"Opened in 1931 as a luxury apartment block, the Sunset Tower has had such notable residents as Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes, Marilyn Monroe and Jean Harlow. The building underwent a $46m renovation in the late 1980s (reinstating some of the art deco elements), and another in 2005 under new owner Jeff Klein. While the 81 rooms occasionally feel in need of another refresh, the old-school charm is a rare pleasure. Staff are attentive and courteous, the poolside with its city views is an oasis, and the Tower Bar is one of the best places to grab a drink in Los Angeles."

"LA native Zach Pollack was studying architecture in Florence when he decided to switch his focus to food. He opened Alimento in 2014, a low-key but polished restaurant in Silver Lake that serves regional Italian dishes, from the obscure to the familiar, alongside a strong list of tasty natural wines. Grab a table on the ivy-clad patio and sample some of Pollack’s signature pasta, freshly made each day – the casarecce with burrata, tomato and basil, would be the highlight of any menu."

"If you’re the type who likes to look rugged and urban at the same time, General Quarters has you covered. Owner Blair Lucio channels his appreciation for Americana in this small shop that stocks heritage brands such as Red Wing Heritage, Filson and Tellason. Beyond the strong selection of beloved labels, the shop – which first opened in LA in 2010 – is a welcoming place. Quite often you’ll find that Lucio himself is on hand to greet shoppers."

"The vast philanthropic influence of Eli and Edythe Broad is evident throughout LA but nowhere more so than at The Broad, which opened in 2015. “We wanted a museum where we could show art to the public, consolidate our collection in one location and continue loaning artworks to museums around the world,” Eli says. Designed by New York architects Diller Scofidio and Renfro in collaboration with Gensler, the two storeys of gallery space feature pieces by the likes of Jeff Koons, Cy Twombly, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Anselm Kiefer and Ed Ruscha."

"Located within the Hayden Tract area of Culver City, Conjunctive Points is a litmus test for how far redevelopment can be pushed. Over the past three decades husband-and-wife developers Frederick and Laurie Samitaur Smith have been buying old warehouses and land, and collaborating with architect Eric Owen Moss on almost 30 projects. Today, the Tract feels like one of the most buzzing places in LA for avant-garde design. Pterodactyl, a jaggedly beautiful office building, sits atop a parking garage from 1998, nestled between warehouses from the 1940s. Waffle resembles a misshapen cheese grater while the steel-ringed “information” edifice Samitaur Tower incorporates projection screens."

"In the latter half of the 19th century three Hawaiian princes introduced surfing to California; they would ride the waves along Santa Cruz on boards handcrafted from local redwood. The trend caught on and led to the first Pacific Coast Surfriding Championships in 1928, but it was in the 1950s when surfing really took off in LA, helped along by the release of surfer-themed songs and films such as Gidget. Between 1956 and 1962 the number of California surfers rocketed from 5,000 to more than 100,000. Surfing is still an essential part of the southern Californian lifestyle today. One of the best surfing beaches is Malibu Lagoon State Beach, also known as Surfrider Beach; you can pick up a board from the Malibu Surf Shack down the road."