Top 5 Things to Do In Los Angeles (SLIDESHOW)

Los Angeles is a popular city, known for its warm, sunny weather and proximity to movie stars. It also has great scenery and outdoor activities.

Here is a list of some ways to take advantage of the warm weather and scenic views that Los Angeles has to offer, to make the most of your trip:

1. Hiking - There are so many different places with great views in Los Angeles that hiking should become a must on any travelers to do list. There is Runyon Canyon, with great views from downtown to the beach, Griffith Park, with miles of desert landscape, where you can feel like you are in the middle of nowhere rather than in the middle of a busy urban area, and the numerous stair walks, which can be found with a simple google search or in the book Secret Stairs by Charles Fleming.

2. Driving - You have not experienced the Los Angeles culture until you have driven in the city. In a city where no one walks, there are numerous drives that let you see great views and sights. There is the drive up the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), which is a great ride along the ocean, and which you have probably seen in every television show or film done in Los Angeles. Another great dive is Mulholland. While the drive up the PCH is probably more famous, the drive around Mulholland is more authentic Los Angeles than just driving along the beach. The road twists and turns constantly, requiring the driver to be alert, especially when other passing motorists are going too fast or paying too much attention to the view, but the view is why you go. Each twist and turn gives you another angle of the City of Angels, from the valley to downtown. It's best at night, when all the city lights show you how vast an expanse Los Angeles really is. There are also many spots where you can pull off of the road and get out of your car to really take in the view. A third great drive is along Sunset Blvd. This famous road winds all the way through the city, from the beach where it begins, through Brentwood, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Los Feliz, Echo Park, and Silverlake, leaving you downtown (or at the ocean if you take it in reverse).

3. Hollywood Sign & Griffith Observatory - The sign is iconic, and something you have to see if you go to Los Angeles. Beachwood Canyon is the street with the best view of the sign. It's not easily approachable, and really works best for pictures. Griffith Observatory was renovated in 2006 and it has a walk around balcony with 360 degree views of the city, in addition to live planetarium shows.

4. Shopping & Restaurants - The Grove is a fun, outdoor mall, and it is next door to the Farmers Market. They are both very LA, fun places to go. A must stop for music fans is Amoeba Records, one of the few independent music stores left. There is also Robertson Blvd, where you will find trendy stores like Kitson, and frequent celebrity sightings. Los Feliz, a neighborhood on the eastern end of LA, is also great for small, independent shops and is an easily walkable area, something that cannot be said for most of Los Angeles.

5. Venice - An iconic Los Angeles spot, from the beach to the boardwalk to the miniature canals, it is worth a stop for the kitsch factor alone. It is also fun to hang out and people watch, and Venice does get all kinds of people.