Free Activities For Families In Los Angeles

It's fall, a swell time to get up close and personal with the City of Angeles in order to truly appreciate the whole picture while bonding with your clan. So, with that being your primary motivation, gather the family together and seek out some solid symbols of what makes these Southland environs so great. Oh, and forget about stocking your wallet before venturing forth because all of these five activities are absolutely free to explore.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery 
6000 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA  90038
(323) 469-1181
www.hollywoodforever.com

A family outing to a cemetery may seem macabre at first, but when you realize that the list of luminaries who landed at this legendary resting place, founded in 1988, include so many of Hollywood's greats, you might consider this excursion a change to take a free Los Angeles history lesson that lies beyond its many graves. After all, fans from around the globe come by just to pay their respects to famous residents, such as Douglas Fairbanks, Jayne Mansfield, Rudolph Valentino and so many more of Tinseltown's best, all of whose names are etched in stone and never to be forgotten at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

The Broad Museum
221 S Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 493-5138
www.thebroad.org

Los Angeles welcomes its newest cultural landmark as The Broad Museum, housing nearly 2,000 objects from billionaires Eli and Edythe Broad's personal collection of modern and contemporary art. With interesting exhibits ranging from the Infinity Mirrored Room (a must-see), and many others, the collection is immense and will amaze both child and adult. What's best is all of the beautiful activities you'll be a part of is free!

Hollywood Walk of Fame
7018 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 469-8311
www.walkoffame.com

Even if you've stopped and examined a few of the sidewalk plaques commemorating Hollywood luminaries on your many strolls through Hollywood, why not make a day of it and really learn who is amongst the 2,400 brass salutes. These members of the fame game, all of whom have made Tinseltown what it is today, have been heralded in this honorary way since the 1960s, with more top-notch personalities joining the others as the months and years fly by.

Watts Towers
1727-1785 E. 107th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90002
(213) 847-4646
www.wattstowers.us

Italian immigrant Simon Rodia spent more than three decades coming up with his unique environmental art park for everyone at any age to enjoy. Although his iconic outdoor installation of monumental folk-art sculptures is mostly made of junk, Rodia's vision, painstakingly put up in Watts, is definitely one that should be judged through the eye of the beholder. The three massive towers, made without any bolts or welding, will likely inspire different reactions from different members of your tribe, so before heading out for a free look at what will definitely prove to be a memorable Los Angeles site, be sure to encourage everyone to be camera ready as you explore and document the magic made here by a man who was definitely on a mission. He used broken glass, sea shells, cracked tiles and just about anything else he could get his hands on to create, by hand, the vision he was devoted to for 33 years of his creative life.

Related:  Where to Find Art Outside LA's Museums

Farmers Market
6333 W. 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 933-9211
www.farmersmarketla.com

Although you might find yourself buying something or other while visiting this 1934 landmark market, the cost to get in and browse adds up to a big zero. Inside, you'll discover a hodgepodge of fresh produce from butchers, bakers and fresh candy makers, all offering their own tasty wares. Also on hand, and arguably the main attraction, is an array of restaurants, many ethnic and representing all kinds of fare indigenous to countries around the world, from Brazil to France to Spain to the nations that make up the Middle East. Even if you aren't tempted to indulge (which will probably prove to be next to impossible), take in the sights, sounds and smells of this historical refuge that puts even the most discerning foodie in a heaven of indulgence.

Los Angeles boasts a bevy of fine architecture, with the Bradbury Building being one of those edifices that surprises once you actually get inside what looks like an unprepossessing brick structure. In this five-story version of a visionary's dream lives a unique pre-modern Italian Renaissance Revival fantasy, complete with wrought-iron grillwork, geometric-patterned staircases, an early skylight, exposed cage elevators and an open atrium. Once you've gained a gander, you might feel as if you are suffering deja vu, but don't overthink that feeling because many motion pictures have been filmed in this legendary haunt, "Blade Runner" and "Chinatown" among them.

Related: The Coolest Buildings in Los Angeles