Tag Archives: sightseeing in LA

culture, entertainment, L.A. Life, New Experience

Unusual Things to Do in L.A.

May 24, 2022 Shelly Hacco

By Rachel Priebe

Los Angeles is full of many wonderful tourist attractions, making it hard for the average person to get bored. However, as someone who has lived in the area for a while, I often find myself wanting to venture out beyond the Hollywood sign and LACMA. The following is a short list of some of the lesser-known gems I have come across while exploring L.A. These are some of my top “weird” things to do in L.A., but of course, there are many more!

Have a picnic in an abandoned zoo

Located in Griffith Park are the ruins of the old Los Angeles zoo, which closed in 1966 after the opening of the current one. The zoo is now a picnic area and hiking trail and contains old animals cages and exhibits. This is a unique place to see some of the LA views and walk around or have a picnic!

Address: 4801 Griffith Park Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Explore the Bunny Museum

“The Hoppiest Place on Earth” is a little ways away, located in Altadena (which is right next to Pasadena). While this is a little further away from the USC area than the other places on this list, its novelty is well worth the drive. It contains the world’s largest collection of bunny-related items, such as bunny sculptures, stuffed animals, rose parade floats, and much more. They even have real bunnies that roam the museum!

Address: 2605 Lake Ave, Altadena, CA 91001

Shop at the Oddities Flea Market

This market is usually held at the Globe Theater in early October. It is for lovers of the macabre and contains vendors selling abnormal decor, jewelry, and much more. This is a great place to check out if you want to get some unusual accessories or buy a unique gift for a friend.

Address: 740 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Attend a free class at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute (HMI)

Founded in 1968, this college trains students to become licensed hypnotherapists. If you want to get a taste of what students learn there, you can attend one of their free classes. These classes are only two and a half hours long on a weekday evening. They offer several free classes each month. They are on unusual subjects, such as energy healing, dream therapy and self-hypnosis.

Address: 18607 Ventura Blvd Suite 310, Tarzana, CA 91356

Visit the Museum of Death

This is the perfect place to visit in October to get into the Halloween spirit! That is, if you can handle its rather disturbing content. It is located right on Hollywood Boulevard and contains a collection of artifacts and art related to death. Among other items, it contains taxidermied animals, crime scene photographs, and letters written by serial killers. It isn’t a traditional museum experience, but it is definitely an interesting activity to fill your day!

Address: 6031 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028

I hope you enjoyed learning of some of these suggestions for new things to try in LA. While these activities may not be for everyone, there is always some attraction or place to visit in LA that will appeal to your interests!

Featured Image by kaleb tapp on Unsplash

Rachel is a recent USC graduate who studied Film and Television Production. In her free time, she enjoys public speaking, volunteering, and filmmaking, particularly documentary filmmaking. She was born and raised in Southern California, but enjoys traveling and has been all over North America and Europe. She spent her first semester of college in Paris and has been studying French for a number of years.

Art, culture, entertainment, Food, L.A. Life, lifestyle, New Experience, Sight Seeing, student life, Travel, USC

LA’s Top 5 Touristy Spots

September 21, 2021 Shelly Hacco

By Connor Brown

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3.5 minute read]

Popularity is an interesting concept. Some people see popular things as good, assuming that if many people enjoy something, it must have value. Others see popular things as bad, assuming that if a ton of people like something, it must be “basic” or overhyped. Los Angeles is home to both opinions, and as a capital of both trends and hipsters, the nuance between these two stances emerges. Many of the most popular, touristy things to do in Los Angeles are fun, others not as much. From my experience as an Angeleno, here are the five best touristy things to do in Los Angeles — all popular, pleasant, and picturesque!

1. Santa Monica

First on our list is arguably LA’s most famous beach, the iconic Santa Monica, brimming with sight seers, seagulls, and sunshine. Santa Monica is a fairly large city within LA, and offers more than just an endless, wide beach. The boardwalk is a popular tourist attraction, and while it’s not my personal favorite, many enjoy it. The Promenade along Third Street is a great shopping center, and the surrounding area is full of intriguing stores and sights. Ocean Avenue offers a great walking path, and leads right into the iconic Pacific Palisades. Best of all, Santa Monica is easily accessible via public transit, as the Metro Expo Line ends in the heart of downtown Santa Monica, blocks from both the beach and the Promenade.

2. Griffith Park

My personal favorite on this list, Griffith Park is a must-visit destination for anyone who’s been to LA. The park itself is massive, covering a large swath of the LA hills, and includes a number of great hiking paths. It is also home to one of LA’s most famous landmarks, the Griffith Observatory. If you go to the Observatory on a clear night, you can see the most spectacular views of the city. While the view is the main attraction, the Observatory is a destination in and of itself, offering fun astronomical and scientific displays, planetarium shows, and telescope viewing opportunities!

3. Downtown Art Museums

One of the best aspects of USC, in my opinion, is its proximity to downtown Los Angeles. Downtown LA is an enigma — there are times when it is bustling, with restaurants overflowing, rooftops full, and clubs thumping, and times when it is so empty you expect to see a tumbleweed roll across the street (Sunday afternoons). The one constant is the tranquility of the art museums. I find few things to be more relaxing than wandering around a quiet, curated space dedicated to the great artists of our time, being able to just pause and stare at some often-unintelligible expression of the human spirit. The Broad and The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) are two of the best modern art museums in the country, and are barely two miles from campus. Hop in a bus, Lyft, Metro, or Bird scooter, head up Figueroa and unwind in the sterile vibrance of a modern art museum.

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L.A. Life

Exploring Los Angeles

January 14, 2020 Shelly Hacco

By Angela Lu

Ever since I moved to Los Angeles, I started to noticed a strong Instagram culture here. Every time I go to areas such as West Hollywood or Beverly Hills, there will always be influencers who are posing for the best Instagram picture in front of a nice looking cafe or street.

As an Instagram enthusiast myself, I have also discovered a few instagrammable spots in Los Angeles that you can bring your families/friends to when they are visiting you.

Number 1: PINK WALL. If you haven’t noticed, but there is a pink wall outside a store called Paul Smith on Melrose Ave in West Hollywood. There are always a lot of people lining up there just to get the perfect picture with the wall.