7 Epic Places in Los Angeles Every Local Is Proud Of

The Getty Villa is absolutely stunning. It is one-half of the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the structure itself is a recreation of a Roman country house. It also contains 44,000 historical items from Greece, Rome, and Etruria, some dating as far back as 6500 B.C. About 1,200 of these objects are regularly on display in 23 galleries, including several sculptures and daily use items. The property also boasts four gardens, a Mediterranean café, and a shop with books, jewelry, and gifts.

The winding Mulholland Drive is a scenic road that cuts through the Santa Monica Mountains. A relaxed cruise along this road, complete with a good soundtrack, will make anyone proud to call Los Angeles home. David Lynch, director of 2001’s Mulholland Drive, called the road “mysterious” in an interview with Filmmaker Magazine. “It’s rural in many places. It’s curvy, it’s two lanes, it feels old. It was built long ago, and it hasn’t changed too much,” he said. “And at night, you ride on top of the world. In the daytime, you ride on top of the world too, but it’s mysterious, and there’s a hair of fear because it goes into remote areas. You feel the history of Hollywood in that road.”

Los Angeles has one of the largest public parks in the United States, and it’s right in the middle of the city. Griffith Park is 4,000 acres of trails and untamed chaparral, with highlights including the Griffith Observatory, the L.A. Zoo, and the train museum, Travel Town. Gorgeous views and a rich history have secured the park as one of Los Angeles’s most important landmarks.

One of the most beautiful beaches in the Los Angeles area is Malibu’s El Matador State Beach. Visitors can watch the sunset from the cliffs overhead or make their way down the steep path to the rocky shore and explore the sea caves.

When the hustle and bustle of city life gets to be too much, Angelenos can head to the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. Believing that everyone, regardless of faith, should have a place to be at peace, Paramahansa Yogananda founded the Self-Realization Foundation. The picturesque area is free and open to the public, and the Meditation Garden is particularly beautiful.

The views from this hilltop park are fantastic, but there’s a lot more to it than that: Barnsdall Art Park is where nature and history intersect beautifully. The park also contains the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMAG), where a half-dozen exhibits featuring a diverse array of artists are displayed each year. The park is also home to the historic Hollyhock House, designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall.