We see tourists in Los Angeles year round, but our favorite time to host friends and family is fall, when temperatures dip into the low 70s, afternoons are sunny and crisp, and the season brings festive touches to all our local haunts – pumpkins at coffee shop doors, gourds aplenty at the farmers markets…we finally feel ready to hit the town instead of being holed up in AC with our blackout curtains up. With the outdoor temperature on-point for frolicking around in a scarf with hot coffee, here are six places you must visit in LA this fall.
1) LA Arboretum – To see fall foliage in Los Angeles, you’re going to have to find some trees that actually recognized 75 degrees as a change in season. Luckily the Arboretum is full of ‘em, and you can walk around in a sundress, scarf, and closed-toe shoes pretending you’re in New Hampshire for an afternoon. Leaf crunching, here we come.
2) The Garland Hotel & The Front Yard – When we were brought into the Garland to help them with their marketing and design, we knew this would become a place we’d have friends and family stay – if only so we can have access to the grounds. As one of our clients, we’ve seen firsthand how this family owned hotel brings nostalgia and whimsy alive through their 70s style, and the seasonal menu at The Front Yard balances healthy with hearty – plus their cocktail menu guarantees a dose of happiness.
3) The Broad Museum – The newest addition to LA’s museum scene, the Broad was a private collection that opened in September to the public – and is free to visit. With 2,000 works of art from Warhol to Koons to Sherman, this museum is a must-see downtown. We’re digging the architecture of the building itself, not to mention the huge collection of LA-focused art inside. And their new restaurant Otium is somewhere we’re dying to get to – we hear it’s going to have that casual California vibe we know and love.
4) Coolhaus – We know they’ve been around in LA forever, but food trucks still have our hearts, and there’s something, dare we say, quaint about looking on Twitter to track an ice cream sandwich. Flavors like Pumpkin Pie and Pear Vanilla Sorbet can be found in autumn only, fulfilling our pumpkin-needs in a way no latte ever could.
5) Wheel House – We like wine tastings and beer flights as much as the next Angeleno, but what we really love is cheese. All the cheese. All the time. Enter Wheel House – a shop with over 100 cheeses in stock that makes us want to raise dairy cows. Order up a cheese plate, then grab a couple specialties for your outdoor fall dinner parties – or head to one of Wheel House’s cheese classes to feel even more bougy around your friends than normal.
6) Hollywood Farmers Market – Nothing says autumn like a decorative gourd, or seven, and a bushel of apples. The Hollywood Farmers Market is our fave place to harvest a cornucopia of seasonal produce – apples, pumpkins, pomegranates, or winter squash – they’re all here. We always pick up a coffee at Groundworks with a good shake of cinnamon before hitting up the market for maximum seasonal goodness.
