Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By Taxi
Taxis are located at the Arrivals level under
the yellow sign outside each terminal. B e
sure to ask for a list of prices to v arious
major destinations befor e setting off .
There's a flat price of $42 betw een L AX
and D owntown Los Angeles. F or other
destinations, expect to pay at least $35 to
Hollywood, $25 to B everly Hills, $20 to
Santa Monica, and $50 to $60 to the Val-
ley and Pasadena. But wait, there's more—
you'll also have to pay an airport surcharge
of $2.50 for trips originating fr om LAX.
GETTING AROUND L.A.
By Car
Need I tell y ou that Los Angeles is a car-
crazed city? L.A. is a sprawling metropolis,
so you're really going to need some wheels
to get around easily (there
is
public trans-
portation in L.A., but y ou probably don't
want to r ely on it). An elaborate networ k
of well-maintained freeways connects this
urban sprawl, but y ou have to learn ho w
to make sense of the system and cultiv ate
some patience for dealing with the traf-
fic—purchasing one of those plastic-co v-
ered fold-out maps is a smar t investment.
For a detailed vie w of L.A. 's freeway sys-
tem, see the tear-out map tucked inside
the back cover.
L.A.'s Main Freeways
L.A.'s extensiv e system of toll-fr ee, high-
speed fr eeways connects the city 's patch-
work of communities, though most visitors
spend the bulk of their time either along
the coastline or on the city 's ev er-trendy
Westside (see “ The N eighborhoods in
Brief,” in chapter 4, for complete details
on all of the city 's sectors). The system
works well to get y ou where you need to
be, although r ush-hour (r oughly 6-9am
and 3-7pm) traffic is often bumper-to-
bumper, particularly on the dreaded I-405.
Here's an overview of the city 's main free-
ways (best r ead with an L.A. map in
hand):
33
U.S. 101,
called the Ventura Freeway in
the S an F ernando Valley and the H olly-
wood Freeway in the city, runs across L.A.
in a r oughly nor thwest-southeast dir ec-
tion, from the San Fernando Valley to the
center of D owntown. You'll encounter
heavy rush-hour traffic.
California 134
continues as the Ven-
tura F reeway after U.S. 101 r eaches the
city and becomes the Hollywood Freeway.
This branch of the Ventura Freeway con-
tinues dir ectly east, thr ough the v alley
towns of Burbank and Glendale, to I-210
(the F oothill Fwy .), which takes y ou
through P asadena and out to ward the
eastern edge of Los Angeles County.
I-5,
other wise kno wn as the G olden
State Freeway north of I-10 and the S anta
Ana Freeway south of I-10, bisects Down-
town on its way fr om Sacramento to S an
Diego.
I-10,
labeled the Santa Monica Freeway
west of I-5 and the S an Bernardino Free-
way east of I-5, is the city's major east-west
freeway, connecting the San Gabriel Valley
with Downtown and Santa Monica.
I-405,
kno wn as the S an D iego F ree-
way, r uns nor th-south thr ough L.A. 's
Westside, connecting the S an F ernando
Valley with LAX and southern beach areas.
Tip:
This is one of the ar ea's busiest fr ee-
ways; avoid it as much as possible (and like
the plague during rush hour).
I-105,
Los Angeles 's ne west freeway—
called the Centur y F reeway—extends
from LAX east to I-605.
I-110,
commonly known as the Harbor
Freeway, star ts in P asadena as California
110 (the P asadena Fwy.); it becomes an
interstate in D owntown Los Angeles and
runs directly south, where it dead-ends in
San P edro. The section that is no w the
Pasadena F reeway was Los Angeles 's first
freeway, known as the Arroyo Seco when it
opened in 1940.
I-710,
also kno wn as the Long B each
Freeway, r uns in a nor th-south dir ection
through East Los Angeles and dead-ends
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