Lady’s Downtown Los Angeles Guide

Today I want to bring you my guide to the best of Downtown Los Angeles. Often abbreviated DTLA, this part of the City of Angels is one of the most exciting places in California.

Downtown Los Angeles

San Francisco and Los Angeles have always been rivals. Like Sydney and Melbourne, their geographic proximity belies their cultural competition.

Having grown up in the former, I naturally side with San Francisco in the perennial debate over which city is superior. But some parts of LA challenge my belief, and Downtown Los Angeles is one of them.

STILE Downtown Los Angeles Hotel

I arrive knowing very little about this part of the city, having only explored Santa Monica and bits of Hollywood on previous trips to Los Angeles.

But several things win me over, the first of which is the STILE Downtown Los Angeles hotel.

The hipster, no-frills vibe means my room has exposed concrete walls and patchwork felt on the bedspread, but everything I need—from a desk to a bathrobe—is present.

The simplicity of the rooms is offset by the buzzing rooftop bar, which has spectacular views over Downtown Los Angeles.

And that’s to say nothing of its historic 1920s theater, an opulent 1,600-seat number modeled after a church in Segovia, Spain. It’s the former United Artists Theater, and it’s now a concert venue.

Things to Do in Downtown Los Angeles

Beyond the walls of the theater, Downtown Los Angeles is experiencing a renaissance of its own. What used to be a district in decline is now a diverse neighborhood with new venues popping up everywhere.

I learn this on a walking tour with travel writer Eric Hiss, who points out everything from famous Banksy street art to filming locations like The Bradbury Building. Movies like Blade Runner were made here.

But my favorite place in Downtown Los Angeles is The Last Bookstore. What used to be a bank is now a high-ceilinged literary temple with solid white columns interspersed among the shelves.

Upstairs, a perimeter gallery is home to the Spring Arts Collective as well as a secret maze of bookshelves. Some are arranged by color, while others form tunnels large enough to walk through.

It’s both amusing and enchanting, and I feel like Alice in Wonderland as I explore.

Down the street is one of the most famous highlights of Downtown Los Angeles. The Grand Central Market has been open since 1917, and contains a mix of vegetable vendors, food stalls, and yuppie cafes like Eggslut.

The market is a great metaphor for the city’s diversity and the neighborhood’s revival, and I as sample the jams at one shop, I eye classic dishes from El Salvador a few stalls down.

I would love to stay for lunch, but the next stop on my tour of Downtown Los Angeles is Bar Ama, one of the neighborhood’s many great restaurants.

The Mexican food here is as good as the best in San Francisco, and as I feast on fresh guacamole and fajitas, I wonder whether I’ve been too hard on LA all these years.

I feel the same way as I indulge in a bit of celebrity spotting in LA. I attend a Lakers game one night, and from my seat in the Stubhub box, I spot Jack Nicholson.

Also in attendance is celebrity chef Roy Choi, whom I serendipitously met a few days earlier while having lunch at one of his restaurants.

Beyond DTLA

Venturing out of Downtown Los Angeles one evening, I spot Christopher Plummer (of The Sound of Music fame) at the Beverly Wilshire hotel (of Pretty Woman fame) while having drinks at THE Blvd bar.

I even get to meet TV chef Curtis Stone at a dinner in his Maude restaurant in Beverly Hills.

On my way out of Downtown Los Angeles, I stop at a coffee shop in the Arts District. This place is famous for roasting its own beans and denying its patrons sugar (only espresso and milk here; these guys are serious about their coffee).

Downtown Los Angeles: The Verdict

As I sip my latte, I realize that I may have been wrong about LA all these years. While I once brushed the city off as a giant strip-mall-lined traffic jam, I have to admit that there’s a lot more to Los Angeles than I allow myself to give it credit for.

But San Francisco is still the best city in California. Obviously.

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