My connecting flight is in LA, and I stay there for 12 hrs. What to do?

Venice Beach after sundown is pretty dodgy. Downtown as well, but you'd be ok in the more gentrified areas, especially if you have an idea of where you are going.

Santa Monica and the cities well to the south of Marina del Rey (as bigtexxx suggested, Hermosa and Redondo) are probably the safest, but not my cup of tea. Bigtexxx mentioned Sharkey's, which I've been to with a friend years ago and totally hated it. It was a club, there was a long line to get in, and it was mostly fratboy in polo shirts trying to hit on the kind of girls that like drunk frat boys. Totally not for me, but if that sounds good to you, go (my friend loved it). There's a lot to do around the area (little coffee shops and what not) besides and it's a mellow place on the ocean.

Of those places, I'd go with Santa Monica...it has the pier with a mini-carnaval, open air mall, and plenty of bars and eateries around to kill time in.

Your other options are Downtown / Hollywood / Koreatown, all of which are sketchy, Koreatown probably the least, but in all three you have decent bars (and clubs, and topless bars...and of course insane homeless people) and restaurants accessible by subway from each other. Certainly edgier, but way more fun (to me).

As for the massage quips, I have an answer...there is an awesome spa hidden in Koreatown, but it's a totally legit place. Steam bath, cold bath, Korean-style spa (men only) and a very hard but therapeutic massage (the only woman there) with no happy ending. They also have TVs and alcohol and kimchee and stuff. Not a bad way to kill time -- and very safe unless you like to harass Korean mobsters.

If you want happy endings, those are in the ghetto, or Santa Monica, for some reason (though my memory is 8 years out of date).

Across the street is my favorite bar, the HMS Bounty. It's been around for years and the jukebox hasn't changed since 1975 or something, but I fear it may have been ruined by hipsters because it is "authentic." If it's the place I remember, it's mostly musicians, people from the neighborhood, and a lot old guys from the DA's office telling war stories. Pretty hard not to find an interesting conversation.

Downtown, the main places were the Standard Hotel, which is a very upscale but exciting place to drink. Union station, where you'll be if you take the subway, is one of my favorite buildings in LA (it was the police station in Blade Runner). I also like Phillipe's which has been around since like 1900 and claims to have invented the French dip sandwich. It's changed little, but that's sort of the point.

Hollywood I wouldn't go to unless you are dead set on the touristy stuff. The only place I would be caught dead in is the Cat & the Fiddle, which is a pretty normal British pub, but it's an old place and...they used it to shoot the bar scenes for Casablanca.


I could fill that time with eating and drinking and talking to random strangers, but that's all I can think of to do in one night in LA if you don't know anyone there.

 

I'm in the same boat as you, btw. I have a 12 hour layover in March in London on my way to and from Houston. Never been there, and the first leg is overnight as well.

 

Go to In N Out, get animal style.

Rent a car and drive out Venice beach. 12 Hours is a long time to dick around in LA. The 405 will probably be ****ty. It's fun to cruise around LA and gawk.

If you don't want to leave, just buy a pass for the United Club.

Edit: Check out the view from the Griffith Observatory if you can.

 

Happy Ending is going to set you back maybe $90. If you can't rent a car, I have no good advice for getting around LA.

 

$100- I'd just buy a pass to an airport lounge