I truly believe that Los Angeles has the best food. The population is so diverse that you can find authentic food all over the city – Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Indian, you name it! Still, it can be difficult to track those places down. I recommend capitalizing on places like the Grand Central Market where many food vendors are clustered in one place. In fact, Grand Central Market is such a fave, that I recommend visiting whether you only have one day in LA or are spending 5 days in LA. It’s truly a fun, once in a lifetime type experience in Los Angeles!

You can find the Grand Central Market at 317 S Broadway in the actual city of Los Angeles. The Market opened in 1917 and has always housed food vendors. Now, the Grand Central Market is home to 37 vendors with Italian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Mediterranean, Japanese, and Salvadorian foods! There are also delis, seafood, ice cream, coffee shops, bars, bakeries, and juice shops!

I’ve eaten at DTLA Cheese, Donut Man (you must try the strawberry filled donuts), Sticky Rice, Sarita’s Pupuseria (my FAVE), Wexler’s Deli, and McConnell’s Ice Cream. Everything is to die for, but seriously, if you only have one thing, please let it be the pupusas!

Grand Central Market is open every day from 8am to 10pm and the parking garage is at 308 S Hill Street. For a couple hours parking cost us $11. There is no validation offered at the Grand Central Market so you’ll just have to pay up.

As far as the food goes, prices fall on a spectrum. You can get tacos for $3.50 each, pupusas for around $5. My ice cream was a single cup and it was $5.50. My grilled cheese and soup from DTLA Cheese were $17, because each one was a separate menu item. It depends on what you want, I suppose.

What else is around Grand Central Market?

This part of the city is known as historic downtown Los Angeles. Here you can find a number of popular LA sights and lots of Los Angeles Instagram spots. It really makes visiting the Grand Central Market even more worth it because you can check out a ton of other sights without moving your car or jumping back on the Metro.

Angel’s Flight Railway

Back in the 1920s, rich residents used to come down from their hill to the market using Angels Flight, the shortest railway in America! It is right across the street from Grand Central Market (across Hill Street). You can still ride it today for $1 each way. It’s open from 6:45am to 10pm every day. It’s honestly a fun little ride and the views at the top are beautiful. Plus, it was featured in the movie La La Land!

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Half a mile from the Grand Central Market, you can check out the Walt Disney Concert Hall. This building is historic, beautiful, and designed by Frank Gehry. I highly recommend you check it out!

The Broad

Across the street from Walt Disney Concert Hall, is the Broad (pronounced Br-oh-d, not brawd). The building itself is beautiful, but it also houses the incredible Infinity Mirrored Room by Kusama and a number of contemporary art pieces you’re sure to recognize. The museum is free, but you need timed entry tickets!

Bradbury Building

Going in the other direction from Grand Central Market, you’ll find the historic Bradbury building across S Broadway. This five-story office building was constructed in 1893 and has been used in films, such as Blade Runner. You can go in to marvel at the architecture and if you’re lucky, you might see one of the birdcage elevators in operation!

Last Bookstore

The Last Bookstore is only three blocks away from Grand Central Market. In addition to all the amazing books, the Last Bookstore was made for Instagram. You might be familiar with the book window and the book tunnel. You’ll find the insta-worthy spots upstairs.

Some other things to check out in historic downtown are the Bunker Hill Steps, Pershing Square, and the Los Angeles Central Library.

More time in Los Angeles? Check out these posts!

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