Bergamot Station

A healthy sized collection of art galleries in Santa Monica, Bergamot Station does actually have something for every walk of life.  Your sister-in-law prefers installations while your uncle is a photography nut? Send them west of the 405 to this once dilapidated train station for a day filled with some of LA’s most innovative galleries.  They’ve even got a café, salon, and vintage clothing shop on site, so let them know they could be occupied for hours!

Bergamot Station is located at 2525 Michigan Ave in Santa Monica.  Please call (310) 828-4001 or click here for more information.

Annenberg Space for Photography

Your guests will surely appreciate a jaunt to Annenberg Space for Photography’s latest exhibit: SPORT: Iooss and Leifer.  Read our take on it here.  It’s a spectacular collection that chronicles the recent history of sports including inspiring snaps of Serena Williams and Mohammad Ali.  They have no excuse to come back before grabbing a bite at the little café downstairs and then maybe catching a movie across the street at the Century City shopping center – drop a hint about your favorite shops in the mall.

The Annenberg Space for Photography is located at 2000 Avenue of the Stars #10 in Century City.  Call (213) 403-3000 for more information or click here.

Walt Disney Concert Hall

If you’ve got guests over New Year’s Eve, grab a couple seats to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy take advantage of the unparalleled acoustics at Disney Hall.  There’s a show at 7:00pm and one at 10:30pm – we’d recommend a quick bite either before or after the performance at Kendall’s Brasserie across the street at the Dorothy Chandler to help ring in the New Year!

Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Ave. in Downtown LA.  Please call (323) 850-2000 or click here for more information.

Getty Villa in Malibu

There is no better place to remind your guests that you live in paradise than the Getty Villa in Malibu.  It’s free to view the ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiques and objets d’art, you’ve just got to make a reservation beforehand for parking.  On view now at the Villa is an exhibition called “Reconstructing Identity: A Statue of a God from Dresden.” Once you’ve gotten your fill of the gorgeous views and Roman-inspired architecture, head a bit farther down PCH to Cross Creek Road, where you’ll find Taverna Tony’s (delicious Greek food) and some dangerous shopping.

The Getty Villa is located at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.  Please call (310) 440-7300 or click here for more information.

If you still haven’t felt the holiday spirit this year, you’re a little late on the uptake.  The weather isn’t helping much – listening to “White Christmas” as you peel off your unnecessary scarf, for example, doesn’t encourage drinking hot chocolate and singing carols.  Well, where the weather disappoints (in a way), our fair city’s art scene comes to the rescue.

The quintessential ballet experience known far and wide as The Nutcracker is upon us again and Los Angeles Ballet’s production will be on view at Royce Hall and Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center in the coming weeks.  Click here to check out our behind the scenes look at what goes into such a magical production as theirs with Sugar Plum Fairies, Snow Flakes, Fighting Mice, and Princes to delight your child’s (and your inner child’s) every whim.

Musically, there’s nowhere that does the holiday season like the LA Philharmonic.  On Sunday, December 20, you can warm up those vocal chords for a Messiah Sing-Along with the Los Angeles Master Chorale.  Then on Tuesday, December 22 at 8:00pm, they’re presenting Holidays with Sweet Honey in the Rock – aka not your mama’s holiday songs, followed by Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s A Creole Christmas on Wednesday, December 23 at 8:00pm.  Those are also, not your mama’s holiday songs. Unless your mama is Creole.  If you’re at a loss for what to do on New Year’s Eve, spend it with the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at Disney Hall.

Not everything that puts you in the holiday spirit has to scream Santa Claus, little elves, and red ribbons.  There are some films that put a smile on your face regardless of the time of year and two of them are on view at the Egyptian Theatre on Saturday, December 26 – maybe to take your mind off the family dysfunction from the night before.  Singin’ In The Rain and An American in Paris make up the double feature starting at 7:30pm.

Did we mention that Christmas can also be funny?  The Largo at the Coronet has an All Star comedy show on Monday, December 21 at 9pm benefiting St. Jude’s Christmas Charity.  It can also be whimsical if you get yourself to Royal/T in Culver City.  Now through December 31, their Winter Wonderland pop up shop