Los Angeles for 3 days with children

How to spend 3 Days in Los Angeles With Kids

We tried something new a few months ago. Instead of traveling as a family, we took each son on a mini-adventure. One parent, one child. We decided to spend a long weekend in Los Angeles for this short trip. 

We chose Los Angeles to visit for a number of reasons.

First, it’s less than 3 hours by plane from VancouverLos Angeles. Both cities are located in the exact same time zone. 

Second, this trip is primarily to see live sporting events. This means that the destination should host multiple sports teams on this weekend. Los Angeles is home of several professional sports teams. This makes it easy to get tickets to games. 

Los Angeles has so much to offer for families with children. While our primary goal is to attend sporting events, we want to also go hiking and sightseeing. Los Angeles offers something for every travel style. 

Weekend in Los Angeles itinerary

Let me begin by stating the obvious. Los Angeles has a lot to offer. There are so many things to do in Los Angeles that you could easily spend several weeks exploring the Greater Los Angeles region and still not scratch the surface. 

It is difficult for me to recommend any specific product. Los Angeles 3 days itinerary: Travel is personal. Without knowing your likes and dislikes, it’s difficult to put together a plan that works for you.

We have been to LA several times and we know how to spend the weekend. Every first-time visitor to Los Angeles must do a few things. 

Arriving Friday morning and departing Monday evening, we arrive on a Friday.

This gives us 2 full days and 2 half days. I combined the two half days to create a Los Angeles itinerary of 3 days. If you only have two or four days, you can easily add and subtract some of the Los Angeles attractions.

Here’s what we did on this trip to Los Angeles:

Travel tip – when planning your weekend in Los Angeles, it’s important to consider drive times between activities. There’s a good chance you will get stuck in Los Angeles’ infamous traffic. Even if the distance between locations appears close on the map, it’s wise to add an extra hour of travel time, just in case.

Scroll down to view our photos from Los Angeles. 

Here’s a few of the top Los Angeles attractions: 

• See the Hollywood Sign 
• Visit the Pacific Park at the Santa Monica Pier
• Venice Beach is a quirky place.
• Beverly Hills is a place of glamour and glitz.
• Walk of Fame stars along Hollywood Boulevard
• Griffith Park is a great place to hike and visit the Griffith Observatory. 
• Grand Central Market has a wide variety of food to try
• The architecture of Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Broad and The Broadway Theatres is breathtaking.
• Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood
• Hop-on-hop-off bus tour to the top Los Angeles attractions 
• Bus Tour to Hollywood and Celebrity Homes 
• Bus Tour to Hollywood and Celebrity Homes
• Universal Studios Hollywood is a great place to spend the day.

Santa Monica Pier and Pacific Park

After checking in at our hotel in Downtown Los Angeles we took an Uber to Santa Monica. We began our sightseeing tour at the Santa Monica promenade. It’s a popular shopping district in Los Angeles. 

We continued to walk through Palisades towards the Santa Monica Pier. 

The pier offers a variety of activities for children. Pacific Park on Santa Monica PierIt is the main attraction. It’s a small amusement park with rides, games, aquarium, restaurants and concessions. This is a small amusement park with rides, games, an aquarium, restaurants and concessions. 

Santa Monica Pier is also the last stop on the famous Route 66 highway.

Santa Monica Beach 

If you’re looking for some beach time, Santa Monica is arguably the most popular beach in Los Angeles. It’s a large sandy beach with facilities and parking. And, given it’s close proximity to the Santa Monica pier, there’s plenty of concessions and restaurants nearby.

Santa Monica State Beach has a huge size. In the background, you can see the Santa Monica Pier and the Santa Monica amusement park. There’s a pathway connecting Santa Monica and Venice beach. This iconic paved pathway is perfect for walking, running, biking, roller-skating, scootering or skateboarding.

We decided to walk Santa Monica to Venice Beach.

Venice Beach Boardwalk

The Venice Beach Boardwalk extends parallel to Venice Beach for a distance of two miles. In the north the Boardwalk connects with the Santa Monica Boardwalk. In the South, it ends at Marina del Rey. 

Venice is a quirky and artistic tourist destination located along the coast of Los Angeles.

It’s an interesting place to visit. However, it’s not the best location for kids. There are many bars and cannabis shops as well as questionable retail stores. We did not feel unsafe, but it’s probably better to spend time in Santa Monica if you have young kids. 

Muscle Beach Venetian Gym, the iconic Muscle beach Venice gym.

This is the Mecca for bodybuilders. We arrived just before sundown and the outdoor gym had no one in it. 

We watched the Arnold Schwarzenegger Netflix documentary before this weekend’s trip to Los Angeles. The show highlights Muscle Beach, so it gave us some context for our trip. My son was looking for the Arnold Schwarzenegger wall in Venice Beach as it featured in the show.

The Arnold mural can be found on the Muscle Beach gym (see below).

Venice Beach Skatepark has the most famed skateparks in Los Angeles.

It’s located on Venice Beach, near Muscle Beach and Roller Skate Dance Plaza. You can watch the skaters in action from a pedestrian viewing area. My son only started skateboarding last summer, so he was very excited to see this American icon. 

Venice Public Art Walls in Venice Beach 

Los Angeles Kings hockey at Crypto.com Arena

Our trip to Los Angeles is primarily to watch live sporting events.

First, there is a NHL hockey game in the Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center). The stadium can be found in downtown Los Angeles. It’s also home to the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers (although a new stadium, Intuit DomeThe Clippers are currently building a new stadium.

We watched the LA Kings take on the Philadelphia Flyers in a Saturday night game.

It’s a fun atmosphere for a hockey game. LA Live is a massive complex of entertainment located across the street from the Cyrpto.com region. It has a theatre, The Grammy Museum and several restaurants and stores.

Our seats were on the upper level and close to the center ice. It’s a nice hockey arena. 

LA Live features live entertainment and music before the game. I love that Hockeywood reference. 

Star Plaza, downtown Los Angeles: Statues

Star Plaza is located in front of Crypto.com Arena and features statues of Los Angeles’ most famous athletes and broadcasters. The Kobe Bryant Statue was not yet on display when we visited (it will be unveiled on February 8, 2024). Check out the list of all statues Here’s how to get in touch with us. 

Magic Johnson statue in Star Plaza, in front of Crypto.com Arena, in downtown Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Chargers NFL game at SoFi Stadium

Next, I’ll be visiting the impressive SoFi Stadium to watch a live NFL match between the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Detroit Lions. I’ve wanted to visit this state-of-the-art stadium since it opened in 2020.

This stadium can hold 70,000 people. It’s home to both the LA Chargers and LA Rams, who won the Super Bowl in 2022 when this stadium hosted Super Bowl LVI.

Interesting fact about this stadium – it’s actually dug into the ground. You are already on the third level when you enter the stadium. You will have to walk multiple flights down to get to the field. It’s a little disorienting the first time you enter the stadium and see the field. 

Related post – Our experience at the Rugby World Cup France

SoFi Stadium is among the most beautiful stadiums in the entire world. Even if you’re not a sports fan, it’s a fun experience attending a live game here. This is a great addition to your Los Angeles itinerary.

Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory

We decided to hike in Griffith Park to see the world famous Hollywood Sign. Uber took us from our downtown LA Hotel to the Griffith Observatory. It’s an easy landmark to add to the Uber map. 

Before the hike we briefly visited Griffith Observatory. The observatory provides a fantastic view of Los Angeles. It’s a free-admission facility located on the south side of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park.

Santa Monica Beach, and the Pacific Ocean are visible on the horizon of the above picture.

View of Hollywood Sign at Griffith Observatory. Notice the people standing on the viewing platform to the right of the photo. This area has several easy hiking paths. 

View of hiking trails in Griffith Park. Observe the Observatory at the top of the photo. 

Can you identify the Hollywood Sign?

Stay on the trail. The trails can be a bit confusing and deceiving. You have to stay on the path, so you may have to walk a long way to get back to the bottom.

Bring enough water. The trails are covered in loose gravel and dust. Wear proper footwear. It can be slippery.

Hollywood Boulevard and Walk of Fame

After your hike through the nearby Hollywood Hills, Griffith Park or Hollywood Boulevard, take a walk along the Walk of Fame. There’s actually a lot of things to do in Hollywood with kids. Every corner seems to have a theatre, escape room, or museum. 

The Hollywood Walk of Fame, a historic landmark, is made up of more than 2,765 star-shaped stones embedded in the sidewalks of 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard as well as three blocks of Vine Street. It’s one of the top free things to do in Los Angeles.

You don’t need to spend a lot of time here, unless you want to visit some of the Hollywood tourist attractions. We started at the TCL Chinese Theatre and walked east along Hollywood Boulevard. 

It’s fun reading the names on the stars. But, be cautious. It’s busy here and many tourists are walking with their eyes on the sidewalk. Collisions will happen if you’re not paying attention.

The TCL Chinese Theatre, located in Hollywood, California, is one the most popular landmarks.

Hollywood Boulevard has many museums and stores. Above photo: Look at the stars on Hollywood Boulevard. This goes on for many blocks. It’s actually pretty fun searching for famous people that you know. 

The most popular tourist attractions of Hollywood include: 

• TCL Chinese Theatre, Dolby Theatre, El Capitan & The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood
• The Hollywood Museum & Medieval Torture Museum
• Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
• Madame Tussauds Hollywood & Hollywood Wax Museum
• Ovation Hollywood shopping centre
• Paramount Pictures Studio Tour
• Hotel Roosevelt & Capitol Records Building

The Dirt Dog. I’m told this is the official hot dog of Los Angeles. 

This magical street meat comes wrapped in bacon and served with grilled jalapenos, cheese sauce and grilled peppers. It’s deadly.  

We tried one in Hollywood (above), and also after the NHL match at Crypto.com Arena.

Explore the streets of Downtown Los Angeles

Another easy free thing to do in Los Angeles is wander the streets of downtown and admire it’s architecture and landmarks. Above is the Walt Disney Concert Hall’s mind-blowing architecture. It’s worth checking out. 

Across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall is The Broad (photo below), a modern art museum with a honeycomb-like façade.

Angels Flight Railway is a historical landmark in Downtown Los Angeles’ Bunker Hill district. Learn the history of this unique and beautiful funicular Here’s how to get in touch with us.

Los Angeles has many places to eat.

Los Angeles has literally hundreds if not thousands of places to dine. The weekend itinerary will have a big impact on where you choose to eat. 

Therefore, rather then give you a long list of popular Los Angeles restaurants (that might complicate things and make you more indecisive), I’m going to give you one recommendation – Grand Central Market is located in downtown Los Angeles. 

Grand Central Market has a fun, historic atmosphere. It has every type of food option you’re looking for, and some you didn’t know you needed. View the list of vendors Here’s how to get in touch with us. 

Where to stay without a car in Los Angeles

The type of accommodation you choose in Los Angeles will depend on what you plan to do.

Los Angeles is huge. It is also known for its heavy traffic and long driving times between short distances. Because of this, it’s best to stay relatively close the Los Angeles attractions you plan to visit. 

Downtown, Hollywood Beverly Hills and Santa Monica are popular areas for Los Angeles visitors to stay. 

Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown – See more photos Here’s how to get in touch with us)

It’s a nice property that’s located close to Crypto.com arena. We chose it because of its proximity to Crypto.com arena. This location. It’s only a 5 minute walk to the stadium from the hotel.

We also like the rooftop swimming pool and large gym at this Los Angeles Hotel. 

3 days without a car in Los Angeles

We DID NOT rent a vehicle during our weekend in Los Angeles. I didn’t want the LA traffic. Most downtown hotels charge $30-40 per day for parking. 

I also didn’t want to deal the hassle of picking up and delivering the vehicle at LAX.

How to get around Los Angeles if you don’t have a car

Uber was our main mode of transportation during this short visit to LA. If my math is right, we did nine Uber trips during our short trip to Los Angeles. 

Uber was a great service. There were two trips that did go as planned.

After our hike through the Hollywood Hills.

We had to walk to a residential area to find the Uber driver’s pickup point. It took 25 minutes for a driver to arrive because of our location. It was not a big issue, but it added to the anxiety.

The second was immediately after the football match at SoFi Stadium.

The cost is approximately $30 USD to get from downtown Los Angeles to SoFi Stadium. It costs $30 USD to travel from downtown Los Angeles up to the SoFi Stadium. For the return trip the price went up to $150 USD. And it was difficult to find a chauffeur. The dynamic pricing system is based upon demand. There were thousands searching for Uber at the same moment. 

We decided to wait. I found a Sizzler near the stadium. Once we finished eating, the demand for Uber drivers had decreased. Even though it cost about $100 to return to the hotel. 

I did consider public transport to get from and to SoFi Stadium. There are no direct trains, buses or shuttles from downtown Los Angeles. I couldn’t find any. I was a little confused and overwhelmed trying to figure the public transport system out. Uber was the only option. Uber is more expensive but also more convenient. 

When is the best time to visit Los Angeles?

Is there ever a bad time to go to Los Angeles? I don’t think so.

Depending on what you’re planning to do during your Los Angeles weekend, the weather may be a consideration. Los Angeles has a high probability of having nice weather. 

In Los Angeles, the low seasons are typically spring and autumn. Spring in Los Angeles average temperatures is in the 70’s Fahrenheit (low 20’s Celsius). Fall temperatures in LA are similar.

Summer in Los Angeles average temperatures are in the mid-high 80’s Fahrenheit (25-30 Celsius). The winter months are the coolest. Temperatures are typically in the high 60’s and low 70’s Fahrenheit (15-20 Celsius). 

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Are you planning on spending a long weekend in Los Angeles, California? 

Please feel free to ask any questions in the section below. We’ll do our best to answer in a timely manner.