Cool again: 7 essential things to do in downtown LA

Things are looking up in downtown L.A. The city’s urban core, once a place to drive through or around en route to more desirable points of interest such as Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Pasadena, is becoming hip again. And while people have been saying that for years, the opening of the new Broad Museum is cause to officially declare thearea a hot spot. Here is the best of things to do in downtown Los Angeles (and it’s just the tip of the iceberg).

ALSO: Essential things to do in Las Vegas during the day

Photo courtesy of the Ace Hotel

1. Rest up at the Ace Hotel

Leave it to the Ace, the mini-chain of boutique hotels that have long been a magnet for creative types, to pick downtown instead of alt enclaves such as Los Feliz or Silverlake for their L.A. digs. Housed inside the historic United Artists Building, the Ace Los Angeles has it all. Dare to make your way to the rooftop pool where the young and beautiful soak up the city’s plentiful rays or bid adieu to the sun completely by curling up in one of the Ace’s cozy crash pads—who uses the word room anymore?—or inside the Ace’s darkened movie theater. FYI, the aged gouda gougeres at onsite restaurant LA Chapter are pretty awesome.

2.  Stock up at Alchemy Works

Downtown L.A. is full of lofty spaces and even loftier ideas. Enter Alchemy Works, a combination retail, gallery and events space housed in gorgeous room featuring vaulted ceilings, exposed brick and beams and concrete floors. Get fitted for a pair of chic Warby Parker frames, peruse the fine selection of housewares and pick out something for your bungalow or find a new dress for that Oscars party. Best of all, lots of the brands this Arts District winner carries are California based.

Photo courtesy of  James Martinez

3. Cozy up in the Last Bookstore

While this bookstore’s been around downtown since 2009, the store’s tagline “What are you waiting for? We won’t be here forever,” hints that now is as good a time as any to visit. And in a city where you’re considered pretentious if they’re caught reading anything other than a screenplay, the Last Bookstore is always a breath of fresh air. This cavernous and artfully designed new- and used bookstore is the largest of its kind in the state of California and does for books what Amoeba does for records (which it also sells).

4. Fill up at Pie Hole

The say Angelenos are flaky, but this sweet and savory Arts District pie shop takes it to a whole new level. The cute-as-a-button storefront is just big enough to allow the kind of elbow room essential in this spread out metropolis while also offering a cozy respite from downtown’s hustle and bustle. The savory pies are mighty fine and include hearty numbers like Swiss and leek quiche and chicken ‘n’ cornbread, but a beeline for the sweet offerings is understandable and the Mexican chocolate is definitely a winner. Fly away with a pie: A new location just opened at LAX. Yummy.

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Photo courtesy of the Standard Hotel

5. Drink up at the Standard Downtown L.A.

If the standard (pun intended) bearer of urban cool deems downtown to be a worthy destination than it must be one. Housed in a landmark mid-century building that was formerly the headquarters of Superior Oil, the Standard Downtown revels in a chill West Coast vibe that includes Spin Standard—the on-site ping pong club featuring eleven tables—a rooftop pool and German biergarten, a 24-hour diner styled like mid-century and a fire pit for those “chilly” nights when temperatures drop into the upper 50s. The rooms are no slouch either; check out the WOW! suites.

The Broad | Flickr CC: Jay Sterling Austin

6. Art up at the Broad

A new darling to the city’s cultural scene, the Broad (named for philanthropist Eli Broad) opened in mid-September as a free contemporary art museum. Not to be confused with the Museum of Contemporary Art, which happens to sit directly across the street (and is also fantastic, by the way), the Broad was designed with a mesmerizing, honeycomb-like facade. In addition to housing the works of contemporary masters such as Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Barabara Kruger and Robert Rauschenberg, equally exciting is the adjacent Broad Plaza, a welcoming urban respite.

Walt Disney Concert Hall | Flickr CC: Milo and Silvia

7. Listen up at Walt Disney Concert Hall

The Mouse got a new house in 2003 when the Los Angeles Music Center opened its fourth hall and named it after Walt in honor of donor and wife Lillian Disney—who passed away in 1997. Home to the Los Angeles Philarmonic orchestra among others, its crowning achievement might bet its shiny exterior, a swooshing collection of shiny sails designed by architect Frank Gehry and add even further distinction to a city that knows few architectural limits. We hear the acoustics, designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, are amazing.

Tagged: California, Hotels