DK Travel : Los Angeles

The myth, the velocity, the edginess in creative and technological fields – this is Los Angeles, where the multicultural future that awaits the rest of the country is already a firm reality. In little more than 200 years, LA has grown from a dusty Spanish outpost into one of the world’s largest and most complex cities offering top venues for everything from archaeology and the arts to food. The birthplace of Mickey Mouse and Hollywood, LA has shaped the imaginations of millions.

Chemosphere

John Lautner’s bold, often experimental architectural style is perfectly exemplified in this unique private home in the Hollywood Hills. Resembling a flying saucer on a single concrete column, it was built in 1960, the same year President John F. Kennedy launched the challenge to put a man on the moon. The house was featured in Brian de Palma’s 1984 movie Body Double .
Chez Melange

The menu offers a United Nations of dishes, from sushi to kebab and schnitzel.
Chiat/Day Building

Reflecting architect Frank Gehry’s sculptural approach to architecture, this 1991 building was commissioned by the advertising firm Chiat/Day as its West Coast corporate headquarters. It has as its center a three-story tall pair of binoculars designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. The pile of angled rust-colored columns on the right resembles a deconstructed forest.
Chinatown

The Chinese first settled in LA after the Gold Rush, but were forced by the construction of Union Station to relocate a few blocks north to an area that is today known as “New Chinatown.” The cultural hub of over 200,000 Chinese Americans, this exotic district has stores hawking dried and pickled ginger and lucky bamboo, the offices of herbalists and acupuncturists, and restaurants that serve hot dim sum. In February, the Chinese New Year is celebrated with colorful parades and dragon dances.
Cicada

The sumptuous Art Deco dining room in the historic Oviatt Building almost overshadows the food. The Northern Italian menu features classics.
Cinerama Dome

A Hollywood landmark and site of many a movie premiere, this white dome of interlocked triangles is LA’s most unusual movie theater. The world’s only concrete geodesic dome was built by Welton Beckett in 1963 to show Cinerama movies, a revolutionary wide-screen technique requiring three 35 mm projectors. Today, it is part of a brand new complex that also includes the ArcLight movie theaters (see ArcLight Cinemas & Cinerama Dome).
Cinespace

Watch a movie, munch on contemporary American cuisine, and on weekends, listen to a DJ spin house music.
City Hall

LA’s tallest building for over four decades, the central tower of this 1928 shiny white downtown presence was three times higher than the then height limit. A recent renovation has made it possible for the public to admire its marble-columned rotunda once again. City Hall has been immortalized on celluloid countless times, most famously as the headquarters of the Daily Planet in the Superman TV series. It was also attacked by Martians in The War of the Worlds (1954).
Ciudad

The urban jazzy pan-Latino decor here is as bold and exuberant as the food created by star chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger.
Ciudad

Settle down with a mojito (a minty rum drink) beneath the skyscrapers at one of downtown’s liveliest dining rooms. The menu blends the exotic flavors and ingredients of several Latin American cuisines into intriguing new dishes. The inexpensive cuchifrito (snack) menu served in the afternoon at the bar is great for sampling.

Jump to top

Restaurant price categories

Price categories include a three-course meal for one, a glass of house wine, and all unavoidable extra charges including tax.
- under $25
- $25–$50
- $50–$80
- over $80