Do you have your TAP card ready to go for the new Expo Line extension? Why rush to the beach when you could get to know the neighborhoods in between. We have suggestions for places stop and check out at all seven new stops.
>> See an interactive map of the stations and surrounding points of interest
Palms station
The area around the Palms station has the largest residential population along the new Expo Line route, according to Metro. Nearby Motor Avenue includes several schools, restaurants and a weekly farmers market every Sunday at the corner of Motor and National Boulevard.
Parking: None.
Places to check out:
- Scoops Ice Cream (3400 Overland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90034): Walk a short distance from the station and you're rewarded with some amazing and unique daily ice cream flavors, like brown bread, salty vanilla Oreo and ricotta halva.
- Wildcraft (9725 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232): A popular pizza spot with a knack for making delicious dough.
Westwood/Rancho Park station
This neighborhood is primarily filled with single-family homes, though there's a thriving commercial corridor north of the station along Pico Boulevard, according to Metro. You'll find the Westside Pavilion shopping center here, with nearby Westwood Boulevard connecting UCLA, Westwood Village, Pico Boulevard and the Palms neighborhood.
Parking: None
Places to check out:
- Apple Pan (10801 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064) "It's a burger place. They've kept it very basic. They only have a handful of menu items, but it's one of our most hallowed institutions in L.A.," says food writer Katherine Spiers (who also co-hosts the podcast How It Got In Your Mouth). "For a lot of people, it's good because it's nostalgic. But they do a good burger."
- Westside Tavern (10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064 in Westside Pavilion). "It's really quite good, it's a great place to take your parents," says Spiers.
- Food Cafe (10571 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064): KPCC listener Sarah Hays recommends this neighborhood restaurant — especially something delicious from its daily salad case. She likes that she frequently sees her neighbors here. "I think it's one of the great things about living in this neighborhood: these little opportunities to feel like you're in a small town," she says. "It's one of the things I'm excited about with the Expo Line, because more people can come and visit us."
- Sew Modern (10921 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064): A fabric store for the hip kids, Sew Modern is a great stop to pick up modern fabrics, patterns and DIY sewing kits.
- F & S Fabrics For The Home (10654 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064): If you want to go old-school, this fabric shop has you covered. But also go for the classic mural that lines the outside wall.
- La Serenata Restaurant (10924 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064): This is the Westside hermana to the famed restaurant located in Boyle Heights' Mariachi Plaza. Diners swear by the salsa and cochinita pibil burritos.
- Children's Book World (10580 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064): This 30-year-old book store for kids — and the young at heart — gets a strong recommendation from journalist David Kipen, who spoke with KPCC's "Take Two." "Everybody I know who has kids who lives within a five-mile radius just cherishes it," Kipen said.
Expo/Sepulveda station
Not far from where the 405 and 10 freeways meet, this station is an active manufacturing and commercial area, according to Metro. Nearby businesses including a cement plant, a lumber retailer, government office buildings, public storage, animal services and more. There are also some homes and apartments in the area. Most of the stores and restaurants nearby are on Pico Boulevard.
Parking: 260 spaces (77 require permits on weekday mornings).
Places to check out:
- Tsujita LA (2057 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025): This has some of the best tsukemen in the city. "It's definitely not for dieters (sorry) but is huge on flavor and delicious," says KPCC listener M.J. Lai. "I would describe the broth as liquid bacon!"
- Anawalt Lumber (11060 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064): This is the last family-owned lumberyard in L.A. and it's been around since 1923. KPCC listener Kenneth Fleischer, who grew up nearby, suggests stopping by to get hardware from Anawalt and also learn a little bit of history. "It's one of the businesses that's been in West Los Angeles," he says, "and they'll probably be here forever."
- Alias Books (1650 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025): Journalist David Kipen says that this is a "great old bookstore, almost a classical bookstore, though you're not tripping over books just to get around."
- Sideshow Books (11323 Idaho Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90025): Kipen described Sideshow as "eccentrically put together," with sights like a TV playing an old movie loop between books on a shelf in the film section.
Expo/Bundy station
The neighborhood surrounding the Expo/Bundy station is home to a growing patch of creative and media business, according to Metro. Head north and you'll find a largely commercial area that's home to a car dealership, the Westside Media Center, offices and big-box retailers. Farther north and directly south, you'll find more residential areas. Head farther south and you'll hit Pico Boulevard, with plenty of independent mom-and-pop shopping spots.
Parking: 217 spaces (131 require permits on weekday mornings).
Places to check out:
Liquid Kitty (11780 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064): Along with the Arsenal, food writer Katherine Spiers says the Liquid Kitty is one of L.A.'s great noir bars. Come for the cheap drinks, stay for the late-night karaoke.
26th St/Bergamot station
The big attraction nearby is Bergamot Station. It's a former railroad station that now houses art galleries for your perusing pleasure.
Parking: None
Places to check out:
- Bergamot Station (2525 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90404): The stop at 26th/Bergamot drops off right at Bergamot Station, which isn't a station itself but the name for the adjoining arts center. Wayne Blank developed the site in 1993 and it also houses his own Shoshana Wayne Gallery, one of 35 on site. "This place is not intimidating to the average person," he says, "You'd be hard pressed to find something you didn't like."
- City Garage (2525 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90404): Situated at Bergamot Station is City Garage, which journalist David Kipen says is a great literary theater.
17th St/Santa Monica College station
The draw here is, of course, Santa Monica College. Parking nearby is next to nil, unless you're able to park at the school, just three blocks away.
Parking: 67 spaces (13 require permits on weekday mornings)
Places to check out:
- Bay Cities Italian Deli (1517 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401): Beloved for its famous "Godmother" sandwich, Bay Cities is responsible for giant sandwiches, massive lines and even a video from Esquire — food writer Katherine Spiers calls it "another classic."
- Highways Performance Space and Gallery (1651 18th St, Santa Monica, CA 90404): This theatre space features experimental performances, dancers, musicians and more from a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds that reflect SoCal and the world. "We've been here for 27 years and it's going to be great having you hear," says artistic director Leo Garcia.
Downtown Santa Monica station
This station drops you right in downtown Santa Monica. You're just two to three blocks from the Santa Monica Pier, Metro's Jose Ubaldo told KPCC, as well as right by the Third Street Promenade.
Parking: None.
Places to check out:
- Tongva Park (1615 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401): This park debuted in 2013, transformed from its past as a parking lot for the Rand Corporation. It's sandwiched between Santa Monica City Hall and the shore, and Mayor Tony Vazquez says it's a great place for children, catching a performance at Tongva After Dark or gazing at the beach from one of its two basket-like observation decks. "This is probably one of the best places to catch the sunset," says Vazquez.
- Fritto Misto (601 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401): Mayor Vazquez also recommends this local Italian restaurant just steps away from the new downtown station. "It's one of my favorite spots," he says. "It's home-cooked, it's reasonably priced and it's tasty." Diners have a chance to create their own pasta with any any combination of noodles and sauces they'd like.
- Harvelle's (1432 4th St, Santa Monica, CA 90401): Established in 1931, the downtown Santa Monica hangout claims to be the Westside's oldest music venue. "It's a legendary jazz club," said food writer Katherine Spiers. "Everyone needs to go there."
- Beyond Baroque (681 Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291): This literary arts center was founded in 1968, based out of Venice's original city hall building. Famed science fiction writer Ray Bradbury lived nearby, journalist David Kipen told KPCC, and both the firehouse for "Fahrenheit 451" and the canals for "The Martian Chronicles" drew their inspiration from this area.
- Small World Books (1407 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291): This bookstore was described by Kipen as a "beatnik time machine," offering "a little trap door into the heyday of L.A. bookstores in the '60s."
Bonus: Bike the Expo Line bike path
The Expo Line also features a bike path that runs along most of the extension, connecting downtown Culver City to downtown Santa Monica.
"The beauty of the bike lane is you don't have to deal with traffic on Olympic or Colorado," says KPCC listener Joni Yung. "You're protected most of the time."
(Note: there is a gap between the Palms and Westwood/Rancho Park station where you'll be biking through a neighborhood, instead. Here's a map someone compiled to help guide you.)
If you don't have a bike, Yung suggests joining the Santa Monica Breeze Bike Share program.
You'll be able to rent a bike outside the 26th/Bergamot, 17th St/Santa Monica College and Downtown Santa Monica stations.
Once you're signed up, look for the bright green color of the bikes at a designated rack. Punch your code into a bike to unlock it, and you're on your way to traveling up and down the path.
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