Los Angeles's largest Greek Orthodox church and filled with rich murals and a rich interior of gold leaf. It's an inspiring must see for visitors and locals alike. Built by the vision of movie makers and it houses a large greek festival in September.

1324 South Normandie, Los Angeles 90006, 323.737.2424
www.stsophia.org

Google map: tinyurl.com/2wdavbj

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No trip to LA would be complete without a 25 cent ride on this 1901 funicular, "the world's shortest railway". Just reopened, it is right across the street from the Grand Central Market, an indoor market that offers inexpensive ethnic food and produce and meats. Walk through to Broadway LA's great Mexican shopping Street.

angelsflight.com Located on Hill Street between 3rd and 4th Streets, Red Line Subway, Pershing Square station north of exit on 4th and Hill

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I always recommend that visitors to LA see this art deco building with its three domes and the best view of LA, as well as offering a planetarium show and telescopes that public may view. 10-10 Sat Sun and Tue to Fri 12-10

Griffith Park, Shuttle bus on Sat and Sun from Red line subway station at Vermont and Sunset griffithobservatory.org +1 213.473.0800

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It is said that New Yorkers are a driven lot, but a large percentage of us are driven because we do not know how to drive. There is no need in this city to operate a car - there is excellent public transport at half the price of London. And yet New Yorkers are among the best-travelled people in the world. Sometimes we hire a car and driver, but our independent and sociable natures often inspire us to do what the locals do.

I am a regular visitor to Los Angeles and have figured out how to enjoy much of the area without a car. For a first-time or repeat visitor, my advice is to base yourself in Santa Monica. It has much of the iconic LA topography: sunsets on the Pacific Ocean; a sandy beach full of people who are in much too good condition; wandering “street” characters of every stripe; the occasional movie star sighting; one of the best outdoor food markets in America; superb restaurants; and, above all, the sense that this could not be anywhere else in the world but the LA we envision. All that is missing is Disneyland and that can be reached if one must.

My hotel of choice is the Georgian. It dates back to the 1930s and was preferred by more than a few movie stars for a romantic getaway. The building retains its elegant old bones but has been smartly updated. There are delicious breakfasts based on local ingredients, bracing ocean air, and those sunsets. The elegant Merigot hotel is another choice and its Cezanne restaurant offers many dishes based on local ingredients. I love the fish dishes there. Within three blocks of the Georgian Hotel are at least 50 restaurants, cinemas with 12 screens showing the latest hits and important independent films, and even a pub popular with British ex-pats. It is right across the street from the ocean and I would try to get in a swim every day.

You can rent a bicycle and cover a lot of local terrain. Santa Monica also has a superb local bus system as well as limited-stop long distance buses that go to Beverly Hills and downtown LA. Selective use of taxis can take you places where buses do not reach. The two I would recommend are both part of the J. Paul Getty Museum (www.getty.edu/museum), for which reservations are required to attend. The Getty Villa, straight up the Pacific Coast Highway, holds a superb collection of Greco-Roman art in an idyllic setting. It is a short trip from the Georgian Hotel. A bit further, and probably the most expensive transport (about $40) you will incur, is the Getty Museum, an omnium gatherum of paintings, sculpture, drawings and photographs. The Getty has one of the best educational initiatives of any museum in America. It also has good eating facilities, so I tend to make the visit a full day.

And what do I do if I need or want to go further afield? New Yorkers are resourceful and also friendly. I tend to befriend residents of LA, almost all of whom own a car and are willing to give me a lift. In exchange, I invite them for drinks on the terrace of the Georgian just in time for sunset over the Pacific.

Georgian Hotel: 1415 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401 Tel: 1-310/395-9945 Fax: 1-310/451-3374

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Catch a documentary or an arty film in the city which is famous for the industry – and in a movie theatre with more than a bit of history itself. It hosted the first Hollywood premiere in 1922 and although they’ve moved on to bigger premises since, the newly restored interior drips with movie glam.

Hollywood Boulevard

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A Mexican market. It's bustling, fun, great atmosphere. And while there, you can visit the oldest house in LA (on the same street) and walk around the grounds of the beautiful church nearby. When I was there, there were also street performers in the square at the end of the street. You really feel like you've not only left LA, but left the country! It's great - by far the best LA experience I had.

www.olvera-street.com/

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The finest Craftsman house in Pasadena, built in 1908 by architects Greene and Greene. The style is Charles Rennie Macintosh with a Pacific Rim twist; everything, down to the light switches, was specifically designed for this house. It also has a great bookshop, with a huge selection of books on design, architecture and art.

Orange Boulevard, Pasadena
www.gamblehouse.org

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A little bit of sweet lyricism in the vastness, the Watts Towers are Italian immigrant Simon Rodia's outsider contribution to LA architecture.
Go. They might make you cry.

Read all about it at the urls below.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_Towers

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This is a fantastic old roadhouse on the Mulholland Drive.

This place is like an old-time saloon - and the owner matches the bill: he's about 75, with a huge cowboy hat. The interior of the place is fab, too, dark wood, a long bar, the only thing missing are the spittoons!

They're not open all the time, though. We got lucky, and the old timer let us in for a beer even though the place was closed. But it's a good idea to call them beforehand.

It's on the Mulholland Drive on the way to Malibu Beach.

Phone: 818 7069001

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Perfect for Guardian readers, the Los Angeles Conservancy organises regular walking tours of the city's architectural delights and curiosities. Tours generally cost about $10, last for a couple of hours, and are informal affairs led by helpful and knowledgeable folk who don't press their obsessions too hard.

The downtown art deco and Broadway theater tours get you exclusive access into now privately owned and/or disused beacons of the city's gloriously ostentatious 1920s, 30s and 40s.

The Angeleno Heights tour is a relaxed stroll around the city's first middle class suburb, several streets of charming Victorian wood-framed houses perched above the freeways and steel monoliths of downtown. Other tours take in San Pedro, USC, and downtown at night. Book via the conservancy's website at www.laconservancy.org

www.laconservancy.org/tours/tours_main.php4

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No excuse not to visit this beauty - a classic of early modernist architecture - built sparingly from redwood, glass and concrete, with open air fireplaces, courtyards and tall bamboo hedges. Bang in west Hollywood THE best antidote to LA's frenetic pace - afterwards take a walk around the leafy spanish-style bungalows and dream of LA Confidential.

R.M. Schindler Studio and Residence
835 North Kings Road
West Hollywood, CA 90069-5409
www.makcenter.org/
open wed-sun, 11-6.

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