If international travel seems a little out of reach, allow us to turn your attention to the spectacular wonders that are right in our own backyard. It’s no secret that Los Angeles is utterly brimming with diversity and creativity, so why not take the time to discover and rediscover local gems—even if they fall a little outside of the city’s edge? Every corner offers a new adventure, from tiled gems to enchanting structures based on fairytales.
Here are some of our favorite weird and wonderful places around Los Angeles that will make you feel like you’ve stepped into another world, perfect for the ultimate L.A. staycation.
1. The Japanese Garden
This breathtaking authentic Japanese garden blends aesthetics and philosophical ideas to create an explosion of natural fragrances and sights. It features three different gardens to create one surreal experience. Begin with the Zen meditation garden, then wander along the Chisen or “wet-strolling” garden and end at the Shoin Building with an authentic tatami-mat teahouse.
📍Location: 6100 Woodley Ave, Los Angeles
2. Santa’s Village
Santa’s SoCal hood is a true holiday adventure throughout the year. Around 65 years ago, the Big Guy in the red suit set up camp in Lake Arrowhead and turned it into a Christmas wonderland complete with gingerbread homes, giant candy canes, a grand old sleigh, a gleaming tree and faux alpine dwellings. It’s one of the original theme parks on the West Coast and after all these years, it’s still as magical as it was then.
📍Location: 28950 CA-18, Skyforest, CA 92385
3. Pyramid Lake
Soak up the sun and scenic beauty of the Angeles and Los Padres National Forests near Castaic, California. It’s a popular place for outdoor folks thanks to the endless recreational activities to Pyramid Dam on Piru Creek forms the Pyramid Lake (a reservoir). It’s located in the Angeles and Los Padres National Forests near Castaic, California. In case you were wondering, it takes its name from the unmissable pyramid-shaped rock carved out by engineers building the Old Highway 99.
📍Location: 35800 Camino Del Lago, Castaic, CA 91384
4. Saint Vincent Court
Missing Europe? Well, luckily, L.A. has small pockets dedicated to recreating life in Italy. St. Vincent Court alleyway is made up of colorful shopfronts, cobbled brick paving, and charming cafes. It’s home to an eclectic mix of delis, cafes, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern restaurants, jewelry shops, a flower shop, and a tiny espresso bar.
📍Location: St Vincent Ct Los Angeles, CA 90014
5. The Venice and Long Beach Canals
The Italian getaway that won’t leave you bankrupt and still has all the charm you could ask for. Both the Venice in L.A. and Naples canals in Long Beach have drawn inspiration from Venice, Italy’s stunning aquatic networks. In Long Beach, you can even take a trip on a gondola.
📍Location: Venice, CA 90292
6. The “Witch House” of Beverly Hills
Why travel to another city when you can be whisked away on a storybook adventure? This whimsical “Witch House” brings fantasy to life through flawless attention to detail. Wandering past this stretch of the Beverly Hills neighborhood and stumbling upon this surreal architectural fantasy, you might think you’ve accidentally landed up in Disneyland.
📍Location: 516 Walden Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
7. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir
This ornate Hindu temple may seem like it’s in an ancient Indian city, but it is, in fact, right up the road in Chino Hills. It’s one of five traditional Hindu temples in North America, and it is absolutely magnificent.
📍Location: 15100 Fairfield Ranch Rd, Chino Hills, CA 91709
8. Heritage Square
Why escape the city when you can escape the decade at the grounds dedicated to preserving Victorian-era structures and traditions? Its Gothic architecture offers a mysterious adventure into a completely different time as well as being a brilliant lesson in history.
📍Location: Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer St
9. Buena Vista Street
How could we not include the obvious but surreal world of Buena Vista Street? The quaint street beam with old-world charm immediately transports you to a simpler time reflecting Walt Disney’s early years in SoCal.
📍Location: Buena Vista St, Disney California Adventure Park, Anaheim
10. Victoria Beach
The famous Victorian Pirate Tower on the north end of the beach goes into full fairytale mode at sunset. While it’s not quite in L.A., this magical spot is filled with wonders, from the beautiful houses and tide pools to the reefs. There are also tons of activities to keep you busy, like kayaking, volleyball, and tennis. There’s both paid and metered parking available along the Pacific Coast Highway.
📍Location: Laguna Beach, CA 92651
11. Farou Food
12. Hsi Lai Temple
13. Garden of Oz
When you follow this yellow brick road, you won’t land up in Oz. Instead, you’ll find yourself in a mosaicked oasis filled with lush greenery. This Oz-inspired garden in the Hollywood Hills is a magical place created by local wizard Gail Cottman. Guests that are lucky enough to have a key will get a taste of Gaudi’s tiled gems in Barcelona.
📍Location: 3040 Ledgewood Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90068
14. Echo Park Time Travel Mart
Travel to a different dimension and dabble in futurist engineering at this forward-thinking haven of creativity and imagination. Every year the “time scouts” and “creative cohorts” delve deep into the future to bring you an entire emporium of fascinating products of the future. The result is a convenience store offering incredible books authored completely by students and published by Barnacle & Barnacle Publishers.
📍Location: 1714 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
15. Lummis Home
LA’s Lummis House, AKA El Alisal, was built by eccentric journalist Charles Fletcher Lummis over 100 years ago. Stone by stone, Lummis built the 4,000-square-foot craftsmanship home over 13 years, resulting in the head-turning castle-like structure in Montecito Heights. The house is now a lesser-known museum open to the public.
📍Location: 200 East Avenue 43, Los Angeles, CA 90031
16. Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine
Paramahansa Yogananda founded Lake Shrine as part of the Self-Realization Fellowship in 1950. The sprawling, peaceful lake environment is home to cascading waterfalls, meditation gardens, a hilltop temple, and an ashram. If the environment itself weren’t a testament to the Lake Shrine’s hallowed reputation, a portion of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes is actually encased here in a thousand-year-old Chinese stone sarcophagus. Guests can visit via reservation only.
📍Location: Lake Shrine 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272