Los Angeles 3-Day Itinerary
Three days in Los Angeles won't cover everything in a city of nearly 3.9 million people — but with the right structure, you can move through its most compelling areas without feeling scattered. This itinerary divides Los Angeles into three themed days: the landmarks and iconic spots most visitors want to see, the downtown core and culturally distinct neighborhoods that define the city's daily texture, and a day spent outdoors along the coast and in the surrounding natural areas. Each day is self-contained, so you can swap the order based on weather, energy, or when you arrive.
If you only have one day to spend, the Los Angeles 1-Day Itinerary offers a condensed version of the highlights. For a fuller look at what the city offers across categories, the Los Angeles Travel Guide: Things to Do, Landmarks, Food, and Itineraries is a good starting point.
Getting Around Los Angeles
Los Angeles is primarily a car city, but the Metro rail system and bus network reach many of the areas in this itinerary. The Metro uses a tap-to-pay system — check the official Metro website for current fares, passes, and route maps before you go. Rideshare is widely available throughout the city. If you plan to drive, keep in mind that parking costs and availability vary significantly by neighborhood and attraction. Always check official sites for current parking details rather than relying on third-party estimates.
Day 1: Iconic Los Angeles — Hollywood, Griffith Park, and the Westside
Morning: Hollywood
Start the day in Hollywood, one of the most commonly visited parts of Los Angeles. The Hollywood Walk of Fame stretches along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, and it's easy to spend an hour or more moving between the stars embedded in the sidewalk and taking in the surrounding architecture. TCL Chinese Theatre is along this same stretch — its famous forecourt contains handprints and footprints from decades of film history, and the building itself is one of the more recognizable movie palaces in the country.
From Hollywood, head up into Griffith Park, one of the larger urban parks in the United States. Griffith Observatory sits near the top and offers sweeping views over the Los Angeles basin toward downtown and the coast on clear days. The park has trails at various difficulty levels that connect the surrounding hillsides, and the observatory has exhibits on astronomy and space that tend to draw visitors regardless of age. Check the observatory's official website for current hours and any scheduled programs before visiting.
Afternoon: Santa Monica and Venice
Drive or take a rideshare west to Santa Monica. The Santa Monica Pier is a well-known landmark with an amusement park, an aquarium, and unobstructed views along the coastline. From there, the beach path leads south toward Venice, where the Venice Beach Boardwalk draws street performers, artists, and vendors most days of the week.
The transition from Santa Monica into Venice is gradual and walkable along the beachfront. The canal neighborhood a few blocks inland from Venice Beach is a quieter residential area worth a short detour if time allows — the canals themselves are a remnant of the original development plan for the area and feel quite different from the boardwalk scene nearby.
Evening
The Westside has a wide range of dining options concentrated in both Santa Monica and Venice, covering many cuisines and price points. For more detailed dining context, see the Where to Eat in Los Angeles guide.
Day 2: Downtown Los Angeles and the Neighborhoods
Morning: Downtown
Downtown Los Angeles rewards a full morning on foot. Start at Grand Park, a public green space that runs from City Hall toward the Music Center and provides a good sense of the downtown's scale. The Broad, a contemporary art museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) are both within walking distance of each other in this part of downtown and represent two of the city's more prominent collections of modern and contemporary work. Check each museum's official website for current ticketing and hours before your visit.
Grand Central Market, a food hall that has operated in this location since 1917, is a few blocks away and makes a practical and interesting midday stop. Nearby, Angels Flight — a short funicular railway connecting Hill Street to Bunker Hill — is one of the more recognizable small landmarks in the downtown area. Check current operating status before visiting, as service has historically been intermittent. The Bradbury Building, with its ornate Victorian commercial interior, is open for self-guided ground floor visits during business hours and is worth the few minutes it takes to step inside.
Union Station, a few blocks north and east, is worth a stop for the architecture alone. Olvera Street, one of the oldest parts of Los Angeles, is adjacent to the station and offers a different perspective on the city's layered past.
Afternoon: Mid-City and Museum Row
Head west on the Metro or by car to the Mid-City area. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is one of the larger art museums on the West Coast, with collections spanning thousands of years and dozens of cultures. The La Brea Tar Pits, located immediately adjacent to LACMA, are a genuinely unusual attraction — active fossil excavation has been ongoing at this site for over a century, and it's one of the few places in a major American city where you can watch paleontological work in progress. Check each institution's official website for current hours and any ticketing requirements.
The Original Farmers Market at Third and Fairfax, which has operated since 1934, is a short drive from the museum strip and offers a relaxed spot to browse food stalls and shops in the late afternoon before the dinner hour.
Evening
The Arts District, east of downtown, has become a focal point for restaurants and bars in recent years. Silver Lake and Los Feliz, both north of downtown and east of Hollywood, are neighborhoods with dense concentrations of independent restaurants and coffee shops that tend to stay active into the evening. All three areas are reachable by Metro or rideshare from the Mid-City museum corridor.
Day 3: Coast, Mountains, and Open Space
Morning: Malibu and the Pacific Coast Highway
Head out early to beat traffic on the Pacific Coast Highway heading northwest from Santa Monica. Malibu stretches for roughly 21 miles along the coast and encompasses a string of public beaches with varying terrain and conditions. El Matador State Beach, located in the western portion of Malibu, is a popular destination for its rock formations and cove access — parking is limited and fills quickly on weekends and holidays, so arriving early matters. Point Dume State Beach, continuing further along the coast, has a bluff trail with views of the Santa Monica Bay. Both beaches are publicly accessible, though confirm current parking conditions and any access requirements on the California State Parks website before you go.
Afternoon: Santa Monica Mountains or Exposition Park
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, managed in part by the National Park Service, spans a large area between Los Angeles and the coast and is one of four National Park Service sites in or near the city. Topanga State Park, accessible from either Topanga Canyon or the coast side, has trail networks ranging from short loops to longer ridge routes that offer a genuine sense of distance from the city even though the urban edge is never far away. The NPS and California State Parks websites have current trail conditions and any permit or parking requirements.
For a different kind of afternoon — particularly if the morning was already spent outdoors — Exposition Park in South Los Angeles is a practical alternative. It houses the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Science Center, home to the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Both are substantial institutions that could easily fill several hours. Check each organization's website for ticketing, hours, and any timed-entry requirements.
Evening
After a day outdoors, the Culver City area — conveniently situated between the Westside and downtown — has a concentrated dining and bar scene that tends to be somewhat more low-key than Hollywood or beachside Santa Monica on weekend evenings. It's also a reasonable stopping point on the way back from either Malibu or Exposition Park.
Practical Notes
Los Angeles has more than 660 mapped attractions, museums, and historic sites, along with thousands of dining options spread across its many distinct neighborhoods. Three days gives you a solid cross-section of the city, but it leaves significant portions unexplored — that's worth keeping in mind when setting expectations.
For help deciding when to come, the Best Time to Visit Los Angeles page covers seasonal patterns, marine layer conditions, and event-season crowding. Common questions about logistics, transit, and neighborhoods are addressed in the Los Angeles FAQ.
As with any large urban area, ordinary situational awareness applies throughout — keep an eye on your belongings in crowded spots like the Walk of Fame or the pier, be mindful of your surroundings when exploring unfamiliar neighborhoods at night, and check current conditions for any outdoor area you plan to visit, particularly after wet weather when trail conditions can change quickly.
For a deeper look at specific landmarks and attractions across the city, the Top Landmarks in Los Angeles and Best Things To Do in Los Angeles pages offer more detail organized by category and area.