exist, they’re not nearly as noteworthy as the city’s famed 3-mile long Venice Beach boardwalk, a wide, paved promenade that runs alongside the white sand beaches. This was the epicenter of L.A.’s 1960s hippie scene, and much of that bohemian vibe lingers still. With its inexpensive cafés and stalls selling trendy clothes, sunglasses, and temporary tattoos, it’s a carnival of humanity where street musicians, Rollerbladers, bums, bikini-clad babes, and classic Southern California freaks are perpetually on parade. The area’s long-famous weight lifters’ mecca, Muscle Beach, is still pumping up young Ahhh-nuld wannabes. Everyday folks line up at Jodi Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom or stroll Venice’s Main Street, a stimulating seven-block mix of shops, both fabulous and funky.

W
HERE
: 15 miles west of Los Angeles.
S
ANTA
M
ONICA
P
IER
: Tel 310-458-8900;
www.santamonicapier.org
.
F
ARMERS
M
ARKET
: Tel 310-458-8712;
www.santa-monica.org
/farmers_market.
V
ALENTINO
: Tel 310-829-4313;
www.pieroselvaggio.com
.
Cost:
dinner $65.
S
HUTTERS
O
N THE
B
EACH
: Tel 310-458-0030;
www.shuttersonthebeach.com
.
Cost:
from $480.
V
ENICE
B
EACH
:
www.venicebeach.com
.
M
USCLE
B
EACH
: Tel 310-399-2775.
J
ODY
M
ARONI’S
: Tel 310-822-5639;
www.jodymaroni.com
.
Cost:
hot dog $5.
B
EST TIME
: summer for free concerts on Thurs nights at the pier and Pacific waters warm enough for swimming, but also the biggest crowds.

Coastal Bluffs, Pounding Surf, and Galleries Galore

California

Perched on tawny bluffs and surrounded on three sides by crashing surf, the impossibly quaint Northern California town of Mendocino is among the state’s top coastal destinations. Settled in the 19th century by
Maine fishermen, Mendocino looks so much like a New England village, with white clapboard houses, a lofty church, and public gardens, that it was used as the location for the Maine village in the 1980s TV series
Murder, She Wrote
.

Since the 1950s, Mendocino has been a magnet for artists, who came for the inspiring
views and affordable rents. Those cheap studios have vanished, but the town, lined with one-of-a-kind galleries, remains a haven for artists and food lovers. At the MacCallum House, a restored 19th-century inn, Chef Alan Kantor prepares delicious coriander-crusted ono in the homey gourmet restaurant, while a few blocks away, Café Beaujolais serves up seared scallops and local Niman Ranch steaks. You might check into the historic Joshua Grindle Inn, which features fireplaces and ocean views, or continue down the coast to Albion, where the Albion River Inn lures guests with breathtaking views, luxurious rooms overlooking a coastal inlet, and a fine restaurant.

It’s just a short walk to the coastal headlands and beaches. Tide-pooling here is a delight: You’ll find sea anemones, starfish, and hermit crabs. December to March is prime time for whale-watching, as great gray whales swim from their summer homes near Alaska to winter feeding grounds off the coast of Mexico.

Within a few miles of Mendocino are wondrous state parks, including Van Damme, Russian Gulch, and Jughandle State Reserve, where you can hike inland into the “pygmy forest” full of stunted, century-old cypress trees. Railroad fanciers head north to Fort Bragg to ride the narrow-gauge Skunk Train 20 miles to Willits and back—you’ll smell the sooty engines before you see them; that’s why they call ’em Skunks.