Gift Ideas for Los Angeles Lovers: What to Give Someone Obsessed with Los Angeles

They drove the PCH at sunset and pulled over because they had to. They've eaten tacos at a truck in East LA that changed their understanding of what a taco is. They're obsessed with the mid-century modern houses they drove past in Silver Lake and they've looked up Julius Shulman photographs since they got back. LA people understand that the city rewards people who commit to it, who drive it, eat it, and don't spend the whole time in Santa Monica waiting for something to happen. Here's what to get them.

For the LA Nerd

Joan Didion's "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" and "The White Album" are essential LA reading, capturing the city's psychological weather better than any other writing. Reyner Banham's "Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies" is the definitive account of LA as a designed city rather than an accidental one, and it changed how architects think about urban form. Bret Easton Ellis or Raymond Chandler cover the noir and excess angles. All of them are good gifts.

For prints, a Julius Shulman Case Study House photograph is one of the best LA art prints available. The Stahl House (Case Study House 22) at night with the city spread below it is iconic. Vintage Hollywood studio posters or a mid-century California tourism print from Etsy also works well.

For the LA Experience Seeker

The Getty Center's architecture tour through GetYourGuide is a strong experience gift for the design-obsessed LA fan. A food tour of East LA or Koreatown via Airbnb Experiences covers the taco truck and K-BBQ culture that defines the city's eating scene far better than any restaurant on the Westside. For the outdoor side, a guided Griffith Park or Runyon Canyon hike gives the hiking-above-the-city experience that LA people talk about constantly.

A California wine tasting, focusing on Napa and Sonoma specifically, is a good drinks gift for the California-obsessed person who developed a taste for the state's wine on the West Coast.

For the LA Obsessive Planning Their Next Trip

LA is a city that people plan badly because they underestimate the distances and overestimate what you can do in a day. The ConciseTravel Los Angeles guide is specifically useful for that: it helps repeat visitors plan by neighbourhood and move through the city without losing half the day to traffic they didn't account for. Find it on Etsy at https://concisetravelguides.etsy.com/uk/listing/4464421755/los-angeles-guide-travel-cheat-sheet.

A Klook LA pass covers the main theme parks and attractions. For a travel accessory, something Californian and clean in design: a good canvas weekender bag or a water bottle from a California outdoor brand is in the right register.

LA obsessives see the city differently from tourists. Shop accordingly.