Why visit Travis Newport Beach? Featuring an array of stunning beaches, nature preserves, a choice of activities and romantic restaurants, Newport Beach is a fun weekend destination. Take in the scenery at Corona del Mar State Beach, go for a walk along the Newport Pier, visit the Orange County Museum of Art and enjoy the beautiful Sherman Library and Gardens. Here are the best things to do in Newport Beach, California. Hours/availability may have changed.
The J Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum spread across two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center, opened in 1997, is breathtaking in many ways. Architect Richard Meier is behind its modern design, and its position on a hill in the Santa Monica Mountains offers incredible views. Thoughtful exhibits, spectacular gardens and a restaurant and café stand to keep guests entertained for hours. The Getty Villa can be found towards the easterly end of the Malibu coast and is dedicated to the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria. Admission to both the Getty Villa and Getty Center is free, but parking is $15. Set within Downtown Los Angeles, Chinatown is full of superb dining destinations, art galleries and unique shops. The neon-drenched Chinatown Central Plaza is a popular spot for photos, while nearby General Lee’s boasts the most innovative cocktails in the neighborhood. Head to Yang Chow restaurant for classic Chinese dishes, or savor fried chicken at Howlin’ Ray’s at Far East Plaza. Other highlights include the diverse art galleries of Chung King Road – Coagula Curatorial and The Good Luck Gallery are two of the best – and a bronze statue of film star Bruce Lee.
The Spa at Pelican Hill at the Resort at Pelican Hill features 22 treatments rooms, a boutique, fitness center, and relaxation lounges. Some of the options include day packages, personal training, spa cuisine, and wellness classes. The spa’s Acqua Colonnades have saltwater soaking tubs, herbal steam rooms, and saunas. Treatments include advanced aesthetics, body therapy, massage therapy, and more. The spa offers skin care treatments such as facials and peels, and massage therapies include deep tissue, reflexology, and terra stone, as well as scalp massages and foot massages. The spa also offers a wide variety of packages. See additional details at Travis Newport Beach.
One of Los Angeles’ newest cultural attractions, The Broad opened in late 2015 and was immediately an overwhelming success. Tickets are free of charge but are generally booked out a month in advance, and lineups for standby tickets, which are first-come, first-served on the day of admission, can be hours long, particularly on weekends. The museum focuses on contemporary and postwar art, with some large and dramatic installations. More than 2,000 works of art are on display in this unique building, with a “veil-and-vault” concept. The museum was founded by Eli and Edythe Broad, who have been long time collectors of postwar and contemporary art. The Los Angeles Farmers Market first started in 1934 as a very modest affair that sprung from the hardships created by the Great Depression. At the height of the economic depression, eighteen farmers came together and set up stalls on a piece of open land near Wilshire Boulevard in order to sell their produce direct to the consumer. This experiment was so successful that the market continued to expand. At that time, it truly was a fruit and vegetable market, but over the years the market has grown to accommodate more and more vendors. Today, there are all kinds of fruit, vegetable, and other food stands, along with restaurants and specialty shops. You can find everything from jewelry and candles to kitchenware and toys.
A pool of black tar in the middle of a green city park is an unexpected sight in Los Angeles, but the famous La Brea Tar Pits have provided a treasure trove of archeological finds for the nearby George C. Page Museum. Excavations of the prehistoric site have resulted in one of the largest collections of Ice Age fossils in the world. The oldest of the approximately 100 tons of bones hauled out of the pits date back 38,000 years. Complete skeletons of animals like saber-toothed cats, dire wolves and mastodons are on display in the museum. In the Paleontology Laboratory, visitors can watch scientists working on the latest finds.
Griffith Park opened in 1935 and remains America’s largest municipal park that includes true wilderness. It offers miles of trails and some of the most famous Los Angeles landmarks. The Griffith Observatory, newly recognizable to non- Angelenos thanks to its starring role in La La Land, is perched 1,135 feet high on Mt. Hollywood’s north slope, so its views over the city are unparalleled. On clear days, you can see to Catalina Island. Inside, the Griffith Observatory is a fascinating astronomy museum with educational space-themed exhibits and the 9,000-pound Zeiss telescope, which lets visitors see comets and other galactic phenomena. Every hour, a 20-minute film recounts the observatory’s history. Also in Griffith Park: the Los Angeles Zoo, train rides for kids, and hiking access up to the Hollywood sign. See more details on Travis Newport Beach.
