Los Angeles Greater Area
LA’s most ravishing photo ops
Around here, it’s not hard to take a pretty picture. From colorful flowers and sunsets to stunning architectural statements, great shots are waiting everywhere you look. But some locales score a ten every time you snap. Here are a hundred of the best.
Seriously romantic restaurants
Sure, you could toast your togetherness at the local brew pub, or go all out with reservations at the latest trendy dining destination. But this day is all about romance, and you deserve a place that totally wraps you in it. Like one of these.
The Broad’s anniversary gift to LA
To celebrate its fifth year, Downtown’s contemporary art mecca has launched a rolling series of free exhibitions exploring icons of American postwar art and 1960s pop, key artists of ‘80s NY and LA, and works by important figures of the ‘90s to now.
Focus your visitors’ Hollywood tour
Dump them off at Hollywood and Vine, and they’re bound to get overwhelmed and miss the best stuff. Don’t let their experience start at Grauman’s and end at Hollywood & Highland. Give them a guided tour (or at least an itinerary) of highlights like these.
San Francisco Bay Area
Oakland’s next new hotspot?
Artisan cocktails. Asian-inspired desserts. Dim sum. A moody new bar that, per Eater, “looks like it was taken straight out of Wong Kar-wai’s lush, moody filmography” has officially launched in Oakland’s hip Uptown district. Meet you there.
Cream rises to the top
To the lactose intolerant: Avert thy eyes. From zippy goat cheese by Harley Farms Goat Dairy in Pescadero to creamy Italian-style fresh mozzarella from Berkeley’s Belfiore to myriad dairy products made at multiple operations in the North Bay (gotta love Sonoma!), here’s the scoop on the Bay Area’s very best artisan cheesemakers.
Bay Area hikes that rise above
Just think of the Instagram clicks! Or leave your phone behind and admire the #unfiltered views from the top of these three Bay Area peaks. Depending how motivated you’re feeling, the degree of difficulty in summiting varies from easy (a quarter mile to the east peak of Mount Tam) to moderate (1.8 miles to the north peak of Mount Diablo) to challenging (7.7 miles to the crest of Monument Peak).
In-person amusement in San Francisco
Finished streaming The Watchmen? Shake off those Netflix doldrums with some old-school live entertainment. Whether its Russian karaoke on Clement Street, poetry in Haight-Ashbury, or open-mic music on Divisadero, these six SF venues have got you covered nearly every night of the week.