5 Must-See Instagrammable Places In​ LA For First-Timers

I recently took a short vacation to Los Angeles, California with my boyfriend. There’s nothing like good weather all year-round and a bountiful selection of delectable food. After having been there three times, I figured I’d share some must-see Insta-worthy places that you should visit.

(P.S. The best part is, all of these places come at no price!)

Santa Monica Pier

Houstonians only know of one beach, and that’s Galveston Beach. Do a quick Google search and you’ll come to find that Galveston is not much of a beach at all and leads to the road of disappointment.

Traveling to L.A. and visiting a beach with soft sand and blue water was on the top of my list!

Santa Monica Beach has a pier that I think is great for friends and family. It’s free to walk along and there are often entertainers on the pier itself. There is a small amusement park that you can purchase ride tickets for, which would definitely be cute to catch a ferris wheel photo on!

Additionally, you can electric scooter your way down to Venice Beach and catch the wind in your hair. Fun + cute pics? Count me in!

LACMA’s Urban Lights

I’m sure you’ve heard of this one: the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Urban Lights exhibit is one of the most iconic locations that is a tourist must-see!

The best part about the lights is that it’s fun to take pictures either at night or in the day time with the lights. It’s open 24/7. The lights are an iconic symbol of L.A. that has been featured in many movies (No Strings Attached, anyone?)

Additionally, there’s also a huge rock exhibit only a few meters away that is definitely a cool sight to see!

Westfield Mall

This one’s not as much of an iconic place but Westfield Mall is huge shopping center with an abundance of food selections — one of which is my favorite, Din Tai Fung! The mall is an outside mall with a one-hour free parking lot but nearly every corner of the mall is extremely aesthetic.

My boyfriend was being an incredible “IG Hubby” and pointed out so many places for me to take pictures on!

Grab a bite, take cute photos, and then maybe do a little bit of shopping! 😉

Little Tokyo’s Weller Court Light Tunnel

This one is a little bit trickier because, in the day time, these lights are not as visible. The Light Tunnel is installed by Akiko Yamashita, a visual artist. These lights look futuristic and are colorful.

It’s definitely something that differentiates other typical L.A. pictures that you’ll be sure to remember!

The Last Bookstore

Last, but not least, is The Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles. The Last Bookstore is a cute and quirky bookstore that allows for aesthetic shots. The upstairs has the iconic book opening photo op that many tourists love to visit!