DK Travel : Los Angeles : Places of interest

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Marina del Rey

With over 6,000 yachts and pleasure boats, Marina del Rey is the largest small-craft harbor in the world and the place to come for those seeking fun on the water. Active types could explore the harbor on kayaks. You can also catch a dinner cruise, book a whale-watching trip (January to March), or charter a sport fishing boat. Favorite landlubber activities include a sunset dinner at one of the many excellent restaurants.
Melrose Avenue

Though it has certainly seen better days, Melrose Avenue (see Melrose Trading Post) is still a haven for Hollywood hipsters and the place to stock up on vintage threads, provocative fashions, and unusual gift items. Weekend afternoons are prime time for soaking up the scene, preferably from a table at an outdoor café, delicious ice-cold frappuccino in hand.
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)

An early player in downtown’s cultural renaissance, MOCA collects and displays art in all media from 1940 to the present. Works by Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein form part of its permanent collection. The museum building, designed by famous Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, is a jumble of cubes, pyramids, and other shapes in reddish stone.
Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)

Part of Long Beach’s emerging East Village Arts District, this lively museum is the only one in the western United States dedicated to showcasing the work of artists who’ve lived or worked in Latin America since 1945. The collection offers great insight into the culture and concerns of artists from Mexico to Tierra del Fuego and every country in between. The restaurant is a lovely spot for lunch.
Museum of Television & Radio

Most people alive today have grown up watching television, one of the defining media of the 20th century. This museum, housed in a striking building by Getty Center architect Richard Meier, has made it its mission to collect, preserve, and share nearly 80 years of radio and TV history. About 120,000 programs – news to musicals, sports to sitcoms – have been catalogued and are available for viewing and listening. The museum also offers daily presentations in its on-site theaters and organizes seminars and live radio broadcasts.
Museum of Tolerance

This high-tech museum confronts visitors with issues of extreme intolerance to make them realize the need for greater acceptance in today’s world. The experience begins at the “Tolerancenter,” whose exhibits address issues such as human rights violations and the Civil Rights movement. The Holocaust section, at the core, chronicles Nazi atrocities. A new multimedia exhibit follows the lives of well-known Americans from different ethnic backgrounds.
Naples & Belmont Shore

Naples is an Italian-flavored peninsula in Alamitos Bay, which is connected by a causeway to Belmont Shore with its many shopping and dining options. Long Beach’s poshest neighborhood, Naples was dreamed up by Arthur Parsons in 1903, around the same time Abbott Kinney conceived of Venice (see Santa Monica Bay). Enjoy an authentic Venetian gondola ride (see Gondola Getaway).
Natural History Museum

It’s easy to spend a day exploring this engaging museum, the nation’s second largest of its kind. The dinosaurs always draw huge crowds, as do the dioramas of African and North American mammals, and the grisly 14.5-ft (4-m) long megamouth, the rarest shark in the world. The Gem and Mineral Hall contains a huge gold exhibit and a dazzling walk-through gem vault. Cultural exhibits explain and highlight the traditions of Native and Latin American civilizations. Children love the hands-on activities in the Discovery Center and the Insect Zoo.
Natural History Museum

This engaging museum pays homage to the entire animal kingdom, including extinct species such as the perennially popular dinosaurs. Special child-oriented facilities include the Discovery Center stocked with puppets, storybooks, and a fossil-rubbing station; and the Insect Zoo, home to a host of creepy crawlies, creatures as diverse as tarantulas, centipedes, and ants.
Norton Simon Museum

This must-see for art lovers owes its existence to Norton Simon, a hugely successful entrepreneur who amassed hundreds of masterpieces (see Artworks at the Norton Simon Museum) from the Renaissance to the 20th century, and sculpture from India and Southeast Asia. Old Masters such as Rembrandt and Goya and the Impressionists, especially Degas, as well as Renoir, Cézanne, and Monet are well represented. Frank Gehry’s recent remodel improved the lighting conditions of the exhibit space. Sculptures, including Rodin’s The Thinker , dot the gardens, inspired by Monet’s at Giverny in France.