Wasteland is located on Melrose Ave and is a massive thrift store featuring luxury brands. With a wide range of products, you can find everything at reasonable prices (considering these are usually expensive items). The selection varies from vintage Nike collabs to pieces from Burberry and Gucci. We even stumbled upon an MSCHF sneaker!

Brain Dead situated on Fairfax, is the Braindead brand’s space, encompassing a cinema, a store, and a café. If you’re a fan of the brand, it’s definitely worth a visit! The store has an immersive atmosphere with a somewhat “alien,” somewhat “crazy” scenography, in line with the brand’s vibe. The café space is delightful, situated in an outdoor area at the back.

Kith located in West Hollywood, is undeniably one of the most beautiful sneaker and streetwear stores around! It exudes elegance, showcasing famous white Jordans hanging from the ceiling and an “island” in the middle with a 360º display of sneakers. There’s also Kith treats, an area where they sell themed candies, coffee, and ice cream.

Bodega We couldn’t go, but it’s definitely worth it. We visited the one in Boston, and they said the L.A. store follows the same style. The store has a market vibe but, at the same time, it’s a boutique sneaker store with a cool selection of products!

Undefeated The store itself is beautiful and has a great selection of products, besides being a Los Angeles tradition. You can find the latest releases and some store-exclusive collaborations, as well as grab some less coveted sneakers, which is pretty cool. In the end, it’s more about experiencing the tradition of the place than the actual products.

Fight Club L.A. is on Fairfax Ave. We never had luck; both in N.Y. and L.A., we found Flight Club closed. Still, it’s well worth a visit to see the famous walls of sneakers and find some rarer models.

Diamond co. Directly on Melrose, the huge store of the famous Nick Diamond brand must be visited. The store’s atmosphere is even cooler than the products themselves, ranging from clothes, skateboard decks, and pieces to jewelry with the brand’s logo.

Ripndip Also on Melrose, the store is super fun and gets even better for the experience. The products are practically secondary.

Cha Cha Matcha In West Hollywood and Venice, it’s an essential place to visit if you like Matcha. They have every possible Matcha variety to drink, along with ice cream and some sweets too. They offer all milk options, including plant-based milk.

For those who don’t know, Matcha is the grinding of the finest selection of green tea leaves, making it expensive. It’s challenging to find a genuinely good and well-prepared Matcha, but this place truly surprises. We strongly recommend the Matcha Latte on Tap, the Lavender Matcha, and the Matcha Soft Serve.

Salt n Straw Located in Venice, it’s possibly the best ice cream shop we’ve been to. They have artisanal ice creams with unique flavors, like pear with cheese! But they also have their take on classic flavors, along with excellent dairy-free options. A cool thing is that you can turn any ice cream flavor into a milkshake! Our flavor recommendation is Honey Lavender and Coffee with Nuts.

nomoo | New American Burguer Also on Melrose Ave, this is a plant-based burger joint with a traditional American style. It’s an honest, not too expensive meal, quite tasty, with fries and drinks. The place is small but very “instagrammable,” with a pleasant outdoor area protected from the sun. If you’re strolling on Melrose, it’s a great find!

WholeFoods A natural supermarket chain found everywhere. It’s a savior, especially when you want to eat well without resorting to fast food. There, you can find on-the-go snacks and ready-made food made with fresh ingredients, along with a self-service option offering a wide variety of food. It’s a bit more expensive, but you can assemble your meal and take it home for more than one meal, making it worth it!

Chick-Fil_A on Hollywood Boulevard. It’s the classic American fast-food chain that only sells chicken. The sandwich is okay, but it’s worth the experience. For vegetarians, there’s only one wrap option. Nuggets might be the best choice to get a sense of the place.

In-N-Out Burger on Sunset Boulevard. Here we have one of the classic fast-food chains on the West Coast. It’s more about the experience, a perfect “end-of-the-day” spot, and especially at night, it gets pretty crowded. You get a lot of food for a little money. No vegetarian option, but the fries are good and decent.

LACMA We couldn’t get into the museum, but it’s worth strolling around the exterior in the late afternoon when the famous “Urban Lights” installation lights up.

Hollywood Sign Yes, it’s very touristy! But at the same time, it’s a more nature-focused outing. We took a quite alternative route: we climbed through a residential neighborhood, late in the afternoon when parking on the street is allowed. From there, we accessed an area very close to the sign with a beautiful view of L.A. It’s so high up; it feels like you’re seeing the city from an airplane! Literally one of the most beautiful views we’ve ever seen. We took a trail that took about 40 minutes to 1 hour to climb the hill, reaching the top of the sign just at the end of sunset with an incredible view. We returned the 40 minutes in total darkness. We recommend planning the round trip before it gets dark, haha.

Venice Beach Skatepark Venice Beach is a place where you can get a good sense of everything happening in L.A. It’s a mix of everything, but the skate park is a special place, with the Los Angeles sun and the sea breeze. You can spend a long time watching people skate and maybe even be lucky enough to see some famous skateboarders there!

The Grove is nothing more than an open-air shopping mall. But it’s a very pleasant space to stroll around, eat, or have a little something to drink. People sunbathe on the grass, sometimes there’s live music. And among the coolest stores, there’s a 3-story Nike store, a Nordstrom, and an insane Apple store with a huge ceiling mirror.