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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Large and varied collection includes more Degas than you would expect, extraordinary French impressionists, memorable Old Masters. Outside you are surrounded by bamboo trees & water gardens. Worth the trip.

Pasadena (www.nortonsimon.org)

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This is an amazing art museum in Pasadena. It has quite a small collection, but its quality surpasses that of the Getty. It also has a small but lovely garden.

You can get there on the Metro, though natives of LA will not believe you.
www.nortonsimon.org

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Theme park of extreme proportions that is well worth the price ($59). It's a day trip with loads of events and the famous train ride around the film lot.

On their website they actually write this:
"Located conveniently in Los Angeles, CA." Hilarious.
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608.
themeparks.universalstudios.com/hollywood/website/index.html

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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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Everybody, of course, goes to Universal Studios in Hollywood. Fair enough, it is the biggest but is it the best? It used to be but, alas, no longer. Now try the Warner Bros. studio tour and you'll see the difference, especially if you are a film buff like me.

Warners is far smaller but it is quieter and it is a working studio but most of all the moment you go round the back lots you can immediately see the sets for the familiar 30's and 40's films like Jimmy Cagney's 'Public Enemy', Bogart's 'Maltese Falcon' and Flynn's 'Robin Hood'. While these will mean nothing to the 'Sponge Bob' or 'The Shrek' generation, who will doubtless prefer to enjoy the hussle and bussle of the Universal tour, old fuddy-duddies like me will enjoy the 'WB's. They don't make'm like that anymore. Go enjoy!

Also, don't miss the small movie and TV museums on Sunset, Hollywood and Vine either. Many sadly do, you'll never forgive yourself.

Warner Bros. Studio is at Burbank. Universal Studios is at Universal City (on the way to Burbank). Hollywood Museum, Movie and TV Museum and Max Factor's old make-up palace (now also a museum) are all on or just off Hollywood Blv.

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The Huntington institution is a massive estate at San Marino featuring botanical gardens, a library, art galleries and more. They even have Gainsborough's Blue Boy! Admission is free on the first Thursday of every month.

www.huntington.org/

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Look at the paintings if you must, but the external beauty of the gardens and the building itself are perhaps more engaging. The smoggy views of the city over the cactus rooftop are awesome.

On the outskirts somewhere

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The Getty, positioned atop a sheer hillside looking down on Santa Monica and the ocean. From the winding monorail taking visitors from the car park to architect Richard Meier's modern monument to art, the Getty is an adventure, a trip to a world apart stuffed with some of the finest art that money (and the Getty has a lot of it) can buy. Touring exhibitions complement a comprehensive permanent collection (although the Getty does not generally collect contemporary art) but the Getty is an event in itself.

Admission: free; www.getty.edu/

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Recommended to me by a stranger in a second hand record store on Bristol's Gloucester road. His words "I won't tell you what to expect, just go there and see for your self". I did and now I urge you to do the same.

9341 Venice Boulevard, Culver City.
www.mjt.org/

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