ARRIVAL:
All European and many domestic flights
use Los Angeles International Airport - always known as
LAX (tel 310/646-5252, ) - sixteen miles southwest of
downtown. Free 24-hour shuttle buses (line "C")
connect with the LAX Transit Center at Vicksburg Avenue and
96th Street, where you can pick up local buses .
Minibuses such as LAX Chequer Shuttle (tel 1-800/545-7745,
), SuperShuttle (tel 310/782-6600 or 1-800/554-3146, ) and
Coast Shuttle (tel 310/417-3988) run all over town,
delivering you to your door. Fares are generally around
$20-30 (plus tip), with a journey time of between 30 and 45
minutes. Taxis from the airport are always expensive:
around $25 to downtown and West LA, $30 to Hollywood and as
much as $90 to Disneyland.
If you're arriving from elsewhere in the
US, or from Mexico, you might just land at one of the
other airports in the LA area - at Burbank, Long Beach,
Ontario, or Orange County's John Wayne Airport. MTA buses (tel
213/626-4455 or 1-800/COMMUTE, outside LA tel
1-800/2-LARIDE, ) serve them all - phone on arrival and tell
them where you are and where you're going.
The main Greyhound bus terminal,
at 1716 E Seventh St (tel 213/629-8401, ), is in a seedy
section of downtown, but access is restricted to ticket
holders so it's safe enough inside. LA's other Greyhound
stations handle fewer services: 1409 Vine St, in Hollywood;
11239 Magnolia Blvd, North Hollywood; 645 E Walnut St,
Pasadena; 464 W 3rd St, Long Beach; and 100 W Winston Rd,
Anaheim.
Arriving in LA by train you'll be
greeted with the Mission Revival architecture of Union
Station, 800 N Alameda St (tel 213/624-0171), on the north
side of downtown, from which you can also access the city's
MTA bus lines.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:
The sheer scale of LA - its detractors
call it "nineteen suburbs in search of a city" - means
that it really is difficult to get around without a
car. Even though the traffic is often bumper-to-bumper,
the freeways are the only way to cover long distances
quickly. If you're driving yourself, avoid traveling at
rush hours and phone ahead for directions whenever
possible. Otherwise, try to relax on the fastest
alternative, express buses .
Some people are surprised to find
sidewalks in LA, let alone pedestrians, but within
districts such as downtown, Santa Monica, Pasadena,
Beverly Hills and central Hollywood, walking is the
best way to explore.
Public transportation
Hampered by construction scandals and budget cuts, LA's
long-anticipated Metrorail train system was envisioned to
cover the whole of Los Angeles County, but is currently
made up of only three lines, each distinguished by color.
Centering on...
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Major LA bus routes (MTA)
From downtown to : Burbank Studios #96 Exposition Park
#38, #81 Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale #90, #91
Huntington Library #79, #379 LAX #42, #439 Long Beach #60
Orange County, Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland #460
(express) ...
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Cycling
Cycling in LA may sound perverse, but there are great
coastal bike paths between Santa Monica and Redondo Beach,
and nice routes at the Orange County coastline, Griffith
Park and Pasadena. More disturbingly, the LA River route
is only intended for...
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