Los Angeles, California · off the bike

Los Angeles off the bike: record stores, bookshops, bars

What to do in Los Angeles with the afternoon after the ride and the evening before it. A short list, not a city guide: the record store, the bookshop, the bar, the market.

Los Angeles off the bike: record stores, bookshops, bars, listed

1. Amoeba Music Hollywood

   Record store · 6200 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028

   The big one, on Hollywood Blvd a few miles west of Los Feliz (Zone 3). New and used vinyl, CDs and DVDs, and in-store shows. Open 11 to 8 Monday to Thursday and 11 to 9 Friday to Sunday, so it works as the evening after a Griffith Park ride.

2. Record Surplus

   Record store · 12436 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025

   Zone 1, West LA, on Santa Monica Blvd inland from the beach. New and used vinyl, used CDs and cassettes, buy-sell-trade; it calls itself one of the largest record stores in Los Angeles. Open 11:30 to 7 every day. The one to hit after a Westside ride instead of driving to Hollywood.

3. Skylight Books

   Bookstore · 1818 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

   Zone 3, Los Feliz, at the foot of Griffith Park. Independent, with an Arts Annex, small-press picks and a full events calendar. Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, so it is there after dinner.

4. The Broad

   Museum · 221 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012

   Downtown. Two hours, and general admission is free; timed tickets recommended, walk-ups taken daily. Open 11 to 5 Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 11 to 8 Thursday, 10 to 6 Saturday and Sunday, closed Monday. Parking $19 for three hours with validation (Sept 2026). Grand Ave. is closed between 1st and 2nd St. while the expansion is built (Sept 2026).

5. Akbar

   Bar · 4356 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029

   Silver Lake, on Sunset. Opened December 31, 1996. Its own site calls it "a welcoming, creative, alternative space for queer and queer allies in Silver Lake," a neighborhood hangout and a dance bar. Open 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. every day. Sold after 27 years by the two who opened it to the managers who ran it through the pandemic.

6. Downtown Santa Monica Farmers Market (Wednesday)

   Market · 155-199 Arizona Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401

   Downtown Santa Monica. Wednesdays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., year-round, rain or shine; 60-plus farm stands, per the district's page, and the chefs shop it. A Saturday market runs the same hours in the same spot. No bike parking stated.

7. Griffith Observatory

   2800 East Observatory Road, Los Angeles, CA 90027

   Zone 3, the top of the observatory climb. Go back after dark: admission is free, the public telescopes are free, and it is open noon to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed Monday. Paid parking up top, free parking downhill, per its site.

Checked September 30, 2026. No paid placements. Businesses open and close; call before you count on anyone.