Photo Gallery: Los Angeles

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

L.A.’s white-marble Getty Center houses a robust collection of Western art—and features a Central Garden that, with its maze of floating azaleas, hints at nature as a living work of art.

Read “L.A. Dreamin’” in the November-December issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

The arts are on full display at the slew of galleries that have recharged L.A.’s once blighted downtown into a lively Arts District packed with cafés, artists’ studios, museums, and street art. Writer McCarthy recalls that downtown L.A. was once “filled with lost nights and shady characters”; it has since transformed, he says, into “an oasis of possibility.”

Read “L.A. Dreamin’” in the November-December issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

Taking it to the streets: A sculpture of colorful cars jazzes up L.A.’s once raffish downtown, which is poised to again become an arts and business center of the city—just as it was when it was established in 1781 as El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles.

Read “L.A. Dreamin’” in the November-December issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

Ready to be bought and fried, squash blossoms brighten up a stand at the Santa Monica Farmers Market, a twice-weekly outdoor market full of organic goods and other healthy edibles.

Read “L.A. Dreamin’” in the November-December issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

It’s all about the beach—sand, surf, lifeguard duty—along coast by Santa Monica. “The ocean breeze, the daily strolls on the beach, the smart restaurants,” have attracted author Andrew McCarthy, and many others, to this seaside district on L.A.’s Westside.

Read “L.A. Dreamin’” in the November-December issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

A considered Namaste concludes a yoga session on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade, a pocket of L.A. where McCarthy found a “comfort zone in this sprawling metropolis.”

Read “L.A. Dreamin’” in the November-December issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

Top down and on a roll, a couple cruises the streets of Santa Monica with their wind-blown traveling companion.

Read “L.A. Dreamin’” in the November-December issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

Musso & Frank Grill, Hollywood’s oldest restaurant, has served chops and martinis to film stars since it opened in 1919.

Read “L.A. Dreamin’” in the November-December issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

Point Dume State Preserve offers a scenic spot of nature along the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu. McCarthy recalls watching porpoises ease up the coast here as he strolled the preserve’s sandy beach.

Read “L.A. Dreamin’” in the November-December issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

A guest takes five at Hollywood's storied Chateau Marmont, a longtime movie-business haunt on Sunset Boulevard.

Read “L.A. Dreamin’” in the November-December issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Catherine Karnow

Parallel universe: The glittery landscape of L.A. viewed from hilltop Griffith Observatory fairly shimmers with visions of glamour, success, and fame.

Read “L.A. Dreamin’” in the November-December issue of National Geographic Traveler.