STREET OF LA
Although Freeways get the most attention as the being the way to get around LA, any local Angeleno can tell you that Freeways are only a small part of the transport system. In fact, many locals transverse the city every day without ever once entering LA's freeway system. Below is a list and description of the more common LA roads. LA is overall layed out in a grid like fashion. And although it does not have a system of avenues vs. blvds to give drivers a feel for east and west like say NYC, a short time studying a map and learning where the major blvds are will allow the newest drivers to LA to quickly navigate from A to B.
Sunset Blvd
Sunset Blvd runs the east/west length of LA from the beaches in the Pacific Palisades all the way into Downtown. Out of all the streets of LA, Sunset passes through the most communities allowing visitors to get a taste of all the different areas of LA while remaining on one stretch of road. Sunset can be extremely winding and its not unusual to witness locals pushing their latest sports car convertables to their limits on the stretches between the Pacific Palisades to Brentwood and Brentwood to Beverly Hills. The neighborhoods found on Sunset Blvd include the Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood (Sunset becomes the Sunset Strip in this area), Hollywood and Silverlake. A day spent on Sunset Blvd is an attraction in itself. Click Here for the full guide to Sunset Blvd.
Wilshire Blvd
Wilshire Blvd, like Sunset runs the length of the city begining at the beach in Santa Monica and extending all the way into downtown. Wilshire Blvd is one of the more aesthetically pleasing Blvds in LA with several stretches lined with palm trees, glass high rises, cafes and upscale shopping. The entire length of Wilshire is line with stop lights and unfortunately many of them are not always synchronized. Traveling on Wilshire on the weekdays can be cumbersome and slow at times with traffic. Weekends are much better and usually afford better travel times. The stretch of Wilshire in Beverly Hills is often the slowest and heaviest with traffic. It is in Beverly Hills where Wilshire Blvd makes a sharp turn to the south east direction and sidesteps Santa Monica Blvd. Its important to make note of this if you are assuming SM blvd is to the south at all times, after Beverly Hills, it runs parallel to the north of Wilshire.
Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica Blvd runs parallel to Sunset and Wilshire Blvds. Begining at the beach, Santa Monica Blvd transverses most of the city where it blends with Sunset in the Silverlake area. Santa Monica Blvd holds the distinction as being the last section of the historical Route 66 as it ends its cross country journey at the beach in LA. Santa Monica links Santa Monica, Century City, Bevery Hills and Hollywood. The stretch of Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood is home to one of the biggest Gay and Lesbian communities in the world while in Hollywood the area is very industrial.
Melrose Blvd
Melrose Blvd begins in West Hollywood and stretches into Hollywood. Visitors and locals looking to transverse only between West Hollywood and Hollywood have found Melrose to be an efficient route. The entire stretch of Melrose is full of a variety of art galleries, home decor stores and upscale/boutique shopping. The area of Melrose east of Fairfax is known as the Melrose Shopping District and is a corridor of alternative, edgy shopping with a variety of boutique retailers, tattoo parlors and unique restaurants.
La Cienega Blvd
La Cienega Blvd runs in the north south direction begining at LAX and terminates in West Hollywood at the Sunset Strip. Visitors arriving into LAX and staying/visiting the West Hollywood area will find La Cienega is a good alternative to the 405/Santa Monica Blvd route. The stretch of La Cienega from LAX to the 10 freeway would leave anyone wondering if they were still in LA or if they had been magically transported to Texas. Hundreds of oil pumps like the route on either side, tapping into the lucrative and often unspoken industry of LA-oil. After crossing the 10 LA Cienega proceeds north where it passes through the commercial area of Beverly Hills,. After passing Wilshire Blvd, La Cienega enters an area of what is dubbed, "restaurant row" where several steak houses and ethnic venues line either side of the street. The next area La Cienega passes is the West Hollywood area and the Beverly Center on the right. The Hollywood Hills and the million dollar estates that perch on its side are in very clear view on this stretch of the Blvd. After passing Santa Monica Blvd La Cienega takes a steep climb up a hill where it terminates on the Sunset Strip and Sunset Blvd.
Robertson Blvd
Robertson Blvd begins in Culver City and runs noth/south parallel to La Cienega, La Brea and Fairfax Blvds where it terminates at Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood. If traveling the 10 freeway and looking to access either Beverly Hills or West Hollywood, Robertson Blvd is the perfect exit. Be sure to take Robertson north from the 10 freeway. After passing Olympic Blvd, Robertson runs through Beverly Hills where exclusive shopping boutiques for both apparell and home line the street. The stretch north of Wilshire Blvd and before Beverly Blvd. is where the famous Ivy Restaurant is located that many of today's biggest celebrities can be found lunching on the outdoor patio. Passing Beverly Robertson proceeds into West Hollywood where it terminates in the heart of the Gay and Lesbian district on Santa Monica Blvd.
La Brea Blvd
La Brea Blvd runs parallel to Robertson, La Cienega and Fairfax. La Brea Blvd is a common used route for those leaving the 10 (Santa Monica Freeway) and wanting to travel into the heart of Hollywood. Caution should be noted when using La Brea south of the 10 as this area is known as South Central LA and is to be avoided by visitors. Traveling north on La Brea from the 10 the Blvd crosses Wilshire where Museum Row is located and then proceeds into the heart of Hollywood where at Melrose the world famous Pinks is located. La Brea terminates at Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood amongs the Walk of Fame.
FAIRFAX
Fairfaxx Blvd runs north south orientation paralllel to Robertson, La Cienega and La Brea. Fairfax is located between La Cienega and La Brea and is an efficient route between the 10 (Santa Monica Freeway) and West Hollywood and Hollywood. Fairfax crosses Wilshire, Melrose, Santa Monica Blvd, Sunset before terminating just north of Hollywood Blvd on the Hollywood/West Hollywood Border.
Laurel Canyon
Laurel Canyon Blvd is a windy road that begins on Sunset Blvd and winds its way through the Hollywood Hills and into the San Fernando Valley. Laurel Canyon can be very windy and slow at times and has a quick ascent up the moutain where it crosses Mulholland Drive and then descends into Studio City on the other side. Laurel Canyon is a good alternative to using the 101 and 405 freeways to cross the section of terrain. When traveling on Laurel Canyon, the rustic houses with an antique/granola look that perch off the sides of the hills on either side of the Blvd make drivers feel ilke they are no longer in LA but in a wilderness far away.
