LA is a young city; in the mid-nineteenth century, it was a community of white American immigrants, poor Chinese laborers and wealthy Mexican ranchers, with a population of less than fifty thousand. Only on completion of the transcontinental railroad in the 1880s did it really begin to grow, as a national mecca for good health, clean living, plentiful sunshine and endless acres of citrus crops. The biggest group of transplants were refugees from the Midwest, who created a new political ruling class to replace the old Mexican elite. The old ranchos were soon subdivided, the population grew rapidly, and the enduring symbol of the city became the family-sized suburban house (with swimming pool and two-car garage). The biggest boom came after World War II with the mushrooming of the aeronautics industry which, until post-Cold War military cutbacks, accounted for one in four jobs.

The first-time visitor may well find Los Angeles thrilling and threatening in equal proportions; it's a place that picks you up and sweeps you along whether you want it to or not. While it has its fine-art museums, California cuisine and a few old-fashioned urban plazas, what people really come here for is to experience the city that has come to epitomize the American Dream the fantasy worlds of Disneyland and Hollywood, as well as the gilded opulence of Beverly Hills and Malibu.

California
guide, hotels

Los Angeles
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Los Angeles travel guide

Los Angeles
The City
Arriving
Information
City transport
Public transportation
Major bus routes
Cycling
Eating
Eating Downtown
West LA eating
Hollywood eating
Disneyland eating
San Gabriel, San Fernando eating
Nightlife
Bars, pubs

More at
Los Angeles travel guide

San Diego
Getting around and info
Cafes, restaurants
Nightlife

Anza-Borrego Desert
Balboa Park

Downtown and Coronado
Hillcrest, Ocean Beach, Point Loma
Mission bay, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, La Jolla

More at
San Diego travel  guide