View List On Map cancel
More Top 10s
- Museum Exhibits
- Unusual Things to Do
- Offbeat Activities
- Outdoor Attractions
- Parks
- Religious Sites
- Romantic Things to Do
- Places to Shop
- Things to Do Near Downtown
- Things to Do Near Griffith Park
- Things to Do Near Pasadena
- Things to Do Near UCLA
- Walking Tours
- Aquariums
- Helicopter Tours
- Entertainment
- Golf Courses
- New Tourist Attractions
- Nature & Wildlife
- Outdoor Activities
- Recently Updated Things To Do
- Recreation & Natural Areas
- Spas
- Sports Attractions
- Things to Do Around Los Angeles
- Things to Do Near Chinese Theater - Hollywood
- Things to Do Near Convention Center / Staples Center
- Things to Do Near Dodger Stadium
- Things to Do Near LAX Airport
- Things to Do Near Long Beach Airport
- Things to Do Near Manhattan Beach
- Things to Do Near Rodeo Drive - Beverly Hills
- Things to Do Near Santa Monica Pier
- Things to Do Near Universal Studios
- Things to Do Near Venice Beach
- Transfers
- Wine Tastings
- Ask a Local
- Locals have answered 55 questions about Los Angeles.
- Ask Los Angeles Locals
-
-
-
1. Hollyhock House
- Art house
-
- Landmarks
- Los Feliz/Silver Lake/Echo Park
- Nile Expert Tip: Tours of the house are offered Wednesdays through Sundays at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 & 3:30 PM. The cost is...
user rating -
-
-
2. La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum
- Ice Age Fossils on Display
-
- Museums
- Miracle Mile/Fairfax District
user rating -
-
-
3. Museum of Jurassic Technology
- One-of-a-kind museum
-
- Museums
- Culver City
user rating -
-
-
4. The Bradbury Building
- Futuristic Victorian Interiors
-
- Landmarks
- Downtown/Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown
user rating -
-
-
5. Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park
- Nations best known folk art sculpture
-
- Landmarks
- South Central/Compton
user rating -
-
-
6. Sunset Boulevard & The Sunset Strip
- Where The Sun Never Sets
-
- Attractions
- Hollywood/West Hollywood
-
-
-
7. Fern Dell Trail
- (also known as Ferndell) Short shady walk along a stream featuring 50 types of ferns
-
- Walking
- Los Feliz/Silver Lake/Echo Park
-
-
-
8. Farmer John Mural
- Folksy farm art decorating a large slaughterhouse
-
- Attractions
- South Central/Compton
user rating -
-
-
9. Skeletons In The Closet
- Gift store at the coroner's office.
-
- Shopping
- East Los Angeles
-
-
-
10. Lake Shrine
- Home of Gandhi's ashes
-
- Religious Sights
- Santa Monica/Beach Cities
user rating -
-
-
The Best of NileGuide
-
If you are looking for cool things to do, Los Angeles is a fertile hunting ground for offbeat, unusual and generally awesome activities and places. It seems that the allure of the laid-back alternative lifestyle here in Southern California has been like fly paper for oddball personalities and their sometimes obscure pass-times. The result is the accumulation of cool and weird stuff in the area.
This list starts with the Hollyhock House, a major work by the genius Frank Lloyd Wright, who operated his office out Los Angeles during the 20s and 30s and is responsible for a large number of buildings in the area. The Hollyhock House is notable for its Mayan influences; it also directly anticipated Frank Lloyd Wright's well-known textile block houses.
A more humbler builder is present via locale number five, the Watts Towers. Simon Rodia labored for more than 30 years to build this world famous example of vernacular architecure/outsider art. Adjacent to the towers is the Watts Towers Art Center.
The rest of this top 10 list continues with various idiosyncratic locales. Locale number three, the Museum of Jurassic Technology, is famous for helping to revive the cabinet of curiousities movement. Ghandi's ashes can be found at locale number ten. And in number six, I have included the famous Sunset Strip, a fun and energy-filled place to visit (although parking can be hard to find).
