The 10 (Plus) Strangest Things to See in Los Angeles
2025-01-01 — 10 min read
Los Angeles isn't just about beaches and movies—it's full of oddities that blur the line between art, history, and pure imagination. From bookstores in old banks to landslides that swallowed neighborhoods.
Los Angeles isn't just about beaches, movies, and traffic jams—it's also one of the strangest cities in America, full of oddities that blur the line between art, history, and pure imagination. From bookstores in old banks to landslides that swallowed entire neighborhoods, here are 10 of the strangest (and coolest) things to see in LA, plus a few bonus mentions for true explorers.
1. The Last Bookstore (Downtown LA)
This iconic spot is part bookstore, part art installation, and part maze. Housed in a former bank, it features tunnels of books, a "horror vault," and maze-like rooms stuffed with art and vinyl. Locals call it more of an experience than just a store.
Visit The Last Bookstore on Yelp
2. Museum of Jurassic Technology (Culver City)
This place will mess with your head—in the best way. Equal parts curiosity cabinet and hall of oddities, its exhibits range from micro-sculptures carved into single hairs to strange memory theories and fictional-seeming lectures. You'll leave both smarter and more confused.
Visit the Museum of Jurassic Technology
3. Sunken City (San Pedro)
In 1929, a landslide swallowed an entire neighborhood along the coast. What's left is a surreal sprawl of broken streets, graffiti-covered slabs, and crumbling foundations. Technically off-limits, but often explored by urban adventurers.
Learn more about the Sunken City on Wikipedia
4. Angels Flight (Downtown LA)
Known as the "world's shortest railway," this bright orange funicular dates back to 1901. At just 298 feet long, it's quirky, vintage, and endlessly charming. Bonus: it makes you feel like you're in a noir film.
Visit Angels Flight Railway official site
5. Watts Towers (Watts)
From 1921–1954, Italian immigrant Sabato Rodia built these 17 mosaic-covered towers entirely by hand out of salvaged materials. Some rise nearly 100 feet tall. Outsider art doesn't get more epic than this.
Visit the Watts Towers Arts Center
6. Velaslavasay Panorama (West Adams)
One of the only places in America where you can step inside a 360° hand-painted panorama. It's part museum, part immersive theater, and feels like being dropped into a 19th-century dreamscape.
Experience the Velaslavasay Panorama
7. Clifton's Cafeteria (Downtown LA)
Imagine eating in a woodland fantasy: taxidermy, waterfalls, fake squirrels, and even a giant fake redwood tree. This cafeteria has been weirding people out (and delighting them) since the 1930s.
Visit Clifton's Republic (now a themed bar)
8. Underground Tunnels & Secret Staircases
LA has hidden Prohibition-era tunnels under Downtown, plus staircases in neighborhoods like Echo Park built for old streetcar commuters. Exploring them feels like a mashup of Indiana Jones and Chinatown.
Explore LA's Underground Tunnels on Atlas Obscura
9. Velveteria
A whole museum dedicated to velvet paintings. Yes, really. From kitschy Elvis portraits to surreal velvet landscapes, it's bizarre, hilarious, and strangely mesmerizing.
10. Echo Park Time Travel Mart
A store for time travelers, stocked with "robot memory erasers," "dinosaur eggs," and other impossible items". Bonus: all proceeds benefit youth literacy programs. Weird and wholesome.
Bonus Oddities
- Museum of Death (Hollywood) – Macabre exhibits including crime-scene photos, serial killer artwork, and mortuary ephemera.
- Venice Ballerina Clown – A whimsical yet haunting street art figure that perfectly captures LA's eccentric spirit. This iconic ballerina embodies the city's love for blurring the lines between performance art and pure imagination.
- Bunny Museum (Altadena) – *Sadly destroyed in the 2025 Altadena fire.* This beloved museum with over 45,000 bunny-related items was one of LA's greatest weird attractions. Rest in peace, Bunny Museum. You were equal parts adorable and unsettling, and LA is a little less weird without you. 🐰💔
- Bradbury Building (Downtown LA) – Famous for its ornate wrought-iron staircases and as a filming location for Blade Runner.
Why These Spots Matter
Los Angeles thrives on reinvention. These places show the city's true personality—quirky, eccentric, and unafraid to blur the line between art, myth, and spectacle.
Next time you're in LA, skip the tourist traps. Instead, chase the weird. From book tunnels and velvet paintings to landslides and curiosity cabinets, this is where the city really comes alive.
And after you've explored LA's strangest corners, come experience something equally unique at Sunset Ranch Hollywood - the only place where you can ride a horse to the Hollywood Sign! Or check out more Things to Do in LA from our curated list.
Stay weird, LA.