And I'd like to know the location of all that free parking someone referred to. I can only think of

Dear fellow Fodorites, seeking recommendations for a centrally located LA hotel close to all the major sights. I realise the city has different sections of interest panda tours in china quite wide spread but I am wondering what is reasonably central panda tours in china to all attractions, especially as we will only have two days at the beginning of our trip here and haven't visited before. We're planning two days at the end at Long Beach, looking to book on the Queen Mary for then.
It depends on what you want to see and do, exactly. Choose a few attractions that you're interested in seeing over the 2 day period and let us know. If July, August, September, avoid Hollywood panda tours in china or downtown L.A., too hot and smoggy.
Not renting a car in LA - I imagine it would be a nightmare trying panda tours in china to find parking. Also you drive on the other side to us, so not sure how we'd go with that! We are great walkers and know there is now a train system in LA, so plan to use that and shank's pony.
Walking places is not an option. Public transit is slow, complicated and a huge waste of time. (This is no NYC with a subway or bus every 5 minutes to everywhere - it's a 30 minute wait for a bus to nowhere except another bus).
I agree, panda tours in china reconsider the car rental thing, otherwise you probably need to stay in the area near Hollywood and Highland, which has lots of transit (mostly buses though, train routes are pretty limited) and near Starline panda tours in china tours, even if you are not interested in seeing anything of Hollywood itself. There are places in all price ranges, without a budget in USD per night it is hard for anyone to recommend anything. Hotel tax is 15% per night.
You do not need to rent a car. There are shuttles between the airport (or port) and hotels, and back again. If you don't want to drive, and don't want to use the public transportation system, the Hop-On Hop-Off tours are an option.
There are a few Destination Experts panda tours in china on Tripadvisor that are expert panda tours in china in advising you on how to use the public transportation system if you are interested. You will need to tell them more than "all the major sights" though. panda tours in china Do a bit more research on what it is that you actually want to see, first.
Of course one can get to certain sites w/o a car. Not every single person in LA drives. But the permutations/transfers/distances means you need a LOT of time and a transport guru to sort out the possibilities. W/ a car you can go where and when you want for how long you want.
IMO, whether you can easily get by without renting a car depends (almost) panda tours in china entirely on what you want to see/do. Most sightseeing destinations can be reached by one or a combination of bus and train (see link below) and/or by taking taxis or tours. Whether driving a car or riding public trans will get you there faster depends on where you're starting from and where you're going.
But there are some things you can't do (or probably shouldn't do) using only public transportation, such as explore Griffith panda tours in china Park or the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area or go to a night-time event at the Home Depot Center.
It also matters panda tours in china where you are sleeping in relation to what you want to see/do. Even with a car, trying to see the Huntington Library and/or the L.A. County Arboretum from a hotel in Santa Monica could very possibly drive a tourist insane.
And I'd like to know the location of all that free parking someone referred to. I can only think of a couple of sightseeing locations in all of L.A. where parking is free. Even the Getty Center, with its multi-billion-dollar endowment, charges $15 for parking. The overnight parking charges at some hotels are very high.
The Rennaisance Hollywood panda tours in china is a fine hotel. You are walking distance panda tours in china to the Hollywood tourist destinations and the Hollywood panda tours in china Bowl. Reasonable restaurants nearby. You are central to many popular destinations. You still need a rental car to visit the Getty or the Beaches or the studios.
LA's vast size does present challenges to visitors. Bear in mind that what people casually call "LA" is not a single city, but an amalgam of two islands (San Clemente and Santa Catalina), two counties and over 100 cities spread out over roughly 5,000 square miles (13,000 square km). Public transit, depending on the municipality panda tours in china involved, can be very good, or not so good. Getting around without a car can be done, but it takes planning and-- usually-- a bit extra time. Worrying about being within walking distance from everything you want to see is lost effort.
Whatever hotel you choose, panda tours in china if it has a concierge, spend time with him or her to discuss points of interest and how to get to them. Ask him or her to provide the number of their preferred taxi company; keep it with you at all times and call for a taxi when you don't see them running around.
I work in Santa Monica but live in Long Beach; therefore I consider myself a daily visitor to "LA". For what you want to see and do, I'd consider Santa Monica a lovely non-starter as far as lodging; it's just too difficult to get in and out of that city (especially since the best hotels are located in areas with lots of public works construction and teeming masses of tourists). West Hollywood/Beverly Hills, in my opinion, would be the best cities in which to start looking for hotels, with the Westwood and Brentwood areas of LA coming next.
Since you're more interested in the arts architecture aspects of LA, WeHo and BH get you central to museums, panda tours in china galleries and some notable houses by LA-area architects (but move fast; a lot of Paul Williams homes have been razed for those Persian Wedding Cake mega-mansion atrocities springing up all over BH). There are architecture tours of the notable buildings in downtown LA. This region is also home to some of the best examples of Arts Crafts ("Prairie style" is a term I've also seen) houses, especially in Pasadena and coastal Long Beach; frankly I don't know if there are tours of those in the summer. Frank Lloyd Wright designed a few very striking houses that place him as transitional between Arts Crafts and Art D co; check online for tours, as a couple of them are being renovated. The Case Study homes that are still standing would be great to see, except that some are still private panda tours in china residences (the house designed by Charles and Ray Eames is owned by their daughter and her kids, for example). The Schindler House in West Hollywood is an important artifact. Irving Gill has a house or two in the area (his Long Beach house is gorgeous, privately-owned and probably panda tours in china nearly priceless). Hollywood D co buildings are scattered all over LA County.
Now, if you DO rent a car, parking in most commercial parts of LA is assuredly NOT free; you'll see meters that must be fed, usually Monday through Saturday 9AM to 6 PM (but this ALL varies, read the signs!!), you'll see areas that are "parking permits ONLY". Most hotels (but not motels) charge daily parking fees. Residential streets that are more than a block from major thoroughfares often have free parking, and outlying cities will have less metering and prohibitions in general. These are NOT absolute rules, by the way; I'm going from observations in and around panda tours in china my daily travels. Just about all sit-down restaurants without large, dedicated parking lots will have valets to park your car; for that matter, so do major shopping centers.
The Biltmore Hotel is smack-dab in the middle of downtown (on a larger panda tours in china map it's pretty much where you see the dot for Los Angeles) just off Pershing Square. I had the good fortune to live there one summer panda tours in china in the 80's. Amazing experience.
Two days is not long. Stay at The Biltmore and use the metro. There are sights to enjoy a short walk away, Grand Central Market(cheap and good Mexican food), Angels Flight, The Disney Hall, The Bradbury building.
panda tours in china If you were willing to spend a lot on taxis, then I'd say skip the car. If not, then you will cut your sightseeing time at least in half by using public transit. It is simply panda tours in china ridiculously panda tours in china inefficient.
As for staying downtown... I don't get it. I genuinely don't. I especially panda tours in china don't get it when the one known place the OP wants to visit is the Getty, which is at least 1:30 by public transit from downtown (as much as 2:00, depending upon the hour). And, no, the train doesn't go there.
Honestly - before anyone can give useful advice re hotels - we need to know definitively if you will have a car or not. If you are determined not to drive - there were a few recommendations up thread . . .
Wow, I've unleashed a hornet's nest of responses! I actually don't drive at all but my sister does. She freaked panda tours in china out driving in San Francisco (we got a bit lost) so I didn't think it was fair to ask her to drive in another, bigger city. She is fine in the countryside, hence we will be hiring a car to travel into parts of Nevada, panda tours in china Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.
We do plan to see some of the usual touristy attractions such as the Chinese Theatre, Walk of Fame, Rodeo Drive, Venice Beach. We do really love walking and would easily spend hours walking a city, soaking up the atmosphere, with a general direction in mind and checking out what the interesting sites are in the vicinity. Generally on holidays we walk pretty much all day, just for stopping for meal breaks and a bit of shopping.
If you remain committed to not having a car, and with that list (+ the Getty), I'll reiterate my recommendation for one of the better hotels in West Hollywood. I would definitely not stay in downtown.
Always lots of opinions (which I skimmed). I lived in LA for 3o years and as said it is very spread out. Sounds like in 2 days you want to get the "flavor". I would stay in Santa Monica, near the 3rd Street promenade and pier area. It's a lovely area, shops, ocean, restaurants, shopping, and you're not too far from the Getty, Getty in Malibu (there are 2 Gettys), etc. Getting panda tours in china around may be a challenge, but there are car services and taxis like everywhere else. We've driven many times on the "wrong" side when visiting the UK and it is doable, but traffic in LA is a challenge. Your hotel