Learn how to love Los Angeles

THERE are plenty of cities around the world that present themselves tidily, neatly, easily. Get out your guidebook, hop on the preferred mode of public transportation, start ticking boxes.

Los Angeles is not one of these cities.

Consequently, a lot of visitors never really get Los Angeles. Getting it, after all, takes time. Lots of time. Patience, also. Short on both? We’ve got six quick hits of LA that we think will have you singing a whole new tune. Ready, set, go.

1) JUMP IN THE POOL

Slow down. Seriously — try it. Los Angeles may be the second largest city in the United States, but trust us, it is best experienced once you’ve calmed down a little. Or a lot. Luckily, Los Angeles is an easy place to escape — you’ve got the beach, you’ve got the gorgeous Santa Monica Mountains running right down the middle. But you don’t even need to get into the great outdoors; you can also just hit one of the city’s handsome hotel pools, each with its own personality. The very best ones function not only as places to relax, but also as satellite offices for local movers and shakers. Two new-ish rising stars are the minimal and chic rooftop pool at the plush Montage hotel in Beverly Hills, where non-guests can stop by anytime for lunch in the adjacent café (225 N. Canon Dr.), and the Vegas-style, pool-as-club scene over at the W Hotel in Hollywood, overseen by nightlife impresario Victor Drai (6250 Hollywood Blvd.). Our favorite, though, is the tropical paradise that is the newly renovated, fourth-floor deck pool, fitness center and expertly executed casual restaurant at the Four Seasons, which buzzes all day with fun energy — this hotel is celeb central (300 S. Doheny Drive).

2) BITE DOWN HARD

The Los Angeles food scene has never been this diverse, or this interesting. It’s always been a great city in which to eat cheap, but you’re going to absolutely love just how good the cheap food can be right now. We’ve been known to book it straight from the airport to Mo-chica, a Peruvian joint serving beautifully prepared and presented staples such as lomo saltado, ceviche and quinoa risotto to happy diners. The catch? It’s not a restaurant, it’s a stall in a small market hall in a nowhere neighborhood south of downtown. That doesn’t stop the crowds — check out the lines of cars trying to get into the parking lot at lunch time each day (3655 S. Grand Ave.). Across town in another nowhere neighborhood not far from the Fox lot, local food-truck god Roy Choi — he of the famed Kogi Tacos — has hung out a shingle in a fascinatingly dumpy strip mall. Chego is all Los Angeles and all fun, a tasty fusion of Korean and Mexican flavors, all shaken up just enough to confuse you. What you’ll love — the prices. Everything, from a heaping bowl of pork belly to a satisfying portion of spicy buttered kim chee over rice, costs less than you feel it probably ought to (3300 Overland Ave.).

3) JOIN THE PARTY

We can’t believe that there are people out there who still want to bang on about how Los Angeles has no culture. We’re not even sure why we’re bringing this up — it’s such a frustratingly stupid and dated cliché, it’s painful to even discuss it. So we’ll leave the clueless magazine editors to their treasured clichés; if you need us, we’re at the monthly Downtown Art Walk, the party to end all parties that takes over the historic streets between Broadway and the city’s notorious Skid Row on the second Thursday of every month. Part highbrow gallery crawl, part slightly seamy night market, part open-air entertainment venue and all big fun, this is a great way to see today’s Los Angeles; the one that knows there’s life beyond nice cars and mass-appeal movies, the leafy streets of the west side (downtownartwalk.org). If you miss the downtown do, check out the smaller but also nifty Silver Lake Art Craft Market, held the last Saturday and Sunday of each month in one of the city’s best neighborhoods. It’s not only an art and flea market, but also quite the gathering of food trucks (silverlakeartcraftvintage.com).

4) SEE THE NEW MALIBU

It’s a strange place, Malibu, from the million-dollar sea shanties that crowd the coastline — their backyards the thundering Pacific Coast Highway — to the heavily insured castles on the fire and slide-prone hills, to the downtown that’s really just a mini-mall with a Nobu. None of this really calls out all that strongly to visitors, and that’s just the way residents have liked it for a long time. But Malibu isn’t really about what man hath wrought; it’s about the setting, and in recent years there have been great strides made to showcase the town better to casual tourists. After years of wrangling, the state finally managed to get the Malibu Pier re-opened — today, fishermen stand cheek to jowl, solitary diners mutter into their Bluetooth headsets between bites of ahi sliders at the Beachcomber Cafe, kids sip milkshakes at Ruby’s down at the end and admire the dozens of surfers shredding waves nearby. Check into the pier-adjacent Malibu Beach Inn, known for offering a whole new level of nice in a town not really known for reaching out. Their beachfront, indoor/outdoor, all-day dining and bar setup is a great place to escape for a few hours, even if you’re not spending the night. Which you should. All rooms face the beach, and they’re worth the steep prices — think over $300 a night (malibubeachinn.com).

5) GET CAFÉ CULTURED

Any New Yorker knows that New York is the sum of many parts — some like Red Hook, others Murray Hill. The twain rarely meet, and glad of it. So why then must Los Angeles continue to be lumped together, as if Brentwood had anything to do — anything at all — with, say, the up-and-coming Echo Park neighborhood, way over on the east side, on the hill above Downtown? They’re different planets, entirely. Simply put — the east side is not the west side, and if you’re looking to see Los Angeles at its most, well, advanced, you’ll want to spend a lot of time on the ever-changing east side, which is kind of like Brooklyn, but with fewer bicycles. The café culture over here is booming — in-the-know types head off the beaten path to the tiny Cafecito Organico, a local roaster/café tucked away deep in the southern end of Silver Lake and overseen by the expert Angel Orozco, who is the man behind some of the very best beans available in the city right now (534 N. Hoover St.). Deep into Echo Park, the equally relaxed but much more slick Fix café serves expertly-prepared Intelligentsia brew to the type of crowd that wouldn’t have been caught dead up here ten years ago (2100 Echo Park Avenue).

6) MAKE YOURS A MAI TAI

While New York waits and watches to see if a promised Tiki revival ever materializes, Los Angeles pulls up a chair at some of the country’s best classic temples (or is it templettes) to all things quasi-Polynesian. Over in Silver Lake, the owner-operated, pint-sized Tiki-Ti is the first and last word in zombies and mai tais for many, and by many we mean us; smoke-filled and friendly and fun if a little pricey, they’re only up and running Wednesday-Sunday; start your evening here right when the doors open at 4:00 in the afternoon (4427 Sunset Boulevard). Originally opened in 1959, North Hollywood’s Tonga Hut should be your next stop; or, if you’re in the mood for a bargain, it should be your first — this classic, opened first in the late 1950s, has a kick-butt happy hour: Well drinks for $3. Bring a designated driver (12808 Victory Blvd.).

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PLACES IN THE SUN

3 unique takes on LA’s southern neighbor, San Diego

DISAPPEAR

The region’s resorts are perhaps among its finest assets; the new king of the county is the secluded Grand del Mar, a beautiful but slightly hilarious (how many kinds of colored marble can you count inside?) retreat with a top-notch spa and golf course in a pretty canyon on the north side of the city just minutes from La Jolla and the Torrey Pines preserve. Service is eager and efficient, which is no small accomplishment in this part of the world. Does it all look a little like Boca? That’s because the owners have a thing for architect Addison Mizner, the godfather of that unique South Florida palazzo style. Book the Grand Life Package for 3 nights at $333 a night and receive a $100 resort credit. Details at thegranddelmar.com.

MUST DO Book a table at Addison, the city’s only five-star, five-diamond restaurant.

ON THE EDGE

Despite being minutes south of crowded Coronado, Imperial Beach has long flown under the radar with out-of-towners, and plenty of locals, too. Maybe it’s the whole being in the shadow of Tijuana thing. Maybe it’s the fact that being immediately adjacent to a river that flows out from a major Mexican city means that the water quality is a very real concern. But this wonderfully sleepy frontier town, the southwestern-most community in the continental United States, has always had a place in our hearts, and as the years go by and San Diego gets snazzier, we love it even more. The beautiful pier, the friendly people and the endless expanse that is the Tijuana Estuary wildlife preserve keeping the south end of town quiet forever — it’s hard to imagine why everyone isn’t hanging out here.

MUST DO Stop by Katy’s Café for smoothies, sandwiches and gossip (704 Seacoast Drive).

GET TO THE POINT

You can walk — quite literally — over to the Point Loma neighborhood from San Diego’s airport, but in the process, you’ll be transported from the bustling heart of the city and into our favorite beach community in town. The site of the Cabrillo Monument — a beautiful preserve (drive, walk or bike) on the peninsula’s tip that commemorates the arrival of the first European exploration of the West Coast in 1542 — Point Loma is mostly a place to relax. Stop by Point Loma Seafoods for a fish taco plate and check out the summer concert series in Point Loma Park.

MUST DO Hit the fun and funky Pearl Hotel for the Sunday Groove 24/7 brunch and pool party that locals love. Just $20 includes bottomless mimosas (1410 Rosecrans Street).