Los Angeles

LA's weather is famously mild year-round, which makes timing more about crowds and 'June Gloom' than temperature extremes. March-May and September-November are the best windows — warm, clear, and outside the summer's peak crowds and prices. June, despite the name, often brings a marine layer of overcast morning cloud that can persist until early afternoon along the coast, clearing further inland. Winter (December-February) is mild and the rainiest period, though rain here means occasional storms rather than sustained wet weeks. Summer (July-August) is the most crowded and priciest period at the beaches and major attractions.

A car is close to essential — LA's public transport (Metro rail and bus) has improved but still doesn't cover the city's sprawl well enough for a typical multi-neighbourhood visit. Traffic is a genuine daily planning constraint, not a cliché: the 405 and 101 freeways during rush hour (7-9am, 4-7pm) can triple a drive time, so schedule cross-town trips outside those windows wherever possible. Rideshare is a viable alternative to renting if you're staying within one or two neighbourhoods, but adds up fast for a full week of cross-city exploring. The Metro's E Line does connect Santa Monica to Downtown reasonably well if avoiding driving matters more than speed.

LA's food scene is defined by its diversity more than any single signature dish — the taco trucks and Oaxacan food of East LA, Koreatown's 24-hour barbecue, and Thai Town's genuinely excellent Thai food all rival their countries of origin. Grand Central Market downtown packs a dozen excellent independent stalls under one historic roof, a good one-stop introduction. The high end has real depth too — Michelin-starred spots like Providence sit alongside decades-old institutions like Musso & Frank Grill in Hollywood, open since 1919. Food trucks remain a genuine LA institution rather than a gimmick — some of the city's best tacos come from a truck with no fixed address beyond a social-media location update.

Santa Monica Beach is the most accessible and family-friendly; Venice Beach next door has more spectacle (skaters, bodybuilders, street performers) and less swimming appeal; Malibu further north has the best actual beach quality but requires a car and time. The Hollywood sign can't be reached directly — the closest legal approach is via Griffith Observatory's grounds or the Mount Hollywood/Lake Hollywood trails, both of which double as genuinely good short hikes with the sign as the payoff view rather than a close-up photo op. Griffith Observatory itself, free to enter, gives the best single panoramic view of the LA basin and is spectacular at sunset.