48 Hours in Los Angeles

And since the film industry is such a massive part of LA, you might as well take a studio tour. The Warner Brothers Studio Tour is fantastic, covering the soundstages, props, cars, costumes, and more. You'll see a little bit of everything from "Casablanca" and "Batman," to "Friends" and "Harry Potter."

Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles is a legendary soul food joint that has several locations across the LA area, and they all serve up crispy, juicy fried chicken, fluffy, buttery waffles, and incredible sides. They're open almost 24 hours a day, making it super popular with the late-night crowd, so if you go for lunch, you'll find the line to be a lot shorter.

The Last Bookstore is proof that L.A. can get pretty intellectually deep. Not only is this store gorgeous, with tons of space and a popular art gallery upstairs that features a labyrinth of books, but it's also reasonably priced and filled to the brim with interesting titles.

Come to Griffith Observatory around sunset time for epic views of the Hollywood sign and a sweeping panorama of LA from the hills. Then stay after dark to use their giant telescope, explore the free museum, and catch a show in the planetarium. And if you're more interested in the kind of stars you see in movies, the gorgeous old building was even used as a filming location for movies like "Rebel Without a Cause" and "The Terminator!"

Since you're in California, you should get some tacos. Located across from Chateau Marmont off Sunset Boulevard, Pinches is an inconspicuous joint that serves up cheap and delicious tacos in a massive variety of options: pork, shrimp, chicken, veggie, beef tongue, sopes, cactus, and more!

Make sure you snag tickets in advance to the legendary Whisky A Go Go, which is famous for hosting all kinds of legendary acts like the Doors, Janis Joplin, and Led Zeppelin, among many others, and for spawning the "go-go dancer" fad of the late 1960's. They still put on shows for cool up-and-coming acts, so it's worth checking out.

If you'd rather see something a little lighter, then stop by The Comedy Store. Grab tickets to one of the shows in their three theaters, which offer all different kinds of performances, from big headlining acts to strange and offbeat smaller shows. There's a two drink minimum here, but it doesn't have to be booze... although that never fails to enhance the experience.

When you're ready for a bite to eat, there's nothing like enjoying fresh seafood on the beach. Poke is actually a traditional Hawaiian dish made of raw, marinated ahi tuna, but it's not hard to see why it's become popular in LA. Here at Poke-Poke, you can get yours with various flavors and toppings. And if you're not into raw fish, they have salads, edamame, granola, and more.

Next, hit up the iconic Venice Beach. Everything you've heard about Venice Beach is true. Within seconds of stepping onto the pavement here you'll see fortune tellers, folk artists, people doing yoga in the middle of a crowded sidewalk, and probably even a couple guys in full teddy bear costumes skateboarding. If you're worried about sorting through a full-on sensory assault of the strange and bizarre, just wander around and check out the skate-dancing plaza, muscle beach, the basketball courts, freak show, or join a drum circle on the beach.

The neighborhood's name, "Venice," was, at first, very literal. Developer Abbott Kinney actually built canals in 1905 in an attempt to mimic the look and feel of Venice, Italy here in Southern California. But, of course, the rocketing popularity of the automobile shortly after made people change their tune on the once scenic canals. Some were filled in for roads, while others fell into disrepair as disputes over how to deal with them raged for years. In the 1990's, the Venice Canal Historic District was cleaned up and redeveloped, and you can see some pretty swanky homes here.