A city built for observatories, canals and sunsets
6 attractions around Los Angeles — from a free hilltop observatory to a historic canal district in Venice — each checked for current hours and admission.
6 attractions across the observatory, museum, pier, hiking and canal-district side of Los Angeles, each checked against its own official site.
Griffith Observatory
Landmark
Griffith Park
A free, city-owned observatory on the south slope of Mount Hollywood with public telescopes, a planetarium and sweeping views over the Los Angeles basin — open Tuesday through Sunday, 12pm to 10pm on weekdays and 10am to 10pm on weekends.
Richard Meier's hilltop museum campus above the 405, with free general admission (a timed-entry reservation is recommended), gardens, architecture and panoramic views stretching from the ocean to Downtown.
The historic 1909 pier and official end of Route 66, home to Pacific Park's solar-powered Ferris wheel and wooden roller coaster, a 1939 carousel in the Looff Hippodrome, and the Heal the Bay Aquarium underneath.
A 160-acre hiking park tucked into the middle of Hollywood with a 3.5-mile loop, off-leash dog areas, and ridge-top views stretching from Catalina Island to a distant look at the Hollywood Sign.
A contemporary art museum on Grand Avenue with free general admission and a collection spanning Basquiat, Koons and Kusama, housed in a honeycomb-veiled building designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro.
Six surviving waterways from Abbot Kinney's 1905 “Venice of America,” restored in the early 1990s and now a quiet, walkable historic district of arched footbridges and canal-front bungalows a few blocks from the boardwalk.