Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture

Dating in Los Angeles: The First Date

By

dating in los angeles the first date
Image used with permission by copyright holder
So, you’ve got a first date! Well done! Now for the hard part: planning said date. We’ve got an embarrassment of riches in terms of activities in LA so it can be tough picking the right thing to fit the vibe. Maybe you want something casual to feel the situation out, or perhaps it’s time to pull out all the stops, but you lent your private jet to your friend Steve. You’re covered. Below are four ideas, in ascending price and effort, of things to do while figuring out if this is, in fact, love.

The Broad – Free

the-broad
Image used with permission by copyright holder

221 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Recommended Videos

This impressive, almost alien-like honeycombed building was just completed and houses the personal collection of Eli and Edythe Broad’s extensive post-war and contemporary art. The building is 120,000 square feet of work from luminaries like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, and Jeff Koons, which means lots of time for you two to wander around and get to know one another. Plus, the futuristic building itself is bound to spark conversation: uniquely, the vault holding currently-undisplayed pieces forms the lobby and the floor of the exhibition space above. It contains windows to peer in so you can get the sense of just how vast the collection is. Outside is a green space with centuries-old olive trees, providing a perfect spot for some post-museum food– maybe even from Grand Central Market.

Echo Park Reservoir + Downtown Tours – $

echo-park
Image used with permission by copyright holder

751 Echo Park Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90026

Angelenos have been cooling their heels by this lake for over 100 years now, and thanks to a recent renovation, it’s never been better. Wildlife abounds, a cafe offers food and coffee, and you can even fish in the lake! This park is the perfect place for casual, romantic strolls, city views, and pedal boating! For a mere $10 per person you and your main squeeze can paddle around the lake, admiring LA’s skyline at one end and a tranquil lotus garden at the other. Plus, you can’t beat the people watching. If things are going well after showing off your killer calf muscles in the pedal boat, head into nearby downtown for some fantastic walking tours offered by the LA Conservancy. There are a variety of tours that showcase the area’s history, architectural landmarks, and even movie locations depending on which option you choose. You can go the free, self-guided route or opt into a guided tour for $10 per person.

Cinespia – Movies Screened in Hollywood Forever Cemetery – $$

hfc-cinespia
Image used with permission by copyright holder

6000 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Watching movies outside is great, but watching movies in a cemetery where the film’s very actor may be buried beneath you? Even better. Cinespia screens movies in historic Hollywood Forever Cemetery, offering cinematic treasures anywhere from the 1930s up through the ‘90s. While it’s definitely pricier than your average movie ticket ($20 per person for general, $45 for premium with some worthy perks) it comes with incredible atmosphere, a DJ plays music until sundown when the movie begins, a store sells nifty gifties, and sometimes the movie is introduced by its actors and/or director. Parking can be a bit of a pain, but it’s easy to Uber there and skip the hassle completely. Pack a picnic (wine and beer allowed), and enjoy a movie beneath the stars and headstones.

Two small caveats with this one: it’s 21 and up and the cemetery screenings are seasonal. Movies screen in the glorious and equally awesome Palace Theatre when not in the cemetery.

The Cicada Club – $$$

cicada
Image used with permission by copyright holder

617 S Olive St, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Maybe you’re looking for a bit more adventure on your date– time travel, perhaps? Easy: go to The Cicada Club, a Roaring ‘20s dinner-dancing club. The second you walk through the golden doors of this 1928 building on the National Register of Historic Places (that also may be haunted), it’s impossible to remember you’re living in the age of Taylor Swift instead of Duke Ellington. Every Deco detail of the two-story club is picture perfect, sumptuous and glittering; a large dance floor on the lower level is surrounded by tables draped in white table cloths and fronted by a stage that hosts big bands and sultry singers. Upstairs offers a bar and lounge for those who want to skip the prix-fixe dinner for drinking and dancing the night away. There is a dress code (evening or business attire), but almost everyone dresses in period clothes, anywhere from Victorian to the 1950s. They offer a coupon for a costume shop that will rent you fantastic beaded flapper gowns or tux complete with top hat and cane if you really want to jazz it up. Depending upon whether or not you get dinner, you’ll need to get admission tickets, which are recommended you buy beforehand. This spot ticks all the boxes for an unforgettable night that oozes vintage charm and romance. No private jet required.

Topics
Elizabeth Dahl
Elizabeth Dahl
Elizabeth Dahl is a southern girl in the heart of Los Angeles who lived far too long before learning what an incredible food…
Snag Yourself One of These Four Must-Have Cigar Sampler Packs for Just $20
Travel cigar ashtray and holder

If you've always wanted to start trying cigars, or even just expanding your horizons, then you may want to check out this special deal that we have going with Cigar Page. You can pick from four different samples from some of the best cigar brands on the market, many of them our top overall picks. That includes picks from Oliva, La Aurora, and Rocky Patel. With cigars rated up to 95, you're getting a lot of excellent quality here, although there is a limit of one sampler per customer. Even so, with discounts from as high as $112 down to just $20, it's well worth grabbing if you can.
SHOP NOW

The Manual's Must-Haves Cigars
The first sampler you can pick up is the Olivia. These folks are a pretty big staple of the cigar world and have been making cigars since the 1800s. The 10-cigar sampler usually goes for $97 and includes a nice selection from Connecticut Reserve Toro to Serie O Maduro Robusto. Another bundle from an old-school Cigar maker is the La Aurora pack, which comes with a lot of classic flavors like La Aurora Preferidos 1903 and La Aurora 115 Anniversario. The 10-pack usually goes for $105, so it's pretty high-end, but this deal knocks it down to $20, so it's perfect if you've been wanting to try it out.

Read more
Netflix is planning to continue investing in gaming, including new co-op games
The company has had games on its service since 2023.
Netflix logo on TV with red backlighting

Even as Netflix is raising prices on consumers, the company has also announced that it will be introducing couch co-op and party games for subscribers. The company has offered cloud gaming as a "beta" to a subset of its subscribers since 2023, and the move into co-op games suggests that the streamer will continue to invest in this area.

Co-CEO Greg Peters made the announcement as part of the company's Q4 earnings report, but he didn't detail what games might be available through this new platform. “We think of this as a successor to family board game night or an evolution of what the game show on TV used to be," he explained.

Read more
The best adventure movies: The films that keep you on the edge of your seat
These adventure movies will take you to new parts of the world
Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark

The idea of an adventure movie is pretty specialized. These are movies that exist broadly within the world of action cinema, but they are just one small corner of that world. These movies typically involve exotic locations, traps, and tunnels. Sometimes, they're set in the jungle or the desert, and sometimes they're set on the high seas.

Personally, I'm partial to sea-faring movies, maybe in part because I have no desire to live my life on the water. In my own life, these movies have often represented a chance to understand the world, and to appreciate its vastness, splendor, and danger.

Read more