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Flights to Los Angeles (LAX) from San Francisco (SFO) on Asiana Airlines
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Asiana Airlines, which operates 2 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from San Francisco (SFO) to Los Angeles (LAX), departing between 8:35am and 1:55pm. Usually a Boeing 757-200 is flown for this route. The average travel time from San Francisco, CA to Los Angeles, CA is 1 hour and 19 minutes.*
* Some flights must be used with additional international service on this airline.
During your Los Angeles vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Griffith Observatory
Made world-famous in the film Rebel Without a Cause, Griffith Observatory's bronze domes have been Hollywood Hills landmarks since 1935. Most visitors don't actually go inside; they come to this spot on the south slope of Mount Hollywood for unparalleled city views. On warm nights, with the lights twinkling below, this is one of the most romantic places in L.A.The main dome houses a planetarium, where narrated projection shows reveal the stars and planets that are hidden from the naked eye by the city's lights and smog. Other shows take you on excursions into space to search for extraterrestrial life, or examine the causes of earthquakes and moonquakes.The adjacent Hall of Science holds exhibits on galaxies, meteorites, and other cosmic objects, including a telescope trained on the sun, a Foucault pendulum, and earth and moon globes 6 feet in diameter. On clear nights, you can gaze at the heavens through the powerful 12-inch telescope.Please note: The entire Griffith Observatory area is closed for a major renovation and expansion and will not reopen until late 2005 (possibly even later, according to rumor). However, a temporary Griffith Observatory Satellite, located just south of the Los Angeles Zoo at 4800 Western Heritage Way, hosts planetarium shows, a modest display of astronomy exhibits, and a telescope to view the moon and planets at night; public access is free. It's open Tuesday through Friday 1 to 10pm, and Saturday and Sunday 10am to 10pm. Call tel. 323/664-1181 for more information.
Museum of Tolerance
The Museum of Tolerance is designed to expose prejudices, bigotry, and inhumanity while teaching racial and cultural tolerance. Since its opening in 1993, it's hosted 3.5 million visitors from around the world, including King Hussein of Jordan and the Dalai Lama. It's located in the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an institute founded by the legendary Nazi-hunter. While the Holocaust figures prominently here, this is not just a Jewish museum -- it's an academy that broadly campaigns for a live-and-let-live world. Tolerance is an abstract idea that's hard to display, so most of this $50 million museum's exhibits are high-tech and conceptual in nature. Fast-paced interactive displays are designed to touch the heart as well as the mind, and engage everyone from heads of state to the MTV generation.
US Bank Tower (aka Library Tower)
Designed by renowned architect I. M. Pei, L.A.'s most distinctive skyscraper (it's the round one) is the tallest building between Chicago and Singapore. Built in 1989 at a cost of $450 million, the 76-story monolith is both square and rectangular, rising from its Fifth Street base in a series of overlapping spirals and cubes. The Bunker Hill Steps wrapping around the west side of the building were inspired by Rome's Spanish Steps. Gee whiz fact: The glass crown at the top -- illuminated at night -- is the highest helipad in the world.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Los Angeles area, including:
Huntley Santa Monica Beach
Housed in one of Santa Monica's tallest buildings (18 floors), this business-minded hotel offers reliable, quality accommodations with a style and attitude a notch above your average midrange chain hotel -- plus a great location, close to Third Street Promenade dining and shopping and just a stone's throw from the beach. The guest rooms offer either ocean or mountain views, a good work desk, and bathrooms with Italian marble tile; executive suites also feature terry robes and minibars. The rooftop restaurant and lounge serves "progressive" American cuisine, but the real draw is the ocean view, particularly at sunset; the lounge hosts entertainment nightly. Fun tip: Take a thrilling ride in the oceanside glass elevator (acrophobes will prefer the interior lobby elevators).
Carlyle Inn
Tucked away on an uneventful stretch of Robertson Boulevard just south of Beverly Hills, this four-story inn is one of L.A.'s best midpriced finds. Making the most of a small lot, architects have created an attractive interior courtyard, which almost every room faces, that gives the property a feeling of openness and serenity that most others in this price range lack -- not to mention good outdoor space for enjoying the free breakfast or afternoon munchies at umbrella-covered cafe tables on nice days. The well-planned, contemporary guest rooms are fitted with recessed lighting, Art Deco-inspired furnishings, firm bedding, well-framed architectural monoprints, plus nice extras like VCRs and bathrobes. Suites have pullout sofas but are only slightly larger than standard rooms, so families may be better off in a double/double or connecting rooms. The conscientious manager keeps everything in racing form. The hotel's primary drawback is that it lacks views; curtains must remain drawn at all times to maintain any sense of privacy. Still, it doesn't seem to bother the 90% repeat visitors, who know good value when they find it.
Omni Los Angeles
The Omni chain forsook its old location (now the Wilshire Grand) to assume this boxy tower at the top of Bunker Hill because, as they say, location is everything: It's adjacent to the Museum of Contemporary Art and within walking distance of the L.A. Music Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, making the Omni Downtown's best base for culture buffs. Recognizing the geographical appeal, the hotel caters to theatergoers more than any of its peers, with complimentary car service until 11:30pm (great for dinner/show evenings), late-night dining during performances, and good-value theater packages.An eager-to-please staff runs the property beautifully, and public areas enjoy a graceful air thanks to elegant accents and artworks from the likes of Jim Dine and David Hockney. The bright, spacious, and conservatively styled rooms are amenity-packed -- 25-inch flat-screen TVs, free wireless Internet access, fluffy robes -- and offer floor-to-ceiling views and oversize bathrooms with separate dressing areas; larger rooms also have a chaise, and business rooms feature an extralarge work desk with halogen task lighting and desk-level inputs (most also have a fax/copier/printer). At $35 extra for two, club-level rooms are a great value considering the accompanying freebies: continental breakfast, all-day beverages and pastries, evening cocktails and appetizers. Another reason to book a room here is the Omni's new flagship restaurant, Noé, which has been garnering high praise from the local press for it progressive American cuisine with Japanese influences. Tip: Request a room overlooking the Walt Disney Concert Hall.Facilities: Restaurant; lounge; outdoor heated lap pool; exercise room w/sauna; access to nearby health club; Omni Kids program; concierge; courtesy car within 3-mile radius; business center w/secretarial services; 24-hr. room service; babysitting; laundry service; dry-cleaning service; executive-level rooms; 24-hr. on-call physician.
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