VRA LA 2019: Walking Tours of LA & Beyond
Hope you signed up for some of the wonderful tours that the local planners put together for the LA conference. It’s not too late to add tours to your conference registration. Please contact the VRA membership services coordinator (join@vraweb.org) for assistance. These specially organized tours are filling up fast and are first-come, first-served, but there may still be room if you want to decide upon arrival, so check at the registration desk.
In your conference registration tote bag, you’ll find many goodies and a lot of information about local attractions, which are also listed on the VRA conference map. After you’ve worked on the historic map of LA jigsaw puzzle during session breaks, you’ll surely be inspired to venture out! If you are itching to explore on your own, you might check out some of these self-guided walking tours. We have also included a few that are docent led. Most are free, but check the websites for more information. And, if you are looking for a nature break, there are many hiking trails just outside the city, too.
- A good way to get familiar with the area around our conference hotel is to take this public-art-focused self-guided Little Tokyo tour.
- Some travel bloggers have designed thoughtful and comprehensive self-guided walking tours of Downtown LA, such as this one from A Globe Well Travelled, and this photographer’s DIY walking tour of DTLAfrom Explore Your Worlds.
- Walt Disney Concert Hall (the iconic Frank Gehry building) has a well-organized and accessible self-guided tour, complete with audio.
- The LA Central Library offers this self-guided tour (which you may want to print out in advance), as well as free daily docent-guided toursof this renovated 1926 Bertram Goodhue landmark.
- Metro Art Moves has free docent-led art tours of Union Station, Hollywood, Downtown, and the Gold Line (tours include TAP cards for the transportation portions).
- Angels Walk LA lists several self-guided historic walking trails in DTLA and beyond. They have comprehensive guides to download, and stanchions throughout the city as landmarks.
- The LA Conservancy, in addition to offering terrific organized guide-led tours, has a great list of self-guided tours you can print out in advance (including the Charlie Chaplin City Lights tour!)
- GPS My City is a useful app that lets you download walking tours by neighborhood. Some of the dozens of interest-specific tours include:
- Art Galleries in LA
- Museums in LA
- LA Architecture
- Movie Studios in LA
- Beverly Hills Leisure Walk
- They also offer many more offbeat tours such as Venice Beach Gawk and Walk and Hollywood: Raymond Chandler, as well as self-guided driving tours, such as The Best Thing I Ever Ate, LA!
- You can even create your own DIY Sightseeing Map!
- Free Tours by Foot offers self-guided tours of DTLA and Hollywood. (And, if you just have to do it, a self-guided driving tour of celebrity homes!) They also have pay-what-you-can guided tours.
- Real Los Angeles Tours offers several organized fee-based tours (such as DTLA Murder Mystery Ghost Tour) in addition to free self-guided walking tours of DTLA, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills.
- Downtown LA Food Tours offers a way to taste your way through the hidden gems and history of Los Angeles. These tours are guided and tickets range from $60-75.
- Hiking needs a bit of planning but is well worth it. Venturing to trailheads requires a car or intrepid use of public transportation, but if you have the time, you won’t be disappointed! Here are some of the most beautiful hikes in the LA area. Hiking enthusiasts can browse the HikeSpeak website for detailed information and trail reports.
Contributors:
Krystal Boehlert
Local Planning Coordinator, VRA LA 2019
Visual Resources Specialist, University of California Riverside
Maureen Burns
Development and Tour Coordinator, VRA LA 2019
IMAGinED Consulting and Archivision
Jackie Spafford
Local Planning Committee Member, VRA LA 2019
Image Resources Curator, History of Art and Architecture, University of California/Santa Barbara