Los Angeles’ Echo Park neighborhood, originally known as Edendale, is a historic district tucked between Silver Lake and Downtown L.A. At the turn of the 20th century, Echo Park was a nexus of West Coast filmmaking, with the area’s man-made lake serving as a backdrop for famous movies like Twenty Minutes of Love (1914) starring Charlie Chaplin and the Academy Award-winning Chinatown directed by Roman Polanski.
These days, you’ll find a lineup of lovely attractions, restaurants, and things to do in Echo Park. The neighborhood is extremely walkable, making for an easy daytime plan. Our guide is organized from coffee shops to nightlife, so you could easily stay in this pleasant L.A. neighborhood all day long. Where will you go first?
🎥 Come along with us:
Echo Park coffee and cafes
1. Canyon Coffee
This adorable coffee shop on Echo Park Ave is notable both for its coffee quality and for its lovely sunny patio seating. Whether you choose the classic drip coffee or the indulgent pistachio matcha, you can bet on the utmost quality in every single expertly crafted drink. Their fancy toasts are also to die for with toppings like labneh, cinnamon butter, and smoked salmon.
📍 Location: 1559 Echo Park Ave, Los Angeles, CA
2. Stories Books & Cafe
Stories is a cozy cafe and bookstore where you’ll find ample shelves of new and used titles. People love to visit for the funky reading selection and ample patio area, which is a popular work/study spot. Enjoy a decent cafe menu including coffee, beer, and wine, plus bagels, toasts, and sandwiches until 2:30pm.
📍 Location: 1716 W Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles CA
3. Lady Byrd
If it’s more of a sit-down breakfast you seek, Lady Byrd brings an enchanting twist with its popular “personal greenhouses” surrounded by dozens of leafy plants. Settle into a table and savor delicious brunch food like the lemon poppy seed pancakes and salmon benedict.
📍 Location: 2100 Echo Park Ave, Los Angeles, CA
Echo Park attractions
4. Baxter Stairs
If you’re trying to get your steps in, the Baxter Stairs are a popular workout spot. Climb the 231 steps to discover excellent views at the top in Elysian Park, from DTLA to the Hollywood Hills and Glendale. As one of the more underrated hidden staircases in L.A., it makes for a nice little urban hike during your day in Echo Park.
📍 Location: 2100 Park Dr, Los Angeles, CA
5. Time Travel Mart
Echo Park’s Time Travel Mart is a weird and wonderful hidden gem stocking goods “from the past, present, and future.” Imagine a roadside convenience store made for time travelers, with products like dinosaur eggs, vintage pens, mammoth tusks, funky books, patches, and so much more.
📍 Location: 1714 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
6. Echo Park Lake
Originally built as a reservoir in the 1860s, Echo Park Lake has been a mainstay of the recreational landscape here since it opened to the public in 1895. The lake and surrounding park made cameos in popular films over the years, including several Charlie Chaplin movies. Echo Park Lake underwent a massive $45M renovation in 2013, and it continues to host numerous community events throughout the year, such as the popular Lotus Festival in July. Of course, you can enjoy the lake any day of the year by taking a ride in the famous swan boats.
📍 Location: 751 Echo Park Ave., Los Angeles, CA
7. Carroll Avenue
History lovers, architecture buffs, and cinephiles will enjoy visiting these historic Victorian homes along Carroll Avenue, many of which date back to the mid to late 1800s. The entire 1300 block has been part of the National Register of Historic Places for nearly 5 decades, and you might recognize some of the homes from cameos in movies, TV shows, and music videos. They include 1345 Carroll Ave, which appears in Michael Jackson’s Thriller; 1329 Carroll Ave, which is from Charmed; and 1355 Carroll Ave, which appears in Mad Men. And if you’re there in October, you’re in for a treat, because Carroll Avenue goes all in on Halloween decor.
📍 Location: Carroll Ave, Los Angeles, CA
Echo Park restaurants
8. Cosa Buona
Cosa Buona delivers delicious high-quality pizzas including square Sicilian-style options and classic chewy round pies. The relaxed table-service Italian restaurant rounds out its menu with a solid spectrum of creative antipasti, colorful salads, and imported wines. Try the Biancoverde pizza with ricotta, spinach, and basil, the stepmother sandwich, or the chopped salad.
📍 Location: 2100 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
9. Sticky Rice
Dig into a feast of authentic Thai street food at Sticky Rice, an L.A. chain operating numerous successful locations around the city. Guests clamor for the Gai Yang, or grilled chicken thighs with papaya salad, but the Echo Park location also cooks up a fantastic pan-fried roti with spicy green curry.
📍 Location: 1801 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
10. Little Fish
Little Fish ran its beloved seafood pop-up for several years before finally opening this brick-and-mortar in Echo Park at the end of 2023. The modest counter-service restaurant earned the attention of the Michelin Guide earlier this year and has steadily risen in popularity. Keep in mind that they’re only open for breakfast and lunch, but the cult-favorite Fried Fish Sandwich is a welcome meal at any time of day.
📍 Location: 1606 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
11. Bacetti
This high-end Italian trattoria opened in 2021 and quickly gained a following of loyal customers who love to visit for brunch or dinner. The weekend brunch spread is to die for, with show-stopping egg dishes like the amatriciana and il grande, but be sure to save room for the bombolini, or yeasted donuts with cardamom-rose pastry cream. If you visit for dinner, we’ve got to recommend the rigatoni all’amatriciana pasta with guanciale, tomato, and pecorino.
📍 Location: 1509 Echo Park Ave, Los Angeles, CA
12. Quarter Sheets
Quarter Sheets chef-owners Hannah Ziskin and Aaron Lindell have struck a perfect balance between an old-school pizza parlor and a high-end kitchen. The playful menu riffs on the nostalgia of a kids’ birthday party with hearty pizzas as your main and fantastic cakes for dessert; in fact, the Princess Cake draws arguably more attention than any other dish. We recommend the Sicilian Corner pizza topped with sausage, rapini, mozzarella, red sauce, chili, pecorino, and sesame.
📍 Location: 1305 Portia St, Los Angeles, CA
13. Taix
Taix is the oldest French restaurant in Los Angeles dating back to 1927, and the same family has owned the successful eatery for three generations. The world-famous menu presents classic French dishes including roast chicken, lamb chops, steak frites, frog legs, escargots, French onion soup, braised rabbit, and duck a l’orange. Whether you’re craving a hearty soup or want to try the daily special, we can’t recommend Taix enough for a great restaurant experience in Echo Park.
📍 Location: 1911 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
Echo Park nightlife
14. The Echo + Echoplex
Make sure you keep an eye on the concert schedule at The Echo and Echoplex, a reliable destination for spectacular live music in Echo Park. During any given month you’ll see energetic dance nights, big-name touring acts, local music events, and residencies. Some of the most famous bands to perform here include Green Day, LCD Soundsystem, Kendrick Lamar, Lorde, HAIM, and The Rolling Stones.
📍 Location: 1822 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
15. Bar Flores
Bar Flores is an energetic late-night cantina serving excellent cocktails until 2am nightly. Stick around all evening to enjoy talented live music acts, or snag a table on the outdoor patio for an afternoon drink in the sunshine. Fun weekly events include Melody Tuesdays, presenting music from local artists; Margarita Wednesday, with $9 margaritas and DJ sets; and Spritz Weekends, where you can sip on $9 aperol spritzes until 6pm.
📍 Location: 1542 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
16. Short Stop
Finish your day out in Los Angeles’ Echo Park neighborhood on The Short Stop’s high-energy dance floor. This classic, no-frills bar is open until 2am nightly with a popular happy hour between 5-9pm, drink specials during Dodgers games, and rotating events every week.
📍 Location: 1455 Sunset Blvd #3457, Los Angeles, CA
Echo Park is a historic neighborhood known as one of L.A.’s first suburbs, with historic homes still lining Carroll Ave. to this day. It was also the center of the city’s blossoming filmmaking scene in the late 1800s, with Charlie Chaplin himself starring in multiple locally-filmed movies. These days, you might know Echo Park for its gorgeous 14-acre lake, or for the neighborhood’s cameos in famous films throughout history.
Yes! In fact, at around 2.4 square miles, Echo Park is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in Los Angeles. You can go for a stroll around the lake or run errands along Sunset Boulevard and Echo Park Avenue.
Some of L.A.’s most famous celebrities have called Echo Park home over the years, including Shia LaBeouf, Leonardo DiCaprio, Steve McQueen, Jackson Pollock, Ayn Rand, and Danny Trejo.
However you decide to spend your days in Los Angeles, we’re especially partial to this area of the city for its walkability, history, scenery, and spectacular bars and restaurants. Save this guide for reference and you’ll never run out of things to do in Echo Park.