Where should i stay in LA and San Francisco?

There are literally hundreds of things to do here. Here is my list of “must sees”, (that can fit in this limited space). Visit as many as you have time for:

Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth. Half a billion visitors can’t be wrong. #1 Destination.

Universal Studios: A theme park that grew out of a studio tour. #2 Destination.

Even if you don’t visit Disneyland or Universal Studios Tour, Downtown Disney District and Universal City Walk are very fun places to visit for shopping and eating. And they’re free to visit. If you’re adventurous, try the indoor skydiving (www.iflyhollywood.com). It’s a blast!

Hollywood: Enjoy the Walk of Fame, Entertainment Museum, Chinese Theatre and more. The Hollywood & Highland complex has lots of shops and restaurants, and the Kodak Theater. The El Capitan Theater, right across the street, is where Disney shows their movies. And the Hollywood Bowl is a GREAT place to listen to concerts outdoors.

Other theme parks include Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain, which are both more geared towards the fast-ride teen crowd.

Olvera Street/Union Station: Olvera Street is the birthplace of LA, and it emphasizes our Mexican heritage. In addition to the Avila Adobe (oldest building in LA), you can eat at some pretty good Mexican Restaurants, do a little shopping, and taste a churro. If you don’t want to go to Tijuana, this is as close as it gets without going there

Rodeo Drive, 90210: Packed with exclusive shops, full of gawkers. They all came to enjoy the excess. Free, unless you intend to buy something.

Venice Beach: Here you'll find Muscle Beach, street performers and tacky shops galore. Fun, VERY interesting, but I avoid it after dark, when it gets a little TOO interesting for my taste.

Santa Monica: Beach and Pier: Great beach scene and a classic seaside amusement park, complete with antique carousel that has been in a lot of TV and movies. After visiting the pier, you can ride a bike south a couple miles to Venice Beach.

Sunset Boulevard began as a route between the stars' posh neighborhoods and the Hollywood studios. It runs from downtown to the ocean, passing through the "Sunset Strip" on its way.

Farmers Market and The Grove - A new shopping complex right next to a Los Angeles landmark, It is right next to CBS, so walk across the lot to see if they are taping "The Price is Right".

Griffith Park - Home of the Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Park Observatory, Travel Town, the Greek Theatre, and Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage.

Getty Museum - The Getty's architecture is so beautiful that it keeps me fascinated. No matter whether you like their art, architecture, or view better, the Getty is sure to please. Free.

Attend a TV taping - You can get free tickets at audiencesunlimited.com, tvtix.com, or see the booth at Universal City walk. It's very interesting to see a show being taped. The most popular, by far, is the Tonight show.

Places to eat:

In-N-Out Burger: Multiple locations, best burger in LA, ask anyone.

Pink’s Hot Dogs: 709 N. La Brea, just north of Melrose. You might even see a celebrity. Maybe.

Tommy’s Chili Burgers: Look for the shack, an LA tradition. The original location is at Beverly & Rampart, a couple miles west of downtown.

Canter’s Deli: 419 N. Fairfax, between Beverly & Melrose. Near CBS, you might spot a celebrity.

Phillippe’s: 1001 N. Alameda. Great roast beef sandwiches. Near Union Station and Olvera Street.

Tito’s Taco’s: Voted best tacos in LA, even though it’s in Culver City. King Taco is a good alternate if you can deal with East LA.

The Pantry: Corner of Figueroa and 9th, downtown. Huge portions, they never close GREAT steak and eggs.

Medieval Times and/or Pirate’s Dinner Adventure: Dinner and an adventure show, both are on Beach Blvd in Buena Park, you get to eat with your hands.

Places to Stay:

Since LA is so spread out, there is no single place that is close to EVERYTHING. Most people who come here tend to stay in Hollywood, Santa Monica, or Anaheim. In Hollywood, I recommend the Orchid Suites, Hollywood Celebrity Hotel, or Hollywood Heights (formerly Holiday Inn Walk of Fame), all near Hollywood and Highland. In Santa Monica, the Holiday Inn Santa Monica is close to the pier and reasonably priced. In Anaheim, I recommend the Howard Johnson (HoJo) Anaheim, and the Candy Cane Inn. There is also a nice place in Burbank called the Best Western Media Center, very close to Warner, NBC, and Universal Studios.

Places to Shop:

Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica

The Grove, Los Angeles

Americana @ Brand, Glendale

Beverly Center, Los Angeles

Citadel Outlets, Commerce

Brea Mall, Brea

The Block at Orange, Orange

South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa

Fashion Island, Newport Beach

Santee Alley, Los Angeles

I live in L.A. I've been to SF one time but I don't know much about it.

For Los Angeles, we have lots of attractions such as Dodger Stadium, Chinatown, Downtown LA, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Little Tokyo, these are some places that are VERY close to each other. Then you have places like Santa Monica, which is where all the fun begins. There are a bunch of hotels, shopping, and dining in Santa Monica. You should visit the Santa Monica Pier sometimes, its beautiful there on a sunny day, theres these little rides where you can let children have some fun. Oh and theres this artist that sketches your portrait and everything. Then on the other side we have Hollywood where you can see the Walk of Fame. That's pretty much it :)

I wouldn't go to downtown LA- it's awful. I'd stay in Hermosa Beach. It's a lot of fun. There's a hotel called Hermosa Beach Quality Inn there that I liked.

http://www.lotsafunmaps.com/Los_Angeles/Hermosa_Be...

You'll need a car to get around in LA. In SF you can use the metro.

I like the area called the Inner Sunset District in SF:

http://www.lotsafunmaps.com/San_Francisco/Inner_Su...

I'd visit Santa Barbara if I were you. It's really beautiful:

http://www.lotsafunmaps.com/Santa_Barbara/Stearns_...

Good luck and I hope you have a great time!

It might be more fun to stay in a youth hostel than a hotel because you will meet other young people.

Go to TripAdvisor and click on "San Francisco Hotels" and "Los Angeles Hotels". The reviews of hotels written by customers will give you an exclent idea of what the hotels are really like. You can filter for area and price range.

San Francisco hotels are having a real problem with bedbug infestations right now. Check out any hotel you're considering on the bedbug registry.

Fodor and Frommers have lists of "where to go and what to see". Excellent travel guides.

I don't know much about San Francisco, so can't be of much help there. Why don't you consider staying in Hollywood in L.A. It's the center of tourist attractions, with easy access to tons of interesting sites and places.

well you are on the path of destruction already... the only people that call Los angeles LA are old overweight men with more gold around their neck than fort knox that still think that they are cool... white shoes in winter? very tacky in deed! anywhere in the bay area is ok to stay.

Stay away from Hollywood it's seedy and run down and smells like the urinals at dodger stadium.