Not For Tourists - Not For Tourists Guide to Los Angeles 2021

Designed by:

Not For Tourists, Inc

NFTTMNOT FOR TOURISTSTM Guide to LOS ANGELES

www.notfortourists.com

Printed in China

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-5806-3

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-5807-0

ISSN 2163-9124

Copyright 2020 by Not For Tourists, Inc.

20th Edition

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Dear NFT Reader,

Dont believe the East Coast partisan propaganda. There is a functional mass transit system in Los Angeles, and well show you how to use it. But the other side of the country does get one LA stereotype right: we remain a city in love with the internal combustion engine. Its not a reciprocal romanceyour car wont plan the date by itself, and it assuredly never pays for anything while continuing to suck your bank account dry. But NFT can wing for you. As usual, the Not For Tourists guide to LA is designed to fit snugly under the drivers seat, and be easily retrieved while watching the road. When youre parked in 405 traffic, you can thank us for the reading material.

But NFT isnt just for drivers. Its for anyone who wants to make this somewhat maddeningly designed, palm tree-peppered concrete jungle a home. We invented sprawl, yall, and its well nigh impossible to find ones way around without good leads. When the Bruins, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Academy Awards bottleneck traffic, well show you alternate routes. When you find yourself trapped in the tangled Downtown freeway plug, well show you how to unclog yourself. And when you dont feel like driving (or, heavens forfend, your car is in the shop), well show you the bank branches, grocery stores, and cheap hangouts that have been hiding out in your neighborhood this whole time.

Its a nice place to live, said Mark Twain, but I wouldnt want to visit. Thats why, even if youre just in here for the weekend, we want you to see Los Angeles through the eyes of savvy Angelenos y Angelenas. Theres a lot to see, and its not all bucolic beaches, bottle-blondes, and lettuce lunches. If LA is a materialist mecca and the worlds most prolific illusion factory, its also the globes most global metropolis and we sent some of the smartest, most curious, most hype-resistant people we know to sup, drink, dance, listen, learn, browse, play, exercise, relax, shop, visit, mingle, and report on the melting pot within the melting pot.

Without fail or pause, Los Angeles changes. Thus, while this book is the essence of our mission, were pretty sure this computer thing isnt a fad, and we also work hard and late to stay current at www.notfortourists.com. If your favorite art gallery folds, or you finally find a place in this town with a good deep-dish, please let us know. NFT never sleeps.

Like we always do about this time, wed like to thank our contributors for their work. Another flash of the movie-star smile goes to the office staff, for making it happen. And a final thanks to you, dear reader, for exploring Los Angeles with us.

Table of Contents

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Map 1 Beverly Hills

Map 1

When the outside world pictures Los Angeles, it often defaults to well-lit images of Beverly Hills: palm trees, 23 broad avenues, nice cars, snappy rich folk. Shopping Rodeo Drive is high-stakes fun, but locals avoid it. To store the best BH memories, visit during the holidays, when the decorations above Wilshire Boulevard beam their glitzy charm. And theres one mental-health practitioner per 100 residents! If youre just visiting, enjoy the towns only freebie: two hours gratis in a public parking lot.

Landmarks

Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
8949 Wilshire Blvd
310-247-3000
Brake for red carpets and klieg lights! Many premieres are held here.

Beverly Hills Civic Center
Santa Monica Blvd & N Rexford Dr
310-285-1000
Infrastructure for the rich and famous.

The Beverly Hills Hotel 9641 W Sunset Blvd
310-276-2251
Legends have stayed at the Pink Palace.

Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire 9500 Wilshire Blvd
310-275-5200
Pretty Woman stayed here.

Greystone Mansion 905 Loma Vista Dr
310-285-6830
Formerly the Doheny Mansion, now part of a lovely public park.

Greystone Park 905 Loma Vista Dr
310-285-6830
Amazing views of Beverly Hills at this public mansion estate. Luke and Laura got married here, and you can too.

Paley Center for Media 465 N Beverly Dr
310-786-1091
Where reruns of old sitcoms are considered art.

Prada 469 N Rodeo Dr
310-385-5959
Architect Rem Koolhaas gives BH something else to look at.

The Witchs House 516 Walden Dr
Fairytale haunt straight out of Hansel and Gretel.

Nightlife

Bar Noir 140 S Lasky Dr
310-281-4000
Trs petit hotel bar serves mondo martinis.

The Blvd 9500 Wilshire Blvd
310-275-5200
Hotel bar with clubby feel.

The Club Bar 9882 S Santa Monica Blvd
310-551-2888
Classy hotel bar.

Restaurants

The Belvedere 9882 Little Santa Monica Blvd
310-975-2736 $$$$
Upscale hotel dining.

The Blvd 9500 Wilshire Blvd
310-275-5200 $$$$
Pretty Woman in us all.

Boa 9200 W Sunset Blvd
310-278-2050 $$$$
Steaks on the Sunset Strip.