Los Angeles
Overview
You'll be lured to Los Angeles by the bright lights of Hollywood and the glittering beaches in Malibu and Venice. But you'll also find first-class art and sporting events Downtown and two of the world's finest amusement parks, Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, in neighbouring Anaheim and Buena Park.
Background
Los Angeles began as Mission San Fernando in 1797, one of a string of Spanish missions stretching through California to Mexico. Today Los Angeles is a sprawling city, a metropolis of smaller cities and neighbourhoods, each with its own personality, from posh Beverly Hills to laid-back Venice and historic Downtown. An impressive, sometimes overwhelming network of expressways (fast arterial roads) leads from the Pacific Ocean on Los Angeles' western border to the mountains of San Bernardino.
First-time visit
Arrive early and spend the entire day at Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm, two of the United States' finest amusement parks with rides, attractions and adventures for all ages. Take in icons of the Silver Screen at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which commemorates the best actors of film and television. There's always something or someone to entertain you at Venice Beach, a strand known for its musclemen, bikini-clad skaters, jugglers and hot-dog vendors. You'll need a full wallet to shop on pricey Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive, home to numerous exclusive boutiques.
Return visit
Enjoy one of the most quintessential Los Angeles experiences, a television taping in Hollywood. For a taste of the fine arts, Downtown is the place to go. Book tickets for Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall, home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Don't miss the Getty Center's vast collection of European paintings and sculpture. Or opt for MOCA, The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, with art collections from the 1940s to the present. Also downtown is the LaBrea Tar Pits, a display of bubbling tar and bizarre fossils that you won't forget in a hurry. Then journey to where all of the glitz and glamour traces its roots, the 18th-century Mission San Fernando in Mission Hills.
airports
Los Angeles International Airport
Essentials
Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX, is the world's sixth-busiest airport, handling nearly 60 million passengers a year. It is efficient, with small, easy-to-use terminals, and is located 15 miles from downtown LA between Marina del Rey and Manhattan Beach. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to drive, depending on the traffic.
Airport Facts
- Airport code
- LAX
- Airport website
- Los Angeles World Airports website
- Airport tel
- +1 310 646 5252
- No. of terminals
- Nine terminals, all arranged around a rectangular concourse.
- Distance from city centre
- 15 miles (24km) southwest of downtown Los Angeles.
- Transport between terminals
- All nine terminals are served by shuttle bus travelling every 12-15 minutes around the central loop. Look for blue signs showing Shuttle Bus A on the Arrivals level of each terminal and allow at least 30 minutes to transfer.
- Airport parking
- There are eight short-stay (and expensive) car parks within the main concourse building and two long-stay parks situated on 96th Street and Sepulveda Boulevard and 111th St and La Cienega Boulevard. A free bus service runs between these long-stay car parks and the terminals. There is a free 24-hour Cell Phone Waiting Lot at 9011 Airport Boulevard for drivers picking up passengers. Valet parking is available at Terminal 4.
- Time Zone
- GMT -8 (-7 in summertime).
- Useful tips
- Heightened security regulations make check-in and immigration queues tediously overlong so expect a long wait at immigration and allow three hours to check in for international flights. Note also that, if you move between terminals, you will need to pass through security screening again. Only ticketed passengers are allowed past security.
Top events
Other destinations in North America
Important information
- Please note that you won't be able to make changes to your hotel or car booking. If you want to change your booking you will have to cancel your current booking and make a new booking. This can be done on ba.com.
- We cannot guarantee that the same hotel room or car rental option will still be available if you have to cancel and make a new booking.
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