Michael Juliano

Looking for the best things to do in Los Angeles? We have you covered with the very best that L.A. has to offer. I’m a Los Angeles native and have lived here all my life, and take it from me: There’s always more to discover and explore. Whether you’re a culture vulture, an outdoorsy type or simply a lover of our fine city, you’ll find more than enough here to keep you busy. Even lifelong Angelenos can find something new to add to their to-do list, between the city’s landmark attractions, an ever-changing inventory of the best restaurants in Los Angeles, essential L.A. museums and even some off-the-beaten-path secrets. How many of the best things to do in Los Angeles will you try? Updated October 2026: Even though we’re still seeing temps in the 90s, it’s official: Things in Los Angeles have turned autumnal. We’re right in the midst of spooky season, so I’ve added lots of fall fun back into the list—think haunted houses, pumpkin-filled walks, costume parties, changing leaves and Oktoberfests. And right after Halloween, it’s time for Day of the Dead festivities across the city. October is also a great month for the arts. On October 25, Grand Ave Arts: All Access is back, filling the city’s Downtown cultural corridor with workshops, tours, live music and more. And we’re still basking in the lightsaber glow of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art’s opening. We’re also highlighting the city’s best comedy clubs, where you can catch up-and-coming comedians, and the exciting dining and

If the price of gas has finally worn you down (along with the monthly cost of auto loans and insurance plus occasional repairs and parking tickets), it might be time to (at least occasionally) break up with your car and opt for something more reasonably priced. Yes, your own car will almost always be the most convenient transit option in L.A., but it’s certainly not the most affordable one—and not necessarily always the quickest either. So we’ve decided to help you out and highlight the best cheap transportation alternatives for getting around L.A. Not too long ago, Uber and Lyft absolutely would’ve been on this list, and likely one of our go-to picks. But with prices (and often wait times) way up in recent years, we can’t recommend them as a “cheap” option anymore. We have, however, found six other options (most of them car-free) to make your way around L.A. while staying within budget, whether for everyday errands or a fun day trip.

There’s nothing better than a well-stocked bookstore with friendly staff. Los Angeles has lots of great independent retailers offering both new and used titles, art books, literary fiction, travel guides, political tomes and children’s tales. Some even have coffee shops inside—and lots have resident cats (could it get any cozier?). Check out these top indie bookstores in Los Angeles for the best bargains, out-of-print titles, author readings and community events; they’re also a great place to find gifts, escape the heat (or a rainy day) or pick out your next favorite novel.

This list is from 2024. Read our 2025 ranking or check out our latest ranking for 2026 here. In 2024, what exactly makes a neighbourhood cool? Craft breweries, natty wine bars and street art are well and good, but the world’s best, most exciting and downright fun neighbourhoods are much more than identikit ‘hipster hubs’. They’re places that reflect the very best of their cities – its culture, community spirit, nightlife, food and drink – all condensed in one vibey, walkable district. To create our annual ranking, we went straight to the experts – our global team of on-the-ground writers and editors – and asked them what the coolest neighbourhood in their city is right now, and why. Then we narrowed down the selection and ranked the list using the insight and expertise of Time Out’s global editors, who vetted each neighbourhood against criteria including food, drink, arts, culture, street life, community and one-of-a-kind local flavour. The result? A list that celebrates the most unique and exciting pockets of our cities – and all their quirks. Yes, you’ll find some of those international hallmarks of ‘cool’. But in every neighbourhood on this list there’s something you won’t find anywhere else. Ever been to a photography museum that moonlights as a jazz club? Or a brewery with a library of Russian literature? How about a festival dedicated to fluff? When communities fiercely support and rally around their local businesses, even the most eccentric ideas can become a reality.

Outdoor movies combine two things we love about L.A.: an appreciation of movie-making and spending as much time as possible outside. Alfresco screenings usually start to surge across the city in the early spring and continue into the fall and holiday season, be it atop rooftop bars, at L.A.’s best parks or even at a Hollywood cemetery. Most of our favorite outdoor series fall into two formats: Alfresco screenings where moviegoers bring their own chair or blanket and can pack together some picnic food, and rooftop ones where you’ll be offered a seat and some on-site snacks as you catch films both old and new. (If you’re looking for a fun date idea, this one takes the cake.) Be sure to check back all year long for updates on the list, as new screenings are always being added. Looking to see a new movie any night of the week? Check out the best movie theaters in L.A. or the few remaining old-school drive-in movie theaters. And for some at-home inspiration, you can always catch up on the best L.A. movies of all time. For screenings with multiple movies on a single night, each film is separately ticketed unless otherwise noted. Also, unannounced schedule changes tend to occur, but we’ll do our best to keep the list below updated on at least a monthly basis.

What does making it big in comedy look like right now? Landing a steady sitcom gig? Attracting a loyal following on TikTok? Packing folks in at your solo show? Or—if we may inflate our own egos a bit here—landing on our annual list of the comedians you need to know right now? We’ll go with that last option, of course. We’ve turned to our editors and contributors in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles to put a spotlight on the 12 stand-ups, writers and sketch performers that should demand your attention. These are the kind of performers who can singlehandedly turn around a mundane evening; they’re the folks who you see for the first time and come away thinking, “I need to catch their set again.” We chatted with each performer to find out the funniest thing about their lives right now, their go-to joke and where you can catch them live—before landing tickets to see them becomes a competitive sport. Special thanks to Joel Mandelkorn, Mandee Johnson and Teme Ring, who helped curate and craft our lists of L.A. and Chicago comedians.

Based on the sheer volume of stand-up comedy shows that happen in Los Angeles on any given night, it’s safe to say we’re the center of the comedy universe. So how do you choose where to go? (Especially as some long-standing venues have gone dark, while at the same time shows increasingly pop up in unconventional venues.) We’ve made things a bit easier by picking out the very best comedy clubs in L.A., including Sunset Strip venues where you’ll catch well-known names and live podcast tapings, plus spots ranging from an old-school haunt in West Hollywood to an intimate theater on the edge of Koreatown where you’ll find cutting-edge comedians. Bring your sense of humor, and prepare to laugh the night away at the best comedy clubs in L.A. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in Los Angeles

Los Angeles was awarded the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics way back in 2017, but now, nearly a decade later, we’re close enough that you can actually say that the next Olympics will be held in L.A. The flag is here and ticket sales have started—the Summer Games are getting close—so now it’s time to start looking ahead to where everything will actually be taking place. There are a couple of relatively dense clusters of venues, notably in Downtown L.A., Long Beach, Exposition Park and the Valley, but the Games will touch plenty of other pockets of L.A., and in some cases even outside of it—but more on that in a bit. From July 14 to 30, 2028, the Olympics will hold 353 events in 36 sports, and a month later the Paralympics will hold 560 events in 23 sports from August 15 to 27. That’s a lot of medals to witness being awarded, and you’ll need to trek between dozens of venues to see them all. Given L.A.’s aim for a “no-build Olympics,” you’ll find events taking place at plenty of familiar venues—albeit sometimes with unfamiliar names. As was the case for the World Cup, the Olympics largely drops corporate branding when it comes to venue names, so something like SoFi Stadium simply becomes 2028 Stadium. But some companies have struck deals to keep their branded venue names. Regardless, to keep things as easy to follow as possible, we’ve listed out all of the venues below with the titles that Angelenos are most familiar with; if it’s referred to by an unbranded name on LA28’s

Fall in Los Angeles is an elusive thing. There’s no nip to the air—in fact, some of the warmest (and traditionally the most wildfire-y) days occur in these months—and any dramatic color changes take place in fashion rather than on the trees. Mostly, we think of fall as that period of time in L.A. after (most of) the tourists typically leave and just before you start to see Christmas lights go up and think, already?! But even if you’re still sunning yourself on L.A.’s best beaches come October, you’ll recognize the signs: the impulse to jack up your reading list and binge Gilmore Girls, to buy sweaters you won’t wear for weeks, to throw a scarf on over your sundress or to order seasonal squash dishes. You may even start craving the best pie in the city. When those stirrings arrive, here are the best things to do during fall in L.A.—or, at least, things that’ll help make it feel like autumn is actually a thing here. RECOMMENDED: The best treehouse rentals near Los Angeles

Though small in terms of area, there are enough things to do in Chinatown to stay occupied during an afternoon stroll—and, increasingly, enough to keep you there well into the evening, whether you want to dine at a buzzy restaurant or simply watch the Central Plaza’s famous neon trim switch on. Find out why Chinatown is one of Time Out’s 40 coolest neighborhoods in the world in 2026. Chinatown as we know it today dates back nearly a century; once home to Mexican and then Italian immigrants, the neighborhood was developed into both a tourist attraction and a home for nearby displaced Chinese-American communities in the late 1930s. In more recent decades, it’s become one of the best destinations for dim sum and traditional Chinese restaurants west of the San Gabriel Valley, but also a place to encounter under-the-radar art galleries, cultural festivals and dimly lit dive bars. Where exactly is Chinatown? Chinatown roughly occupies an area between the 101 and 110 freeways and the L.A. River. Most of the major attractions are along Hill Street and Broadway, north of Cesar Chavez Avenue, but there are a couple of other notable pockets worth mentioning: a bustling nightlife scene that’s blossomed in the former industrial areas across Spring Street from L.A. State Historic Park, as well as a historic cluster on the southern edge of the neighborhood at the birthplace of the city, El Pueblo de Los Angeles. Nearest Metro stations Metro’s A Line has an elevated light rail station (China

Whether a day trip or a Metro ride away, there’s no shortage of music festivals near Los Angeles. We’re not just talking about summer music festivals either—thanks to Southern California’s (mostly) persistently pleasant climate, we can enjoy outdoor fests nearly year-round, from Coachella in the early spring to New Year’s Eve celebrations. So lace up a comfortable pair of shoes for these music festivals within driving distance of L.A., from single-day affairs to camping excursions. We’ve gathered the biggest fests below—and we’ll continue to add more as they’re announced throughout the year.

Tacos, driving shortcuts, burgers—Angelenos tend to play favorites, and Disneyland rides certainly aren’t exempt. We’re counting down the best attractions, in order, at both Disneyland and California Adventure. We’ll revisit this list each time the pair of parks reimagine or add attractions. Over the past decade, that’s meant we’ve reshuffled this list about once a year, including around the openings of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the Marvel-themed Avengers Campus. What’s new? Timed to America’s 250th birthday, Soarin’ has grounded its Over California and Around the World flights in favor of the new Across America. And earlier this year, the park refreshed Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run with a new mission that features the Mandalorian and Grogu. Last year, for Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, the park unveiled Walt Disney - A Magical Life, an attraction that’s part museum, part documentary short and part robot—yes, it features the first-ever animatronic of Walt Disney himself. It’s impressive for sure, but not quite as riveting as the other 25 picks on this list; that said, you can find our thoughts on it at the bottom of this story. What did make the list, however, is Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the Princess and the Frog–inspired reimagining of Splash Mountain that debuted in late 2024. What’s opening next? So what’s on the horizon that might make it onto this list? You’ll need to have a little bit of patience: A pair of new Avengers Campus a

While some may scoff at the idea of Grand Avenue becoming L.A.’s Champs-Élysées, we’re too busy making the most of the Downtown street’s cultural treasures to even engage in that argument. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, Grand Ave Arts: All Access finds more than a dozen institutions celebrating their Bunker Hill home with free performances, exhibitions and tours. Most of the action takes place on Grand Avenue between Temple and Sixth Streets. Highlights of this year’s event on October 24 include graffiti artmaking workshops and a pop-up market at the Broad; a chance to try instruments at the Colburn School; a sugar skull workshop and the world’s biggest pop-up book at the Los Angeles Central Library; a monster-making puppetry workshop at MOCA; and the annual Day of the Dead celebration at Gloria Molina Grand Park. Officially joining the roster this time around is the world’s first museum of AI arts, DATALAND, the brainchild of media artist Refik Anadol, which opened in June. You can get a preview of the museum’s upcoming cultural salon, Latent Space. Other participating institutions include REDCAT, the Music Center, Center Theatre Group, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Grand Performances and Metro, which has a station just off of Grand Avenue atop Bunker Hill.

South Coast Botanic Garden’s adorable dog-walking hours jump from a once-a-month treat to an every-weekend affair just during the month of October at Dogtoberfest. In addition to dog-friendly walking paths, the garden throws a bunch of Oktoberfest-style activities into the mix. For the humans, you’ll find beer stations along a Pup Crawl throughout the garden, as well as on the main lawn. That’s where you’ll find the bulk of the programming, too, including live music from Die Sauerkrauts, plus stein-holding, pretzel-tossing and yodeling contests. For the pups, expect training obstacles along the garden pathway and races on the lawn. As for the beer aspect, a VIP ticket gets you a flight of beer (or root beer) samples, a full-size beer, a pretzel necklace and a few other small perks. New this year is the dog VIP ticket, which comes with a free “dog beer” tasting (who knew that existed?), a treat, a photo of your pet and access to the VIP Top Dog Zone, complete with splash pads and doggie pools.

Street Food Cinema has put together a series of outdoor holiday screenings in the closest thing to a Dickensian town square in L.A.: Heritage Square. In between Victorian home tours, piano sing-alongs, strolls through a light tunnel and sips on hot chocolate and mulled wine, you can catch screenings—many of them double features—of flicks like Elf, Home Alone, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Muppet Christmas Carol and more. Just make sure to bundle up in your best Christmas sweater.

The Marciano Art Foundation took over an old Masonic temple on Wilshire Boulevard and turned it into a massive contemporary art museum in 2017. But by late 2019, museum and Guess co-founders Maurice and Paul Marciano announced the space had permanently closed. In 2021, famed gallerist Gagosian stepped in to program part of the grand venue, but since 2024, it’s reverted back to its original MAF form. So with that history lesson out of the way: What can you actually see here? Expect monumental installations in the spectacularly cavernous theater gallery, as well smaller, timely exhibitions on the second floor. Though the top floor once almost exclusively exhibited very recent works, it now features some more contemporary art titans from the 1990s and forward, including Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger and Yayoi Kusama.  

Yes, there’s some Star Wars to see at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, but that’s only a small slice of the collection at this spaceship-like Exposition Park institution. More than 1,300 genre-hopping figurative works are on display in the near-instantly-iconic landmark, with galleries, gardens and a striking library that are all home to filmmaker George Lucas and businesswoman Mellody Hobson’s personal collection. Though the presentation of the artwork may leave you with questions about curation and context, the overall experience is wholly worthwhile and, for better or worse, unlike any other museum. Pitched as a temple to “the people’s art” and an illustrated showcase of storytelling, the Lucas Museum is stocked with the sources of imagery you’ve seen in decades’ worth of book covers, magazine spreads, newspaper pages and films: It houses artists like Norman Rockwell and N.C. Wyeth as well as recognizable ink drawings from comic strips like Peanuts and Garfield plus genre pioneers like Jack Kirby and Frank Frazetta. Aside from the intro gallery to narrative art on the ground floor and a lofty mural space on the fifth (that includes a surprise assembly of Banksy pieces), the rest of the holdings reside on the fourth floor, broken up by theme (motherhood, community, sports), genre (fantasy, adventure, science fiction) or artist (Maxfield Parrish, Jessie Wilcox Smith, Thomas Hart Benton).  At the center of the floor, the Cinema gallery debuts with a display of Star Wars veh

“Somehow it’s a happier ending than I thought it would be—it felt so bleak,” Tacita Dean says of crafting this tribute to the then-fading format of analog film back in 2011. But now in the year of The Odyssey, Dean’s commission for the Tate Modern—restaged here at the Marciano Art Foundation’s cavernous theater gallery—feels like a triumphant touting of film’s resurgence: An 11-minute-long collage (all of the cutouts were achieved in camera) plays out on a vertically-oriented reel of 35mm film. Make sure to head up to the mezzanine viewpoint to peek into the projection booth. The show coincides with Pierre Leguillon’s selection of old advertisements that feature prominent artists promoting commercial brands, with presentations created for both the ground-floor library and the second-floor gallery.

Though its rides may not match Disneyland’s charm or Six Flags Magic Mountain’s sheer terror, Universal Studios Hollywood’s hillside theme park nevertheless offers its own amusing identity, with a few truly worthwhile thrills fueled by silver-screen memories, plus a little bit of actual Hollywood magic (and you can’t deny that it’s by far the most convenient theme park to get to for most Angelenos). There are some absolute winners here, including the Super Nintendo, Harry Potter and Jurassic World lands as well as a Fast & Furious–themed roller coaster, all of which I’ll dive into in depth below. Speaking of depths, the park is split between two main levels with a series of escalators between: On the thrill-filled lower lot, the Transformers ride is a slick but muddy crash course in Michael Bay robot carnage, while Revenge of the Mummy is a short but action-packed coaster launch through a movie property you may have otherwise forgotten. (The area is also home to the standout Nintendo and Jurassic World areas.) You’ll find a mix of 3-D movies and stage shows—of all things, Waterworld remains an entertaining highlight—on the upper lot, as well as themed areas and attractions for Harry Potter, Despicable Me and The Simpsons. Kids will appreciate Minion Mayhem and the adjacent Super Silly Fun Land, though neither are quite as engaging as you’d wish. On the other hand, The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash is easily the park’s most charming attraction, a family-friendly dark ride

Walk across the grounds of the scenic King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas as the Santa Monica Mountains hideaway is illuminated with thousands of hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns. (Fun fact: Calabasas has a pumpkin-filled history—it’s actually named after the Spanish word for the gourd: “calabaza”.) Night of the Jack returns with a reimagined mile-long trail this year, plus food trucks and a “Spookeasy,” too.  For 2026, the family-friendly event is also introducing Jack’s Carnival, with around a dozen kid-friendly rides and games, plus new lantern art, photo ops, projection mapping and a new display in the illuminated field.  Timed tickets are required each night. As is the case with all similar experiences, they’re not cheap and fluctuate ($34.50–$57) depending on the day of the week and time of night. The cheapest tickets are for the 6pm “Almost Dark” session, where you embark on the trail as it flickers to life during golden hour. The most expensive are the “anytime” tickets, which let you arrive at any point during the night—those cost up to $83. Expect to spend an hour to an hour and a half at the experience, though that could double on weekends (and closer to Halloween) when the entry crowds and food truck lines tick up.

Stroll through a mile-long trail filled with all things pumpkins, including an illuminated forest of jack-o’-lanterns, during Descanso Gardens’ annual Carved. For a month this fall (Oct 2–Nov 1), the event lines a loop of the botanical garden with pumpkins in all sorts of forms: as a sea monster rising from a pond, in thick clusters on the ground and cobbled together into a house. Last year, the event introduced a new route, and for the 2026 edition, the popular neon-hued Rhizome light sculpture will move into the dramatic Oak Grove, and the labyrinth will feature immersive new sculptures by Helsinki-based artist Alexander Reichstein. The gardens’ model trains will again be illuminated during the event. Timed tickets ($29–$52, kids 2–12 $19–$37) are on sale now. This year also sees the introduction of a new “anytime” ticket that can be used on any date—though at a pricey $85, it makes a case for just committing to a day and time. Look out for the expanded Día de los Muertos ofrenda altar near the entrance on your way to the two main jack-o’-lantern areas. The first is a forested section lined with expressively carved (but fake) pumpkins, some of which have been arranged into wonderfully whimsical characters (a crow-like scarecrow and a pumpkin holding its own head, among them). Meanwhile, there’s a pavilion in the rose garden with real gourds whose designs are inspired by pop culture characters (plus a station where you can see them being carved). There are a few familiar sig

Its past installments have found attendees stealthing their way through a Victorian home and embarking on a Blade Runner-esque bounty hunt. And now this celebrated immersive horror theater event is returning to its roots at the Beckett Manion in West Adams for its longest and most interactive play yet. Delusion, an interactive seasonal event that combines elements of immersive theater with a more story-based approach to a walk-through haunted house, will host visitors on select nights from September 17 through Halloween till November 8. This year’s theme, “Den of the Mosquito,” is set in a New Orleans brothel in the 1920s, with a cast of mobsters, monsters and vampire prostitutes. You’ll play an agent with a secret organization, and the event promises more interactivity and split paths than ever, perfect for those who want to be part of the story. Hollywood director and action coordinator Jon Braver, who hatched Delusion in 2011, has again teamed up with the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride and Dark Harbor producers Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group for this new iteration of Delusion, which returns to the West Adams mansion where the event began back in 2011. Tickets don’t come cheap (they start at $143), and the team is warning to expect the most limited ticket availability in Delusion history, but for true Halloween devotees, it might be worth it: Delusion regularly ranks among the best haunted houses in the city. There’s also a VIP tier for $41 more that lets you take go beh

This haunted Griffith Park hayride once again returns to the mid-’80s fictitious town of Midnight Falls, which borrows a little bit of the road culture of Sons of Anarchy and the isolation of Twin Peaks.  The Griffith Park tradition, which has been running for 18 years now, centers on a relatively lengthy hayride, which runs on select nights from September 18 to November 1. The premise: A witch has summoned spirits of the underworld, who’ve hidden themselves among Halloween decorations in the town’s foothills. This year’s event features a brand-new maze, “Fallen Angel,” set in a fictitious Sunset Strip theater, where fans try to resurrect a heavy-metal band killed by their pyrotechnics.  The event’s various other attractions will be centered around the jack-o’-lantern–filled Midnight Falls Town Square. Returning favorites include the Scary-Go-Round, the Hellbilly Halloween maze and Elvira’s Trick or Treat Mayhem, which was a highlight last year. Mini escape games and axe-throwing (harder than it looks!) will also be back. For refreshments, there’s Halloween-themed food including apple cider and doughnuts, plus plant-based fast food from Mr. Charlie’s. For the first time this year, the Hayride will be serving alcohol at new themed bars. Can I wear a costume? No. Costumes, face paint and props are not allowed for guests. Where do I park for the Haunted Hayride? Prepaid parking is available but limited in the trio of nearby lots (Merry-Go-Round lots 1, 2 and 3). You can also par

It isn’t summer in L.A. until the first cemetery screening brings hoards of movie-lovers to Hollywood Forever Cemetery, toting folding chairs, picnic blankets, snack spreads and lots of booze. Each year, Cinespia brings classic cult favorites to the hallowed resting place of such Hollywood greats as Rudolph Valentino and Bugsy Siegel. For each evening at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, pack a picnic (yes, booze is allowed), pose in the themed photo booth and enjoy DJ sets, dance parties and all sorts of other magical mischief that’d otherwise be strictly forbidden behind the cemetery gates. The series typically releases its slate one month at a time, with summertime screenings at the cemetery and a few off-site ones on either end (usually at L.A. State Historic Park and, sometimes, inside historic theaters during the off-season).  For 2026, Cinespia’s 25th(!) season in the cemetery, September wraps up the summer season with Josie and the Pussycats (Sept 5), The Sandlot (Sept 6) and Goodfellas (Sept 12), though you can expect an October return for Halloween with Corpse Bride (Oct 3), Carrie (Oct 10), Jennifer’s Body (Oct 30) and The Thing (Oct 31). In addition, Cinespia is teaming up with See’s Candies this year to sell specially branded candy boxes during screenings. The outdoor screenings are an L.A. rite of passage, a quintessential summer experience and one of the best film venues in the city. Just be sure to get your ticket early, arrive early, pee early… it’s a popular affai

There are probably about as many comedy clubs in Los Angeles as there are In-N-Out locations—you’re never more than a few-minute drive from one. Whether you’re after arena-caliber performers in a small comedy club on the Sunset Strip or genre-defying acts at an old playhouse near the L.A. River, there’s a comedy scene for you somewhere in the city. So seeing top-tier comedy in L.A. often becomes less a question of where and instead one of who—and we think you should beeline it to just about any show that has one of these on-the-rise local comedians on its lineup. A mix of stand-ups, actors, writers and sketch performers, these are the folks who can snap you out of the doomscrolling doldrums or singlehandedly rescue a ho-hum evening. That’s why these three solo performers and one duo were inducted into the 2026 class of Time Out’s Comedians to Watch in America—and while we’re enamored with the other eight picks on that nationwide list, we wanted to make sure to give the Angelenos in it some extra local love. Very special thanks to Joel Mandelkorn and Mandee Johnson, who curated and helped craft this list of L.A. comedians. Photograph: Courtesy Jim McCambridgeAndrew Orolfo Andrew Orolfo We all have those “truth is stranger than fiction” moments, but we can’t all craft those random encounters into a funny story quite like Andrew Orolfo. A fixture at the Comedy & Magic Club and on Don’t Tell Comedy lineups, Orolfo lures in crowds with relaxed setups that give way to surprisingl

You’ve probably already seen footage of the Star Wars props, the Van Gogh–inspired Pikachu and the striking spaceship-like architecture. But the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art’s most unique assets actually might be outside of the galleries—and, after it officially debuts on September 22, open to visitors for free, no museum ticket required. George Lucas has referred to his eponymous institution as a temple to the people’s art, where a self-portrait of Frida Kahlo, an oil painting of dogs playing poker and a screen-used Batman suit make unexpected neighbors. But that for-the-people perspective also—especially—extends to the entrancing gardens surrounding the building, as well as the open-to-the-public library. “I love that if you walk into our parks and gardens, you feel different,” says Lucas Museum CEO Tracey Bates. “You do feel like you’ve been transported somewhere else, which is the joy of storytelling—which is what the museum is all about.” Photograph: Michael Juliano for Time OutLucas Museum of Narrative Art Whether you enter down the street from the Metro station on Vermont Avenue, across from the Natural History Museum and Coliseum at Bill Robertson Lane or into the middle of the Exposition Park–adjacent campus via the parking garage, you’ll find yourself in a mix of open grassy spaces and meandering walking paths. (Access here is completely separate from the museum galleries, which cost $25 for adults and nothing for kids 17 and under.) Dense clusters of native flor

How lucky are we that the Broad has not one but two of the late Yayoi Kusama’s reflective Infinity Mirror Rooms? And that they’re both free to see? But with the Downtown L.A. museum’s expansion—add that to the list of things we’ll soon be lucky to have—currently under construction, the smaller of those two installations will be taken off view for the next couple of years. Longing for Eternity, Kusama’s 2017 box-like structure that allows visitors to poke their heads through portholes and into a colorful, seemingly endless mirrored expanse of sometimes-flashing LEDs, will remain on display in the museum’s third-floor galleries until September 20. After that, it’ll be temporarily taken off view until the museum’s expansion opens in 2028, ahead of the Olympics. But thankfully, the Broad’s signature Kusama piece, the twinkly Infinity Mirrored Room—The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away will still remain on view. That step-in installation on the ground floor will continue to be viewable with a free general admission ticket and a timed reservation. (Longing for Eternity, by comparison, is viewable via a first-come, first-served line in the eastern corner of the museum’s top floor.) The Broad is currently embarking on an expansion project that’ll add three floors of new gallery space and two open-air courtyards on the Hope Street–facing side of the block. Construction began in 2025 and topped out this spring, and the museum expects for visitors to fill the new space before the Ol

With its pagoda-style roofs, hanging lanterns and pedestrian plazas, L.A.’s Chinatown strikes a balance between honoring its history and consistently reinventing itself with splashy new restaurants and nightlife spots—and this past year or so has been a particularly buzzy one. It’s been such a lively stretch that Chinatown earned a spot on Time Out’s annual list of the coolest neighborhoods in the world. And it didn’t just eke its way into the feature: It landed at No. 4, the highest-ranked neighborhood anywhere in the United States (Chicago’s West Town came in at No. 18, while the list’s very top spot belongs to Seoul’s Jongno 3-ga). Just in the past year or so, the Downtown-adjacent neighborhood has welcomed Chinese American standout (and Michelin-recognized restaurant) Firstborn, day-to-night destination Café Tondo (where Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker stopped by for a surprise DJ set underneath the facade’s red glow) and design-forward Archives of Us (home to some of the city’s best matcha). Photograph: Sean DavidsonCafé Tondo Focaccia sandwich spot Frank ’n’ Frank’s just set up shop in the iconic Chinatown Central Plaza, right down the alleyway from the beloved Bruce Lee statue and across from where astrology-inspired Brooklyn cocktail bar Mood Ring is opening a second location soon. Meanwhile, Chinatown’s legacy restaurants and institutions like Phoenix Bakery and Philippe the Original are still draws. While Chinatown’s most recognizable span is near the neon-lined Centra

It’s kind of astonishing that a destination-worthy hotel has eluded Silver Lake for so long, right? After all, the neighborhood has been synonymous with a certain sort of L.A.-cool for roughly three decades. But aside from Silver Lake Pool & Inn’s motel glow-up a few years ago, there hasn’t really been a proper place for travelers to rest their heads in the area. Hotel Lucile stands to reshape the hospitality map along Sunset Junction—and the wider neighborhood—with one of L.A.’s splashiest hotel-meets-restaurant openings in recent memory. As of today, the 95-year-old church-turned-hotel is welcoming overnight guests to its 25 rooms, and it’s bound to be packing locals into Sous Sous, a Southern-inspired French restaurant situated in the divinely detailed nave. Sitting at the corner of Griffith Park Boulevard and Lucile Avenue, about a block up the street from the faded polka dots of Sunset Triangle Plaza, Hotel Lucile has taken up residence at a 1931 Romanesque Revival sanctuary, built as a Presbyterian church and later used as everything from a performance theater to an antique market. It’s worth clarifying upfront, given the surprising number of people who’ve asked: No, it’s not the infamous Katy Perry church—the former convent the singer was once interested in buying is located a couple of miles up the street in Los Feliz. The confusion is understandable, though: Perry’s dramatic legal battle over that property involved a local restaurateur who once owned and later relinq

We were excited to see a large-scale concert return to the Santa Monica beachfront, but it looks like we’ll have to wait a bit longer: Ocean Way, the two-day music festival from the same folks as Coachella, has been canceled. Ocean Way was just around the corner, set to hit the sand southeast of the Santa Monica Pier on September 26 and 27, but an email from AXS that went out to ticket holders on Friday afternoon announced that the event had been canceled as a result of recent storm-related erosion on the beach. “Due to the impacts of Hurricane Marie, the City of Santa Monica has canceled the inaugural Ocean Way Festival,” the message that we received reads. “Storm surf and runoff has caused significant beach erosion and the festival can no longer be safely held as planned.” The statement also notes that plans are underway to make the fest happen in 2027 (this year’s debut would’ve included the Killers, Jack White, Olivia Dean and Khruangbin). If you already purchased tickets, which started at $399 for a two-day pass or $229 for a single-day, you should automatically receive a refund within the next five to seven business days. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ocean Way Festival (@oceanwayfestival)   The news comes after Hurricane Marie, an offshore storm southwest of the Baja California Peninsula, pummeled Southern California shorelines last weekend, sending wild waves breaking along the coast in Malibu and Long Beach and battering seawalls

Kudos to Olivia Rodrigo for curating what just might be the best music festival lineup of the entire year: An era-spanning array of legends and up-and-comers will assemble in Orange County for the women-fronted Daisy Chain Fields festival. Rodrigo leads a Lilith Fair–like lineup that’ll play out over two stages at Irvine’s Great Park on August 29, including Chappell Roan, Doechii, Garbage, Not for Radio, Bikini Kill and more, with Karen O, Sarah McLachlan and Stevie Nicks promised as special guests. The music is unquestionably superb, but the logistics of it all might leave you asking a few questions—after all, this is a park usually equipped to handle about 10,000 people that’ll be expanding its capacity to accommodate up to 45,000 fans. (For reference, the now-defunct Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on the southern edge of the park only held around 16,000 people.) So before you pack the car and slather on some sunscreen—forecasts call for highs around 90 degrees—here’s everything you need to know about Daisy Chain Fields, including the set times, how to get there and whether or not you can watch from home. Are tickets still available to Daisy Chain Fields? No. Passes went on sale in late June starting at $250 and very quickly sold out; an early-July sale gave Verizon subscribers another opportunity while a volunteer drive raffled off a small number of tickets. There’s no official resale market for the fest, so if you do see wristbands up for sale, purchase at your own risk. Net

You could distill the ambition of most music festivals down to one thing: vibes. But Olivia Rodrigo’s debut Daisy Chain Fields festival set out with a very clear mission: to bring together women in music to show how joy, community and creativity can enact change. And with a fantastic, era-spanning day of female-fronted acts and $20 million raised for nonprofits, Daisy Chain absolutely crushed its goals in ways that other first-time fests could only dream about. Both founder and headliner, Rodrigo led an uplifting, music-filled day at Irvine’s Great Park, which also boasted the likes of Chappell Roan, Doechii, Garbage, Bikini Kill and Mitski, among others. And if Rodrigo’s “see you next year” sendoff holds true, there’ll be plenty more to come—though hopefully without a historically humid heat wave or the traffic woes that come from a marooned park in a master-planned Orange County city-suburb, but more on both of those in a bit. Daisy Chain truly felt like a moment, particularly Rodrigo’s performance, a cathartic and energized set that drew heavily from you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. “I feel like I’m dreaming,” she said early on in the set. “You guys, this is the best day of my fucking life.” And it only got better with some very special duets: notorious tearjerker “Angel” with Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan, dedicated to the late Dolly Parton; a surprise rendition of “Ironic” with Alanis Morissette, who appeared after Karen O had to pull out due to a persona

Long before endless scrolling offered us up-to-the-minute sociopolitical snapshots, we turned to all sorts of books, newspapers, pamphlets and photos to reflect on our collective mood—and so too did plenty of fine artists, who created works in response to the issues of their day. In that spirit, the Broad’s next free exhibition will examine how mass media has shaped history and our collective memories of major events. “Has the myth been shattered,” which opens inside the Los Angeles museum’s ground-floor galleries on November 21, 2026 and runs through April 4, 2027, includes era-spanning timely pieces from 14 contemporary artists that both take mass media to task and hold up its potential for resistance. The Downtown L.A. institution typically alternates between two types of exhibitions on its first floor: Specially ticketed artist-specific ones like the Yoko Ono retrospective currently on view, and free group shows that draw from the museum’s own collection. “Has the myth been shattered” falls into that latter camp. (The upstairs galleries—as well as downstairs’ Infinity Mirrored Room—are always free to visit.) Courtesy of the artist and The Broad Art Foundation.Guadalupe Rosales, Has the myth been shattered, 2024. Engraved aluminum artist’s frame, mirror, two-way mirror, Los Angeles Times newspaper, plastic toy figurine, LED lights. 70 x 40 x 4 in. (177.8 x 101.6 x 10.16 cm). The show borrows its title from Guadalupe Rosales’s Has the myth been shattered, a full-length tw

It’s that time of the year—well, every other year—when thousands of Disney fans descend upon the Anaheim Convention Center to see what the entertainment company has been cooking up. The D23 fan expo covers everything from films to toys to live theater, but it’s inevitably the company’s globe-spanning assortment of theme parks that serves some of the most visually-enticing teases. We scoped out the Walt Disney Imagineering pavilion on the convention center show floor to get a firsthand look at what’s in store here at Disneyland, and kept up with Saturday night’s theme park–focused presentation at the Honda Center as well. While there was really only one new major Disneyland announcement, there were plenty of tantalizing details shared in updates to the 2024 edition of the expo’s slate of announcements. So let’s start with that big new announcement—but also the one we know the least about. Toward the end of Saturday night’s arena show, Disney Experiences chairman Thomas Mazloum revealed that Tomorrowland, a then-forward-looking land when Disneyland first opened in 1955 and now a kind of hodgepodge of space-themed rides, will soon begin to be reimagined with “optimism” and “wondrous ideas” at its core, and will host “new attractions, more open spaces [and] new places for you to dream about the future.” Courtesy Disneyland ResortCourtesy Disneyland Resort No timeline was given, but Mazloum—referencing the promise of Disneyland’s entry plaque, which proclaims “Here you leave tod

If you’re not already exhausted from trying to land half-decent seats for a 70mm IMAX screening of The Odyssey, it’s time to add another highly competitive ticket-buying challenge to your itinerary: Drop 2 for the 2028 Olympics. Start feverishly refreshing your email this Thursday and Friday, because that’s when notifications should filter in to let you know whether or not you’ve been chosen for LA28’s second ticket drop, which runs from August 10 to 20 (registration closed on July 22). If you’re picked, you’ll be assigned a time slot to try your luck at securing a spot for dozens upon dozens of competitions set for L.A.’s third Summer Games. But if you participated in—or just followed the online chatter around—LA28’s first ticket drop in April, you probably already know that it’s not quite that simple: Yes, there are hundreds of events on sale, some of which have $28 tickets available, but many of the premier events feature eye-popping prices or, for the folks with later time slots, low-to-no availability. After braving the gauntlet during this spring’s initial ticket drop and presale, our staff at Time Out L.A. has some firsthand tips to share ahead of Drop 2. (And for the record: We didn’t have any sort of special treatment when it came to tickets; we were placed in the same pool as every other would-be ticket holder and faced both disappointments and unexpected ticketing pickups.) If we to do it all over again—because, yes, in addition to this latest sale, there’ll be yet

If you were to build L.A. Live now, how would you make the mid-aughts entertainment district better? Maybe a little less concrete and a little more greenery? Some improved casual food options? A more seamlessly connected transit stop? The folks behind Anaheim’s OCVIBE sure seem to have studied its northern neighbor, because the under-construction 100-acre district surrounding the Honda Center can answer “yes” to all of those questions. The first phase of the $5 billion project—including a still-untitled 5,000-person concert venue situated right next to the existing NHL arena—won’t open until next year, but I was invited to take a hard-hat tour last week. And while it’s still very much under construction, it doesn’t require much imagination to see this becoming a regional destination that could even drag Angelenos across county lines. There’s a lot going on at OCVIBE, so here’s the quickest version possible: All of the old parking lots surrounding the Honda Center are being turned into a mix of restaurants, plazas, offices, hotels, parking garages and residential units—plus the previously mentioned concert hall. The Samueli Family, which owns the Anaheim Ducks, has invested $4 billion into the project, plus another billion dollars of improvements to the city-owned Honda Center. Rendering: Courtesy OCVIBEOCVIBE aerial view Photograph: Michael Juliano for Time OutOCVIBE model The hotels, residences and revival of bygone nightclub Golden Bear won’t start arriving until 2028,