You’ve seen it haven’t you? And you either can’t get enough of Emma and Ryan and their modern Romeo and Juliet, dreams will tear you apart, dancing around lamp posts joy. Or you can’t stand the flipping thing; the jaunty tunes, slightly off key singing and the relentless nods to classic movies.

Whatever your take, you can’t deny that it makes Los Angeles look like the absolute dream. Surely the tourism board put Damien Chazelle up for that but if not, they owe him, big time!

Basing a whole trip around an epic film would be crazy (but don’t put it past #TeamCoco!) but we were lucky enough to cram in a number of romantic spots from the movie by simply heading to DTLA’s Grand Central Market.

This year is the market’s centenary as a covered market and refreshingly since 1917 the core values of the market have remained the same. As the City of Stars has had face lift after face lift, the market has maintained its charm and its purpose in the community as somewhere to grab fresh produce, some dinner and a drink and meet a friend.

The current administration of the space want to continue to preserve it as a place that showcases the best of the local area’s produce, chefs and entrepreneurs with carefully vetted vendors and live DJ nights that keep the atmosphere alive.

We could spend all day telling you about where to eat and drink (for instance, Eggslut is a phenomenon, G&B coffee have world class baristas and a green juice from Press Brothers’ Juicery will cure any hangover) but we’re here to walk in the foot steps of our star crossed lovers aren’t we?!

In one of the most heart-soaringly romantic parts of the movie we’re treated to a number of incredible dates where the city of Los Angeles facilitates Seb and Mia falling deeply in love. Within the market you can sit (as many couples who were there did!) at the stools at Sarita’s Pupuseria for Salvadorean cuisine.

Leaving the market to the Hill Street side you will catch a real slice of old Los Angeles with the funicular Angel’s Flight, once the world’s shortest railway when it opened in 1901. This incredible piece of old school public transport had been out of service for years, including when the film was filmed but has since been confirmed to be restored and reopened to the public.

We’d like to think that some movie magic might have helped that to happen…

.If that isn’t enough movie magic for you, we have two options left: jump in a cab up to Griffith Observatory to try out dancing with the stars and incredible views of the Hollywood Sign and the city beneath you.

Or, a little closer to the market, we were tipped off to pop into the Bradbury Building across the road which, while not in La La Land has starred in movies like Blade Runner, 500 Days of Summer and as the Twix factory in the recent TV campaign…

Find out more about how you can visit more La La Land filming locations through Discover Los Angeles at https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/lalaland

Author

Living on the sunny Kent coast you'll find Anna tracking down the best new coffee shops and craft beer dens. With a penchant for vintage, she's more likely to be exploring thrift stores than Bond Street but she'll never say no to a little touch of creative luxury.

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