Top 10 Los Angeles

During the past few years, I've become increasingly convinced that L.A. is one of the most interesting cities in America. Unfortunately, much of what is there is overshadowed by ersatz "attractions" like Disneyland and Universal Studios. This guide overcomes that problem by focusing upon different areas of interest and then listing the top 10 attractions within each area. Yes, Disneyland and Universal Studios are still covered, but so are the numerous museums, architectural landmarks (this book first made me aware of the Bradbury Building), parks, restaurants and hotels. Despite the enormous amount of material covered, the guide is compact enough to easily fit in a pocket or purse, yet still offers attractive graphics and intuitive organization. I bought Fodor's guide at the same time, but despite its greater amount of text, found that I used the Top 10 Guide virtually exclusively. The 10 to 12 pages on Pasadena are quite good. Pasadena is a city worth a visit, especially the Norton Simon Museum which offers a fine collection of art in a peaceful, uncrowded setting. Highly recommended. Since "The Loved One" has just come out on DVD, I especially wanted to visit Forest Lawn, the cemetery satirized in that film. Interestingly, none of the guide books I scanned provided directions, although the Top 10 Guide does provide directions to the Hollywood cemetery where some of the top stars are buried. As it turned out, there are six Forest Lawns scattered about the LA area, with the Mother Church being on the west side of Glendale along I-5 [Los Feliz exit]. Well worth a visit. Since I visit LA on a regular basis, I plan to use this book a lot in the future, but to augment it with other, special purpose (e.g., architectural) guides. If you can find a copy, there's a fine book about LA, L.A. Lore: A Scintillating Exploration of Los Angeles by Stephen Brook, that provides a narrative overview of the city. Brook is an English journalist who came to LA in 1990 with an excellent list of contacts, and visited virtually every section of the city. His observations are intelligent and generally unbiased.

I took this guide book with me on my first visit to LA recently. I was interested in doing all of the typical tourist things. This book was indispensable. I also bought Frommer's guide book and I never opened it. I rented a car and traveled through LA. I was driving alone and the maps in this book were a huge help. They are very detailed and held up through being thrown in the car and in and out of bags. The pictures are great. The decriptions are short and to the point. I also loved the size of this book. It is small enough to easily carry in a larger purse or backpack. I didn't use the Top 10 book to plan my trip - only what to do and where to go when I got there. A more detailed book might serve you better if you need help decided where to stay and what hotels to use. You can't go wrong with this guide book - it is really the only guidebook you need for LA.

I've lived in LA for 5 years and the 1st edition of this book is how I truly got to discover this city. I own around a dozen LA guide books - some general, some specific to topics like food or architecture. If there ever was an all-in-one guide book for LA it tis he LP LA book. Far more detailed than the LA section of the LP California guide, it's full of maps, historical & architecure walking tours, restaurant recommendations, local history, and wacky places of the beaten path.My only complaint is that future additions weren't as user friendly as the 1st edition. This is basically due to switching from color pages (and color maps) to black and white. The initial "best" of LA list changed, as well. I gave away my new edition and just held onto my old worn copy from '99.

Well written, great maps, and excellent suggestions. This guide met every 'guide-need,' helped me appreciate LA and want to return asap.

When i got this book i immedeatly loved it, it is chock-full of info on L.A. and i whole-heartily reccomend it, ands there's some great color maps in the back.