Things to do in Downtown LA

Downtown LA is the metropolis's vertical core: office towers, civic buildings, the Arts District and Grand Central Market, with Koreatown a short ride away. It is also one of the few pockets of the region where LA Metro rail genuinely works, cutting down the need for a car within the district.

That said, Downtown does not sit at the centre of a typical visit: Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Pasadena and the beaches are all roughly 30-60 minutes away by car depending on traffic, despite looking close on a map, and there is no beach within easy reach from here. Parking is limited and rush-hour traffic in and out of Downtown is a real constraint.

Summer's dry weather suits walking between sights better than the greyer spring mornings that affect the coast more than they do here.