Your Los Angeles CME conference.

Los Angeles after your study day

Study days finish at 2:00 PM Los Angeles time. Three outings suit the afternoon: the trails and viewpoint at Griffith Observatory, a wander through Grand Central Market downtown, or a museum on Wilshire Boulevard. Choose one outing near where you are staying, and leave time for getting there and for parking.

Travel, lodging and attraction entry are arranged separately by you. The city is the setting for your own plans, and nothing here is scheduled around your study day.

Griffith Park and the observatory

Griffith Observatory stands on the south side of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. The observatory is closed on Mondays, and its grounds and roads generally follow the park’s hours, so check the day you plan to go. It says parking is closest to the building, public restrooms are next to the parking lot, and trailheads on its grounds lead to Mount Hollywood, the Greek Theatre area and Fern Dell.

If you would rather not drive, Discover Los Angeles says the DASH Observatory Bus runs daily to the observatory and the Greek Theatre, connecting at the Vermont/Sunset B Line station. The same tourism guide points to Amir’s Garden and the Ferndell Nature Museum as other places to explore in the park.

Museum Row on Wilshire Boulevard

Discover Los Angeles describes Museum Row as a cluster of museums along Wilshire Boulevard: the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Craft Contemporary, the Petersen Automotive Museum and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The guide describes LACMA’s collection as more than 150,000 works, the tar pits as known for Ice Age fossils, Craft Contemporary as focused on craft and folk art, and the Petersen as showing more than 150 classic cars, motorcycles and trucks. It says the walk between stops can be long, so the route can be done on foot or in short bus rides. Several Metro bus lines serve LACMA.

The Academy Museum is housed in the restored Saban Building, and Craft Contemporary is across from LACMA. Hours differ by museum, so compare each with your 2:00 PM finish and pick one or two rather than the whole row. The guide says the tar pits museum is closing for upgrades expected to last about two years, so check current status before you go.

Grand Central Market and downtown

Grand Central Market, at 317 South Broadway, calls itself a downtown landmark since 1917. Its vendors bring together the region’s cuisines, with ramen, Oaxacan dishes, tacos, coffee and fried chicken among the vendors it features, and a weekend Bazaar features independent merchants, artisans and makers. The market lists a parking garage at 308 South Hill Street, and says hours vary by vendor, so check the one you want before you go.

Metro runs six rail lines to 101 stations across Los Angeles County, according to Discover Los Angeles, and a TAP card pays for Metro buses and rail. Neighborhood DASH buses, which it says feed into Metro, run on 31 routes. In Hollywood, the stars of the Walk of Fame are on both sides of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street.

Malibu beaches and the Santa Monica Mountains

The National Park Service calls the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area “LA’s very own national park.” It lists more than 500 miles of trails, including the 67-mile Backbone Trail, and the beaches of Malibu.

Discover Los Angeles suggests Surfrider Beach for surfing and a pier for picnics or fishing, El Matador State Beach for sunsets, and Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve for a hike away from the crowds. A sunset visit comes well after your study day ends, so allow time for the drive back. The park service also lists historic and cultural sites there, from former movie ranches to Native American centers.

When to visit Los Angeles

Discover Los Angeles describes warm days, low humidity and abundant sunshine, with coastal areas often cooled by ocean breezes and evenings cooler across the region. Its monthly averages list highs from 66°F in January to 83°F in August, and lows from 48°F to 64°F. It lists highs of 69°F in March, 77°F in June and 73°F in November. Bring a layer for evenings even on a sunny day.

Getting to Los Angeles and your study setting

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is in Westchester alongside the beach communities, about 16 miles from Downtown LA, according to Discover Los Angeles. The airport has nine passenger terminals joined by a U-shaped, two-level roadway, and rideshare pickups happen at LAX-it, just east of Terminal 1. The guide lists the FlyAway bus to Union Station and Van Nuys, shuttle vans, local buses, light rail, taxis, rideshare and rental cars, and says the Metro C or K Line reaches the LAX/Metro Transit Center, with a shuttle to the terminals.

The map shows straight-line distances from Shift’s designated center. These are orientation distances, not driving distances or travel-time estimates. Check your exact address against the conference’s check-in area before booking.