Santa Monica Proper Hotel, 7 minutes' walk from the Third Street Promenade and 14 from the E Line; Hotel Figueroa, nine minutes from 7th Street/Metro Center, where four Metro lines meet; and The Hollywood Roosevelt, on the Walk of Fame and four minutes from Hollywood/Highland. Beyond each base, Los Angeles is a drive.
3 of our ten · Hand-pickedHotels cannot pay to be hereLast checked: October 2026
Los Angeles is a driving city. Its towns are strung together by freeways, most trips are by car or app car, and no hotel here puts the whole city on foot. Central, in Los Angeles, means a base you can live in on foot, with a Metro rail station close enough to reach the next part of the map. These three do that best of our ten, each in a different Los Angeles: Santa Monica's walkable downtown near the sea, Downtown's arena, museums and four rail lines, and Hollywood Boulevard.
Choose the base your days are in. Take Metro rail for the next part of the map, at $1.75 a ride and capped at $5 a day, and keep a car or app car for the rest, outside the rush hours if you can: every drive time on this page is an off-peak one.
Santa Monica Proper Hotel stands in the middle of walkable downtown Santa Monica. From the 7th Street entrance, the Third Street Promenade, closed to cars since 1965, is 7 minutes on foot, the Wednesday and Saturday farmers' market on Arizona Avenue 11, the clifftop at Palisades Park 12, the sand 17 to 19 and Santa Monica Pier about 24. Seven places to eat, from Colapasta to Citrin and Rustic Canyon, are within ten minutes' walk.
For the rest of the city, Downtown Santa Monica station, where the E Line starts its run to Downtown Los Angeles, is 14 minutes' walk. Hollywood is a drive: the Walk of Fame is 26 minutes by car off-peak, and LAX 19.
The room to book
Landmark Premier King
400 to 450 sq ft (37 to 42 m²)$586 a night
In the 1928 landmark building, 400 to 450 sq ft with a king bed and a sitting area, larger than the Deluxe King and priced below it: a sensible base for days out on foot.
Hotel Figueroa sits at the centre of the rail map. 7th Street/Metro Center, where the A, B, D and E Lines meet, is nine minutes' walk, and so is Pico station on the A and E Lines. From 7th Street/Metro Center the B Line reaches Hollywood/Highland in 17 minutes and Universal City/Studio City in 21, and the E Line runs to Downtown Santa Monica in 47. Discover Los Angeles, the city's tourism board, says there is no need to rent a car Downtown.
On foot, the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live is two minutes away, Crypto.com Arena five and the Convention Center about 12, with seven places to eat within ten minutes. From 7th Street/Metro Center, Grand Central Market is 15 minutes' walk and The Broad and Walt Disney Concert Hall 18 each. Guests must be 21 to check in.
The room to book
2 Double Beds
about 279 sq ft (26 m²)$265 a night
About 279 sq ft with two double beds, a sitting area and a bathtub, for two to four guests: a little more space than the king, for long days out on the Metro.
The Hollywood Roosevelt puts Hollywood Boulevard at the door. The hotel stands on the Walk of Fame, the TCL Chinese Theatre's forecourt is two minutes' walk across the road and the Dolby Theatre, home of the Oscars, four. Walked end to end, from La Brea Avenue to Gower Street, the Walk of Fame takes 29 minutes. Musso & Frank Grill is nine minutes from the hotel, and the Hollywood Bowl's entrance 20 minutes uphill from the TCL forecourt.
Hollywood/Highland station is four minutes' walk. From there the B Line reaches Universal City/Studio City in four minutes, with the park's entrance 12 minutes on foot from the station, and 7th Street/Metro Center Downtown in 17. The beach is the drive: Santa Monica Pier is 25 minutes by car off-peak.
The room to book
Tower Room
300 sq ft (28 m²)$235 a night
The entry room, 300 sq ft in the 1927 tower, with hardwood floors, a work desk and a king or two double beds: all you need when the days are spent out on the boulevard.
For a beach trip with little driving, Shutters on the Beach has its front building on the sand, with the pier nine minutes' walk north, the south end of the Third Street Promenade 15 and Downtown Santa Monica station 14.
Silver Lake Pool & Inn is four minutes' walk from the cafés, bars and independent shops of Sunset Junction, and 13 from Vermont/Santa Monica station on the B Line.
From about $425 a night
Questions people ask
Good questions about Los Angeles
Do you need a car in Los Angeles?
For most trips, yes, or an app car: beyond each neighbourhood, most of the city is a drive. Without one, base yourself by the Metro. Downtown is the hub of the rail system, and Hotel Figueroa is nine minutes' walk from 7th Street/Metro Center, where the A, B, D and E Lines meet. The Hollywood Roosevelt is four minutes from Hollywood/Highland on the B Line, and Santa Monica Proper Hotel 14 from Downtown Santa Monica, at the end of the E Line. No train reaches Malibu or Palos Verdes.
How much does the Metro cost in Los Angeles?
A ride on Metro rail or a bus is $1.75, with free transfers for two hours, and fares are capped at $5 a day and $18 over seven days on the same card. Tap a contactless bank card or phone at the gate, or load a $2 TAP card; the trains take no cash. From LAX, free LAX Shuttle buses leave every 10 minutes from the pink signs on the arrivals level for the LAX/Metro Transit Center, on the K and C Lines.
How do you get from Hollywood to Universal Studios without a car?
Take the B Line. From Hollywood/Highland station, four minutes' walk from The Hollywood Roosevelt, trains reach Universal City/Studio City in four minutes, and the park's entrance is 12 minutes on foot from that station. By car off-peak, Universal Studios Hollywood is 12 minutes from the hotel. From Downtown, the B Line takes 21 minutes from 7th Street/Metro Center, nine minutes' walk from Hotel Figueroa.
Is Santa Monica walkable?
Its downtown and seafront are. From Santa Monica Proper Hotel the Third Street Promenade is 7 minutes on foot, the clifftop at Palisades Park 12, the sand 17 to 19 and Santa Monica Pier about 24, with seven places to eat within ten minutes. Venice is the southern end of the same beach, 47 minutes' walk from the pier or 7 by car off-peak. Downtown Santa Monica station starts the E Line to Downtown Los Angeles, but Hollywood and Beverly Hills are a drive.
How long does it take to walk the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
About 29 minutes end to end along Hollywood Boulevard, from La Brea Avenue to Gower Street, a distance of 2.1 km (1.3 miles). It holds more than 2,700 stars along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. The Hollywood Roosevelt stands on it, with the TCL Chinese Theatre two minutes' walk across the road and the Dolby Theatre four, and from the TCL forecourt the Capitol Records Building is 21 minutes on foot.
How did you choose these hotels?
Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.
The design one
