It’s been a little over a week or maybe two now since I got home from California and I miss the warm weather already. It’s been unseasonably cold in Seattle so it’s really comforting to know that Los Angeles is only a two hour flight away. I was at the Mom2.0 2022 conference and it was held at the Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown. I haven’t spent a lot of time Downtown Los Angeles in years so it was nice to be able to explore the area for a few days by myself.
The Broad Musuem in downtown Los Angeles
This museum is cool because it’s one of the free things you can do in Los Angeles but you need tickets in advance and it’s only open a few days a week . Unfortunately, I missed being able to visit this time but it was a place I really wanted to see and it was also walkable from my hotel (and probably many other downtown hotels too) so make sure you book your tickets ahead of time if you want to visit.
The Last Bookstore is a Los Angeles must-see
Maybe you’ve been dreaming about “The Last Bookstore” forever and yes, it will be just as you imagined it when you get there. There are book tunnels and little nooks filled with wonders and it is just the type of beautiful bookstore that we all want more of in this world. On the way to the bookstore I passed by Pershing Park and the palm trees, bougainvilleas and bright colors in this park were really eye-catching too.
Do you adore macarons? Make sure Bottega Louie is on your list
Imagine all the pastries and tasty treats you can imagine in a dreamy, high-celinged, light-filled cafe. I just got take-out treats this time and macarons for my kids for souvenirs, but this place is just as perfect as it was nearly 10 years ago and hopefully we’ll be back sooner if we’re in downtown Los Angeles again.
And if you haven’t tried Jinya Ramen in your hometown there is one in downtown Los Angeles too
Sometimes we never get to places that are in our own cities. In Seattle, the closest Jinya Ramen is in Bellevue and in Vancouver BC, but of course the one place I ended up trying Jinya Ramen is in downtown Los Angeles. It’s easy to take it out if you don’t want to dine in and reasonably priced. Also, they have vegetarian and chicken based ramen in addition to the traditional pork-based ramens too.
Coffee at Philz should also be on your things to do in downtown Los Angeles itinerary- specifically a mint mojito coffee
There are so many other coffee shops in Los Angeles that are bespoke and delicious but Philz is only in California and ever since my cousin made me try the mint mojito drink there I can’t help but go anytime I see one. I don’t think another coffee shop has a drink like it, or maybe it’s the taste of this coffee drink mixed with the warm, California air that is non replicable anywhere else.
And have you ever taken the Angel’s Flight?
I really really wanted to do this but I need to wait to go when I’m not alone or in a hotel with an elevator that is already like a funicular ride. The Angel’s flight Railway is something I found on Google maps when looking for things to do in Los Angeles when we visited California with my family over Spring Break (On that trip we went to Dana Point and Joshua Tree) and our flight got cancelled and we ended up staying at the beach and missed trying this out and I missed it again on the last trip. It seems like a really cool thing to try. Have you ridden this funicular? Apparently it’s over 100 years old. We’ve ridden funiculars in other places like in the Manchester Football Museum and the coolest one we ever tried was in Switzerland so this is one things we need to try next time we’re in L.A.
Grocery stores and Target are easy to find when you stay downtown
Staying in downtown Los Angeles there is a Target and Whole Foods that you don’t even need to rent a car to get to and that’s always a benefit of staying in the heart of a city. I like to pick up easy to eat fresh fruits and vegetables when I travel to stay healthy-otherwise we end up eating out way too much and not getting all the nutrients and produce we usually eat. Finding a grocery store with these things is usually the first thing I do on any trip and I almost forgot that many Targets now sell groceries too.
We’ve also stayed just outside of downtown Los Angeles at a cool hotel in Hollywood when we went for the Sonic press junket a few years ago. And if we fly through LAX we try to make sure we go to this In-N-Out right near the airport too.
Do you have any recommendations for things to do in downtown Los Angeles? I hope I have another conference here again one day, it was such a great location to get learning done and explore.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)