I never thought it was possible to both love and hate a city until I met LA.

Usually I have one of the following three emotions for a city. LOVE, LIKE and MEH. But Los Angeles got me feeling all three sometimes within the same day, sometimes within the same hour.

Apparently it gets better. I’m told that once you are more accustomed to the city, you grow extremely fond of it. And to be honest, the more I think about it, the more I believe it because this city truly has so much to offer but it’s most certainly not handed to you on a silver platter.

For starters, LA is everything and nothing like you’d imagine it to be. There are an incredible number of palm trees, hikes and healthy food options to choose from. Hollywood is kind of sketchy (they call it Hollyweird for a reason), the traffic is terrible and there is a homeless crisis that seems to be overlooked by LA residents. The beaches are absolutely breathtaking and public transit is a joke.

Now for the information that may be far more helpful to you.

Let me start of by saying LA is not a cheap destination. Though you can do it on a budget, keep in mind the car rental and gas alone can end up costing a fair amount. That being said, for most Canadians, this is expected when travelling to the states

So let’s start off with logistics.

We took a direct flight to LA, rented a car, stayed in an Airbnb in Koreatown (place was decent, outside was sketchy and parking was a nightmare).

My suggestions:

LA is pretty spaced out so try to find a place that is near the neighbourhoods you plan to frequent more often and try and get a place with a parking space if possible.
Make sure you pay for parking. They will NOT hesitate in giving you and ticket and they will hunt you down.
Rent a car away from the airport (it’ll be cheaper) and be aware that California has a special tax on renting a car so be prepared to spend a little bit more than you anticipated for car rentals.
Get a phone plan with a local provider and don’t opt into getting Wi-Fi with your car. You’ll end up saving money this way.
Now that we have that out of the way let’s talk about the things there are to do in LA and the disservice you will do to yourself if you try to do it all.

Given how spaced-out everything is and the terrible terrible LA traffic, try to cover no more than 2-3 things a day and strategically plan them so you are relatively in the same area.

Though my cousin and I covered a whole lot of ground and saw a lot, we agreed that the next time we visit LA we are going to only do a couple of things a day.

A lot of times when we travel, we try to check off as many things from our to-do list as possible but trust me when I say you will be far happier and more zen if you don’t. Remember, you can always come back.

Things to do

So, here is a list of the things we did and my thoughts on each activity BUT before we do that can I just say the sunsets in LA are some of the most incredible sunsets I have seen. The hues of pink are so so stunning, make sure you situate yourself somewhere with a view around sunset every day.

Let’s start with my highlights.

A sunset/night hike near at Griffith Park through Airbnb Experiences.

I booked an Airbnb experience as an add-on to our stay on a whim and I am so glad I did. Our tour guide was an Austrian expat who provided us with hiking sticks, snacks and a whole wealth of knowledge on the city and Griffith Park. The views were incredible especially during sunset and we were very satisfied that we got such a good workout in as well. Leopold also helped us capture some incredible shots.

Venice Beach/Venice Canals/Abbot Kinney

The vibe at this beach is so much fun; you could spend an entire day here and still not be bored. When I return to LA this is exactly where I’m spending more time. There is an incredible view, a slew of interesting folks to interact with and an overall relaxed vibe.

We witnessed one of the most incredible sunsets at the Venice Canals. There’s not much to do there other than snap a photo but it well worth the visit.

Abbot Kinney is the epitome of cool and hipster. So many cute shops and cafes, it definitely has West Queen West vibes.

Hiking Runyon Canyon

So we totally went the wrong way and ended up at the top in five minutes. It was our last day and we were craving acai bowls so we snapped a couple of pics and headed out. My suggestion however would be to actually do the hike. It’s definitely a great way to get a good workout in, just make sure you take the time to plan where you start your hike so you don’t repeat our mistake.

Santa Monica Pier

I just really liked it here. The open mall is fun to stroll through, the beach is beautiful and the pier is fun. Make sure to park yourself here for sunset, it’s quite the view.

We also went out here on a Saturday night and it was a good time.

Laguna Beach

Though this is not in LA, Laguna was one of the best parts of our trip. It is so incredibly beautiful and peaceful here. I wish we had stayed the night.

Also, we totally thought we were LC while we there. Our teenage selves were muy happy with us.

And here are my opinions on the other things we did/saw in LA.

Neighbourhoods:

Hollywood

Didn’t like it at all. I wanted to leave as soon as I got there.

Beverly Hills/West Hollywood

It’s very nice, upscale. Walk around have a look. Hang out at a café. Not but cup of tea, but may be yours.

DTLA

There’s not too much to do here and it gets sketchy at night.

Koreatown

We stayed here. There isn’t too much to do here and it also can get sketchy at night but there are some cool spots you can hit up if you are inclined to.

Beaches:

Malibu (Matador Beach)

Malibu was absolutely breathtaking. Though we later learned we did not do it right. Again, this is part of the reason for the love-hate relationship with LA. It’s so hard to figure out the "cool thing" to do so you often end up not getting to full experience which can be kind of disappointing when you find out.

Next time I'll head to a cool beach house or something if my budget will allow for it.

Manhattan Beach

We really only hung out here for an hour. Ate food and took some photos under the pier that has become a little insta famous lately. Nice, but you can skip it if you like.

Redondo Pier

So the reason we went to Redondo is actually because my cousin is a huge fan of the OC and really wanted to go to this diner that they use to shoot scenes of the OC at. So we went, and asked them if they would write PROM with chocolate chips on pancakes. At first, they thought we were crazy and reminded us that the sun was about to set but after some hard core convincing they did it for us! The pancakes were great, my cousin was happy and by the end of the day we had done Malibu, Manhattan and Redondo in one day. Yes, I know. We’re crazy.

Malls:

The Grove

If you’re going to go to a mall in LA, go to the grove. Not to shop but just to be there. There are a lot of restaurants there as well. We were there in November so the Christmas display was pretty epic.

We went to another mall with the Fashion Nova in it. Not worth it, don’t bother. I found their clothes did not work for my body type so it was a waste of our time.

Museums:

The Broad (in DTLA)

The Broad was the only museum we had the time to visit. It was free (most important part) and had a small but impressive collection for you to see. You won’t end up spending too much time there so if you’re in the area, you can also go visit the Bradbury Building.

Others:

The Paul Smith Pink wall on Melrose

Great insta photo opportunity. Don’t actually lean on the wall, they will get mad. The Made in LA wall is not far from here.

Chandelier Tree

This was pretty cool to see but not super impressive or worth driving to Silver Lake for. Go if you’re in the area.

Hollywood Sign

Google how to get here on the browser before you go to make sure you end up at the right spot. It’s pretty surreal to see it in real life.

The Food

The food options in LA like most big cities are diverse. I’m all about cool cafes and health conscious meals and LA really caters to that. Only issue, apparently sushi is not good here, so don’t bother with that.

My only must tries are:

Acai Bowls

Make sure you do not leave LA without having one. It’s soo LA and soo good. You’ll regret it if you don’t. Have one everyday, maybe even two. We ended up going to Uba Tuba fairly often.

Urth Café

Try the boba, spanish latte and kale salad. You can’t go to LA and not have Urth Café.

A Taco Truck past midnight

Check what’s near you and go. The popular ones are busy and the tacos are pretty good, especially past midnight.

California Donuts

The matcha donut here was so good as was every other option I tried. It’s open 24 hours so you have no excuse.

And finally here are some additional tips:

Pack a sweater and a leather jacket and jeans. LA gets pretty cold at night, pack appropriately.
LA doesn’t party like we do. So unfortunately, don’t count on LA to party unless you know people living in the hills that throw insane house parties because you will be disappointed. Check out some cool bars instead.
LA is not New York. Most people sleep here, so wake up early and seize the day.
There was plenty more we missed like the Griffith Observatory (I know but parking was really hard to find) and the Getty Villa but that’s okay. LA is a place you can return to again and again and always find something new to do. Next time, I’m doing more hikes and spending more time at the beach with an acai bowl in hand. Who knows, maybe next time I’ll far more into love with it.