JSLALALAND

BEFORE YOU LAND

Every LA Itinerary

3, 5, 7 and 14+ days, plus four themes (art lover, girls' trip, couples, family), one version per page. Pick your pace. One rule runs through all of it: one area a day.

Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.

Key points

Full text

  1. How to do LA

    3 days to 14, besties to couples: pick your number of days first, then the kind of traveler you want to be.

  2. LA is not a city. It’s an ocean of cities.

    One area a day, play it in a straight line, three main stops max a day, and save golden hour for the prettiest spot.

  3. 3 days: the highlights

    The Westside coast, Hollywood + Mid-City, and DTLA to close. Three days in LA is the trailer, not the movie.

  4. 5 days: the classics

    The first-timer standard: the coast, the middle, an artsy day, Pasadena + 626, then pick Malibu or a theme park.

  5. 7 days: going deeper

    A week is just right: you start to feel like a local. Five days to lay the groundwork, then add theme parks and free-theme days.

  6. 14+ days: the home-base version

    Stop visiting LA and start living in LA. Week two radiates outward, and you save the rest of the days for just living.

  7. Picked your number of days? Now pick your persona

    Arts lovers, girls' trips, couples and families: the same LA, four different movies.

  8. LA has more museums than beaches

    The Getty, LACMA, the Academy Museum, DTLA's old architecture, The Huntington and academic Pasadena.

  9. The only KPI: +500 photos in your camera roll

    Photos, shopping, matcha, rooftops, sound baths, 626 Night Market and a Trader Joe's restock.

  10. Live out La La Land

    A classic DTLA opener, a romantic recharge at Griffith, cinematic Pasadena and the Malibu coast.

  11. The no-tears version, for grown-ups and kids

    Santa Monica, Disneyland, the Science Center, Universal / LA Zoo, Griffith and 626: plan a little less, eat a little more ice cream.

  12. Pick the area first, then the hotel

    Santa Monica, WeHo, Beverly Hills, DTLA, Pasadena / SGV: stay in the wrong area and you add two hours of traffic every day.

  13. Whatever the version, these five rules don't change

    Don't zigzag across areas, don't count drive time as zero, don't pack the day with no breathing room. A better LA is usually just a less chaotic LA.

  14. This guide is the skeleton; the full story is in the new book

    Routes, sights, where to stay, Vegas and a La La Land filming map, all in one book.

Places in this story

Read it with the slides →The illustrated version on the LA Guide →

An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).