If I had a day to spend in Downtown Los Angeles, this is how I would spend it. I would wander the historic core, which was once the epicenter of the entertainment industry. Here, you can see glimpses of Los Angeles’ past. This Day in Downtown Los Angeles is a good mix of tourist attractions and things only locals know about.
This post was originally part of my Los Angeles website, This Ugly Beautiful City. It shares many similarities with that post and some additions.
(Use the Table of Contents to jump around)
Theme: Budget
This is a great itinerary for those who are looking to spend time in Los Angeles without spending hundreds of dollars. It includes a mix of free things to do and recommendations for $20 or less.
Best Day to use this Itinerary: Thursday
Although many of the stops on this list are open daily, the major free event listed in the itinerary, Together Thursday, only happens on, well, Thursdays. The coffee shop featured is closed on the weekends.
Note for mobility
This is a walking tour itinerary. You would be on your feet for the entire day. Stop 6: Angels Flight is a bit of a bumpy ride, and I wouldn’t recommend it to those with sensitive back and neck issues. If you would like to bypass this stop, take the Metro E or A lines from Historic Broadway Station to Grand Avenue Arts (E–towards Santa Monica) or (A–towards Long Beach.)
A Day in Downtown Los Angeles
This itinerary features six stops to see downtown Los Angeles’ history. Open the address to save the spots on your Google Map.
Stop one: Aquarela Coffee-DTLA
601 W 5th St, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Start your day with a cup of coffee at Aquarela Coffee in the art deco lobby of the Cal Edison Building. Finished in 1931, this was one of the first buildings powered entirely by electricity in the United States. Sit and gaze at the murals and intricate designs hidden in the ceilings and walls while you sip.
The drinks are a taste of Brazil in Los Angeles.
If you are exploring on the weekend when Aquarela is closed, I recommend the French bakery Pitchoun! next to stop two on the itinerary.
Cost: $5.00-$6.75 USD
Stop Two: The Biltmore
507 S Olive St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Hint: Enter on Olive Street, where the original lobby welcomed guests.
The Biltmore Hotel, now the Millennium Biltmore, has been the center of Los Angeles’ history for over a century. It is where Oscar was born, was a haven for partiers during prohibition, and has ties to Los Angeles’ most infamous unsolved murder, The Black Dahlia. (Note: The photos on the Wikipedia page aren’t for the faint of heart.)
Built in 1923, it was the largest hotel west of Chicago. When it opened, it overlooked Pershing Square, once a beautiful tree-lined park in the center of Downtown Los Angeles. The hotel welcomed movie stars, dignitaries, and socialites.
It is a beautiful place to wander.
Cost: Free to visit
Wondering about staying at this historic hotel? Contact me.
Stop 3: Apple Tower Theater
802 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014
In the 1920s, opulent movie palaces lined the streets of Broadway. This street is where the first star-studded movie premiere happened, where hundreds of Angelenos would spend their weekends, and Old Hollywood stars made news.
Many of Broadway’s movie palaces have been lost to history, but you can get a glimpse of what they were like in the restored Apple Tower Theater.
When the Tower Theater opened in 1927, it held 900 moviegoers. This theater was the first to be wired for sound movies (or talkies, as they were called then) and the first to have air conditioning.
Cost: Free to wander
Stop 4: The Last Bookstore
453 S Spring St Ground Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013
The Last Bookstore is a site dedicated to building community. You will see many Angelenos and tourists hunkered down with a good book, flipping through used records, and wandering two floors of delights.
In its original incarnation, the Last Bookstore was one of the many banks lining the financial district. You can still find echoes of its past. The second floor still holds the bank vault, and instead of having money, it now holds crime, mystery, and horror books.
The Last Bookstore is filled with little Instagram-able moments. There are tunnels of books, a typewriter that seems to be possessed, and other altars and installations scattered around the store. This is the place to get your Los Angeles trip photo.
Cost: Browsing is free, but you will be tempted to buy something.
Stop 5: The Grand Central Market
317 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Oh my gosh, is it time to eat yet?
No guide to Downtown Los Angeles would be complete without sampling the great food vendors in the Grand Central Market.
This is my favorite place to get something quick to eat in downtown Los Angeles. You can always find what you’re craving from one of the 40 vendors—from homemade donuts to award-winning tacos.
The Grand Central Market has fed Los Angeles since 1917. It was once the largest public market on the West Coast, selling produce, well-stocked butcher counters, and ready-to-eat restaurants.
Cost: It is a choose your own adventure of pricing.
Stop 6: Angels Flight
Address: The closest entrance is across the street from G&B Coffee at the Grand Central Market
Ride the shortest railway in the United States!
Since 1901, the Angels Fight Railway has transported Angelenos up Bunker Hill. Ride the vintage car from Grand Central Market to California Plaza, which provides access to Downtown Los Angeles’ contemporary art museums, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Music Center.
Cost:$1 each way or.50 with your Metro Tap Card
Last Stop: The Broad
221 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Los Angeles’s newest museum houses one of the largest private collections of contemporary art. Once scattered across the city, Eli and Edythe Broad’s collection was reassembled as its own museum in 2015.
Pronounced Bro-D, not broad as in wide.
The museum holds iconic pieces of contemporary art, such as Barbara Kruger’s Your Body is a Battle Ground, multiple infinity pieces from Yayoi Kusama, Americaby Hank Willis Thomas, and Jeff Koontz’s balloon creations.
There are plenty of opportunities to interact with art in the galleries. Photographing and posting to social media is encouraged.
Cost: General collections are free, Together Thursdays is a free event, and Special Exhibits may or may not be free, depending on the exhibition.
I hope you will pull this Day in Downtown Los Angeles itinerary out the next time you are in Los Angeles. There are so many amazing things to do for free.
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Related post
The Los Angeles Guide
This itinerary is part of the Los Angeles Guide. If you found this post before reading this itinerary, I invite you to read it now.
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