Where to stay in Los Angeles: choosing a base in a spread-out city

Los Angeles is less a single city than a sprawl of neighbourhoods and separate cities spread between the mountains and the Pacific. Downtown and Santa Monica are about 25 km (15 miles) apart, and the drive can take half an hour or well over an hour depending on traffic. That makes your choice of base more important than in most cities: pick the area that matches what you'll do most, and on a longer trip consider splitting your stay.

The quick answer

• First visit with the beach on your doorstep: Santa Monica.
• Beach character and quick airport access: Venice and Marina del Rey.
• Classic sights and the subway: Hollywood.
• Nightlife and design hotels: West Hollywood.
• Luxury, quiet streets and the Westside: Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood.
• Museums, music and rail connections: Downtown.
• A calm, historic base for families: Pasadena.
• Theme parks: Universal City and Burbank, or Anaheim for Disneyland.
• Early flights: the hotels around LAX.

Santa Monica: the beach and the pier

Santa Monica is its own city on the coast. The pier has a small amusement park and the sign marking the end of Route 66, Palisades Park runs along the clifftop above the beach, and the pedestrian Third Street Promenade is lined with shops. A beach path for cyclists and walkers runs south to Venice and beyond, and the E Line light rail runs to downtown in under an hour.

Good for: first-time visitors who want sea air, families, walkers and cyclists. Consider: it's among the most expensive places to stay, Hollywood and Pasadena are a long drive away, and the coast is often grey and cool in May and June.

Venice and Marina del Rey

Venice, just south of Santa Monica, is the city's bohemian beach: a boardwalk of street performers, the outdoor gym at Muscle Beach, quiet residential canals and the boutiques of Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Next door, Marina del Rey is built around a large harbour for small boats, with bigger, quieter hotels.

Good for: beach life, younger travellers and cyclists; Marina del Rey suits travellers who want to be close to LAX. Consider: Venice has few hotels, mostly small properties and rentals, and the boardwalk feels rough around the edges after dark. Neither area has a rail station.

Hollywood: the classic sights

Hollywood Boulevard has the Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theatre with its forecourt of handprints in cement, and the theatre that hosts the Academy Awards. The Hollywood Bowl amphitheatre sits in the hills just north, and Griffith Park and its observatory are a short drive north-east. The B Line subway links Hollywood with downtown and Universal City.

Good for: first visits, sightseeing, subway links and mid-range hotels. Consider: the boulevard is crowded, touristy and gritty, especially late at night. Repeat visitors often prefer the Eastside neighbourhoods of Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Echo Park, with cafés, independent shops and a few boutique hotels.

West Hollywood: nightlife and design

West Hollywood is a small separate city between Hollywood and Beverly Hills. The Sunset Strip has music venues, comedy clubs and rooftop bars, Santa Monica Boulevard is the heart of the city's LGBTQ+ nightlife, and Melrose Avenue and Robertson Boulevard are known for design showrooms. By LA standards it's walkable.

Good for: nightlife, couples and design lovers. Consider: rates are high, hotel parking adds to the cost, and the nearest subway stations are on Wilshire Boulevard to the south, a bus or taxi ride away.

Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood

Beverly Hills has Rodeo Drive, grand hotels and quiet streets lined with palms. Century City next door is a cluster of office towers, business hotels and a large shopping centre. Further west, Westwood is the village beside UCLA, with the Hammer Museum; the Getty Center sits in the hills a short drive away.

Good for: luxury, shopping, quiet nights and Westside sights. Consider: it's expensive and spread out. The D Line subway is being extended west along Wilshire Boulevard to Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood in stages, so check which stations are open.

Downtown: culture and connections

Downtown LA has the concert halls and museums of Grand Avenue on Bunker Hill, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, plus the Grand Central Market food hall, Little Tokyo and the Arts District. Olvera Street marks the city's historic core, beside Union Station, opened in 1939. The convention centre and the main arena are in South Park.

Good for: museum-goers, music lovers, business travellers, concerts and games. Most Metro rail lines meet here, and rates are often better value than on the Westside. Consider: some blocks are empty after office hours, and visible homelessness is common, especially east of the centre. Many visitors choose hotels on Bunker Hill, in the financial district or in South Park, and take a taxi late at night.

Pasadena: historic and relaxed

Pasadena is a separate city about 15 km (10 miles) north-east of downtown. Old Pasadena's restored brick blocks are full of shops and restaurants, the Norton Simon Museum has a notable art collection, and the Huntington, with its library, art museum and botanical gardens, lies in neighbouring San Marino. Caltech is here too, and the A Line light rail runs to Union Station.

Good for: families, art and garden lovers, and anyone who prefers a small-city feel. Consider: the beach is far away, summers are hotter than on the coast, and the Rose Parade on New Year's Day and big Rose Bowl games fill hotels.

Universal City, Burbank and Anaheim

Universal City, just over the hills from Hollywood, has the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and studio, with hotels beside it and a B Line station. Neighbouring Burbank has studio tours and Hollywood Burbank Airport. Disneyland is in Anaheim, in Orange County, about 40 km (25 miles) south-east of downtown and often an hour or more away by car, so families focused on the parks usually stay there.

Good for: theme-park trips and travellers using Burbank airport. Consider: evenings are quiet away from the parks, and the beaches are a long way off.

How the areas compare

Area	Feel	Metro rail	Best for
Santa Monica	Beachy, polished	E Line	Beach, first visits
Venice / Marina del Rey	Bohemian / harbourside	None	Beach life, LAX
Hollywood	Busy, touristy	B Line	Sights, transit
West Hollywood	Stylish, lively	None (buses)	Nightlife, design
Beverly Hills / Westwood	Upscale, quiet	D Line extensions under construction	Luxury, UCLA, the Getty
Downtown	Urban, cultural	Most lines	Culture, business
Pasadena	Historic, relaxed	A Line	Families, museums
Universal City / Anaheim	Theme parks	B Line (Universal City)	Theme parks
Near LAX	Functional	C and K lines	Early flights

Getting around

• Driving: most visitors rent a car. Traffic is heavy at rush hour and often beyond, so plan each day around one part of the city. Hotels often charge for overnight parking on top of the room rate.
• Metro Rail: most lines meet downtown at 7th St/Metro Center and Union Station. The B Line subway runs to Hollywood and Universal City, the E Line to Santa Monica, and the A Line to Pasadena and Long Beach. Pay with a TAP card or app; check current fares on Metro's site.
• From LAX: taxis and ride-hailing cars pick up at the LAX-it area, reached by a free shuttle from the terminals. FlyAway buses run to Union Station, and shuttles connect the terminals with the LAX/Metro Transit Center station on the C and K light rail lines. An airport train linking the terminals and the Metro is being built; check whether it's running.
• Other airports: Hollywood Burbank and Long Beach handle domestic flights and are often quicker to use; John Wayne Airport in Orange County is closest to Anaheim.

Practical tips before you book

• Split your stay on trips of five days or more: nights by the beach and nights in Hollywood or downtown save hours in traffic.
• Compare total prices. Hotel stays carry local taxes and assessments, some hotels add a resort or destination fee, and parking is often extra.
• Watch the calendar. Awards season, big conventions, concerts, the Rose Parade and, in July 2028, the Olympic Games push rates up.
• Weather and roads: inland areas are hot in summer, and autumn winds raise the wildfire risk. Pacific Coast Highway towards Malibu has had long closures after fires and landslides; check before you drive.
• Short-term rentals are tightly regulated: the city of Los Angeles requires hosts to register, and Santa Monica restricts stays where the host isn't present. Check the current rules.
• Never leave anything visible in a parked car.
• Going further: our guides cover where to stay in San Francisco, the Big Sur road trip and the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego.

For a first visit, choose Santa Monica for the beach, or Hollywood or downtown for the sights and the subway.

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Cover photo: The Fun Chronicles, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons