Los Angeles/West

West Los Angeles is an area of the city of Los Angeles within the larger area of the West Side of Los Angeles County. The area includes the neighborhoods of Bel-Air, Brentwood, Century City, Cheviot Hills, Mar Vista, Palms, Sawtelle, West LA, and Westwood (the neighborhood around the University of California, Los Angeles).

Understand
West Los Angeles is made up of a set of very distinct neighborhoods, ranging from wealthy suburbs to prominent business centers to communities where you'll find a mix of ethnicities that would make the United Nations proud.

Perhaps the most prominent West L.A. community is Westwood, an area somewhere between a neighborhood and a city that surrounds the main campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Most of the area's businesses cater to the college population, with a number of used and new bookstores, art movie theaters, inexpensive restaurants and coffee houses. While the main village of Westwood had its heyday from the 1960s throughout most of the 1980s, it is picking up in popularity again as a trendy hangout for local teens and students of UCLA. Despite an increasing number of homeless people, Westwood is still known as one of the safest neighborhoods in the city, albeit with some of the worst traffic. South of Westwood are the densely populated and highly diverse neighborhoods of Sawtelle, Mar Vista, and Palms, where you'll find many established ethnic and minority communities with plenty of local shops and restaurants catering to these local populations.

The other prominent economic center in West L.A. is Century City, a small but dense collection of highrises adjacent to Beverly Hills that was built around the headquarters of 20th Century Studios. To the south of Century City is the affluent neighborhood of Cheviot Hills, with lots of parks and large suburban homes. On the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains to the north of Westwood are the fashionable and famous neighborhoods of Bel-Air and Brentwood, both of which are full of mansions overlooking the city, some of which have been the home of celebrities.

Climate
Due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, West L.A. enjoys a cooler climate than the rest of Los Angeles. During the summer, temperatures can be as much as 10-15 degrees cooler in West L.A. than locations further inland, in large part due to the constant sea breezes in the area. Fog is a common occurrence, especially in the months of May and June.

By car
Interstate 405 passes through West Los Angeles just south of the Sepulveda Pass. The area is noted for high levels of congestion, especially during rush hour.

By plane
Los Angeles International Airport is about 20-30 minutes away, and has a very large number of flights to and from the airport.

By public transit
On the west side, local transit is provided by three main carriers.


 * Metro is the major operator of bus and rail services in Los Angeles County. The Metro Rail Expo Line roughly parallels I-10 through West L.A. and tends to be the fastest transit service to the area from Downtown L.A., stopping in the Palms and Sawtelle neighborhoods on its way between Culver City and Santa Monica, with bus connections to other Westside neighborhoods available at each station. Frequent Metro bus routes that pass through the area include the 2 (Sunset Blvd), 4/Rapid 704 (Santa Monica Blvd), 20/Rapid 720 (Wilshire Blvd), and the 33/Rapid 733 (Venice Blvd), with the Rapid lines stopping only at major intersections. Additionally, the 28/Rapid 728 connect Century City to Downtown L.A. via Olympic Blvd, while the Rapid 734 (weekdays only)/234 (weekends only) link the Expo Line Sepulveda station, Westwood, UCLA, the Getty Center entrance, and the San Fernando Valley via Sepulveda and Westwood Blvds. Metro fare is $1.75.
 * Big Blue Bus primarily serves Santa Monica and UCLA/Westwood (and the major streets between), but also has a network of routes that serves just about every neighborhood in the area, as well as routes that head out to Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Venice, and an express route (#10) along I-10 to Downtown L.A. Additionally, the #3 bus reaches the LAX Airport Transit Center, making it a handy way for air travelers to reach the Westside cheaply. The standard fare on all buses (except #10) is $1.25.
 * Culver City Bus primarily serves Culver City, but also runs buses to UCLA/Westwood (#6), Century City (#3), and LAX (#6), thus also serving as a primary carrier of tourists from LAX to the UCLA area. The base fare is $1.

Getty Center


One of two locations of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Center is unquestionably one of the finest museums in the nation, with a collection of European art from the Middle Ages to the modern era set against a backdrop of dramatic architecture and tranquil gardens. Perched atop the Santa Monica Mountains and accessible only via tram from the bottom of the hill, the museum offers spectacular views of the L.A. basin and the Pacific Ocean.

The focal point of the expansive museum campus is a central courtyard ringed by several buildings which display most of the museum's holdings, linked by bridges and terraces which offer superb views of the museum campus and the surrounding landscape. The courtyard level hosts the Getty's permanent collection of European sculpture and decorative arts, as well as some changing exhibits, while the upper level displays the museum's European paintings. Outside is a large garden centered around a reflecting pool with a flowering maze set within the pool, surrounded by specialty gardens and expansive lawns that make an excellent place for a picnic.

The other museum location, the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, is about 11 miles to the west via Sunset Blvd and covers the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria; you can visit both in the same day (Wednesday through Sunday) and pay the parking fee only once (save your ticket stub), but don't expect to have any time left over for other activities.

University of California Los Angeles
Spread out over 400 acres on the northern end of Westwood, UCLA is the largest branch of the University of California system by student population and is a major center of activity. The campus is a massive complex of academic facilities, residence halls, museums, gardens and pathways which make for a pleasant stroll. The original center of campus is, a grassy quad framed by the beautiful red brick Italianate structures of Royce Hall and Powell Library, with a fountain on the west side overlooking the rest of campus. From here a long stairway, the Janss Steps, leads west to the focal point of campus life:, where you'll find the student union, the bookstore, and the student rec center, as well as a statue of Bruin Bear, the university's mascot.



Eat
West LA has a wide variety of food types and pricing. Westwood Boulevard features numerous restaurants of Iranian, Indian, and Pakistani cuisine, while Sawtelle Boulevard features many Japanese restaurants. There are a number of Indian and Pakistani restaurants along Venice Boulevard in Palms, mostly offering North Indian cuisine. Westwood Boulevard between Pico and Wilshire is filled with Persian restaurants, serving the largest Iranian population outside of Iran (which is concentrated in Westwood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica). There is a large cluster of Jewish delicatessens and restaurants on Pico Boulevard south of Beverly Hills, with both Ashkenazic and Middle Eastern Jewish cuisines represented. There is a small cluster of (mostly) Japanese restaurants colloquially known as Little Osaka on Sawtelle Blvd (just west of 405) bounded by Santa Monica Blvd to the north and Olympic Blvd to the south.

Go next

 * Santa Monica. Best known for its famous pier, Santa Monica is a must-see destination for most tourists, and home to many restaurants and bars frequented by locals.
 * Culver City. A neighboring city and the home of Sony Pictures Studios that has been undergoing a rebirth and now has an increasing number of food, shopping and entertainment options.
 * Beverly Hills. Home of 90210, fabled shopping, and the upper crust of Hollywood's elite.
 * Wilshire. Home to Koreatown, LA's museum district, and the famous La Brea Tar Pits.
 * Sherman Oaks. Located among the hills between the coast and the San Fernando Valley, Sherman Oaks is a mainly-residential neighborhood that offers numerous food, shopping, nightlife, and lodging options.