Los Angeles has enough museums, star maps, and studio tours to fill a week, but if you’re only hitting the obvious spots, you’re missing the city’s weirder, funnier side. Anyone searching for funny things to do in Los Angeles usually already knows the Walk of Fame and the Hollywood sign. What you want is the stuff that makes people back home say "wait, that’s real?"
This city hides some genuinely strange attractions between its famous landmarks. From museums built around a single bizarre obsession to neighborhoods with a reputation for ghost stories nobody can quite explain, LA rewards visitors who wander off the standard route. These off-the-beaten-path Los Angeles experiences don’t require a big budget or a full day, just a willingness to skip the predictable itinerary.
We’ve spent years guiding travelers through LA’s neighborhoods, past its landmarks, and into its odder corners, so we know which quirky spots actually deliver and which ones are all hype. Below are 13 picks, from oddball museums to offbeat tours, that turn a standard LA trip into a much better story.
1. Book a guided haunted Hollywood tour
What it is
A haunted Hollywood tour takes you past the Boulevard’s most infamous addresses, the ones where the tabloids stopped writing decades ago but the stories never really ended. You’ll walk or ride past the Roosevelt Hotel, where staff still swap stories about Marilyn Monroe’s mirror, and the Comedy Store, built on the site of a mob-era nightclub with a body count nobody likes to talk about. A good guide threads these locations together with the kind of context you can’t get from a plaque, connecting old Hollywood scandal to the ghost stories that grew out of it.
Why it’s fun and unusual
Honestly, half the fun isn’t the ghosts, it’s the history nobody teaches you in school. Every haunted stop comes with a real, documented backstory: a murder, a suicide, a scandal that got buried by a studio’s PR team. Local guides who know Hollywood’s underbelly turn a spooky walk into something closer to true crime storytelling, and that mix of humor and horror is exactly what makes it memorable. You leave with photos of buildings that look ordinary in daylight but suddenly feel very different once you know what happened inside them.
A good haunted tour turns Hollywood’s ghost stories into a real history lesson with better lighting.
We’ve run haunted tours for over a decade, and the guests who come back aren’t necessarily believers. They just want a version of Hollywood history that doesn’t feel sanitized. If that’s you, our haunted Hollywood tours cover this exact ground with guides who’ve done the research and know how to tell the story without milking it for cheap jump scares.
Good to know before you go
Most haunted Hollywood tours run in the evening, since the stories land better after dark and the crowds thin out. Here’s what to keep in mind before booking one:
- Timing: Evening departures are common, typically 90 minutes to two hours long.
- Group size: Small group or private options exist if you’d rather skip the crowd and ask more questions.
- Comfort: Wear walking shoes since most tours cover several blocks on foot.
- Content: Expect real historical detail mixed with ghost lore, not just jump-scare theatrics.
- Booking window: Weekend evening slots fill up fast in peak tourist season, so reserve a few days ahead.
Skeptics do fine on these tours. The stories stand on their own even if you don’t believe a single word about restless spirits roaming the Roosevelt’s ninth floor.
2. Explore the macabre exhibits at the Museum of Death
What it is
Tucked into a storefront on Hollywood Boulevard, the Museum of Death is exactly what the name promises: a self-guided walk through crime scene photos, serial killer artwork, mortuary equipment, and a full room dedicated to cult history, including original Heaven’s Gate memorabilia. There’s no sugarcoating here. This is a real archive of death in American culture, assembled by collectors who’ve spent decades tracking down items most museums would refuse to display.
Why it’s fun and unusual
People either love this place or walk out after ten minutes, and that split reaction is part of what makes it worth mentioning on any list of unusual things to do in Los Angeles. It’s not funny in a slapstick way, but there’s a dark comedy to how earnestly the museum commits to its subject. You’ll see taxidermy experiments gone wrong, letters from death row inmates, and a gift shop selling skull-shaped soap next to the exit, which tells you everything about the museum’s sense of humor about itself.
The Museum of Death isn’t for everyone, but nobody forgets a visit.
Good to know before you go
The museum sits at 6031 Hollywood Blvd, an easy add-on if you’re already touring the Boulevard. A few practical notes before you commit:
- Admission: Around $18 to $20 per person, cash and card both accepted.
- Duration: Most visitors spend 45 minutes to an hour inside.
- Age restriction: Not recommended for kids; some content is genuinely graphic.
- Photos: Photography isn’t allowed inside, so leave the phone in your pocket.
- Pairing: Works well combined with a haunted Hollywood walk, since both lean into the same darker side of the neighborhood’s history.
Go in with realistic expectations and an empty stomach, and this one delivers a story you’ll actually tell.
3. Stock up on gear at the Echo Park Time Travel Mart
What it is
Walk into what looks like a rundown convenience store on Sunset Boulevard and you’ll find shelves stocked with robot milk, canned mammoth meat, and time travel insurance forms. The Echo Park Time Travel Mart is a fully staged retail joke, a nonprofit storefront that funds 826LA, a nearby writing and tutoring center for kids. Every product on the shelf is a prop, but the shop is real, and so is the register where you can actually buy the merchandise.
Why it’s fun and unusual
This is one of those quirky LA spots that rewards curiosity over speed. You could walk past it and never guess what’s inside, which is exactly the point. The store commits fully to the bit, with staff who play along and packaging detailed enough that you’ll read every label. It’s a five-minute laugh that turns into twenty once you start digging through the shelves for the weirdest item.
A fake time travel store funding real kids’ education is the kind of odd detail that sums up Echo Park.
Buying something here means your money goes toward tutoring programs, so the novelty purchase actually does some good. Few gift shops in the city can say that.
Good to know before you go
The shop sits at 1714 W Sunset Blvd, right in the heart of Echo Park’s café and boutique strip, so pair it with a longer walk through the neighborhood.
- Hours: Open daily, typically early afternoon through evening; check ahead since hours shift.
- Cost: Free to browse; merchandise runs $5 to $25.
- Time needed: 15 to 20 minutes is plenty.
- Nearby: Echo Park Lake is a five-minute walk if you want to extend the stop.
Skip it if you’re pressed for time, but if you’ve got a spare half hour, it’s a genuinely funny detour.
4. Watch a movie among the stars at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
What it is
Cinespia runs outdoor movie screenings on the lawn of Hollywood Forever Cemetery, projecting classic films onto the wall of the Cathedral Mausoleum while guests picnic between headstones belonging to Rudolph Valentino, Judy Garland, and dozens of other old Hollywood names. Gates open a couple hours before showtime, giving people time to spread blankets, unpack wine and cheese, and settle in among mausoleums that double as movie-night seating.
Why it’s fun and unusual
Something about watching a comedy with hundreds of strangers, surrounded by the graves of the actors who might have starred in it decades earlier, sticks with you longer than a regular theater trip ever could. It’s one of those unusual things to do in Los Angeles that sounds morbid on paper but plays out as a genuinely upbeat night out, with a DJ before the film, string lights overhead, and a crowd that skews more festival than funeral.
Picnicking on a lawn full of Hollywood legends turns a movie night into a story you’ll retell for years.
Good to know before you go
Cinespia only runs seasonally, roughly May through October, so check the schedule before building a trip around it. A few things to plan for:
- Tickets: Sell out fast online; buy well ahead, especially for popular titles.
- Arrival: Show up early, gates open hours before the film starts and good spots go quickly.
- What to bring: Blanket, low chairs, food, and drinks; there’s a no-glass policy in some areas.
- Parking: Limited on-site; ride-share or nearby lots are the easier bet.
- Weather: Bring a layer, LA nights cool off fast once the sun drops.
Go for the film, but stay for the strange, lovely feeling of watching a comedy classic surrounded by the people who helped make Hollywood famous.
5. Wander the abandoned Old Zoo in Griffith Park
What it is
Before Griffith Park had its current zoo, animals lived in a smaller facility that closed back in 1966. What’s left is the Old Zoo, a stretch of crumbling grottos, rusted enclosures, and empty moats you can climb through on a short hike near the park’s picnic areas. Nature has taken over most of it, with vines crawling up old stone cages and graffiti layered over decades of weathering, so it feels less like a ruin and more like a set piece nobody bothered to strike.
Why it’s fun and unusual
Hiking to an abandoned zoo isn’t something most cities offer, and that’s exactly why it belongs on a list of unusual things to do in Los Angeles. Kids treat it like a real-life adventure playground, hopping between old cages, while adults get a kick out of realizing they’re standing where lions and bears actually lived decades ago. The contrast between the manicured park around it and this forgotten pocket of decay makes for some of the odder photos you’ll take in LA.
An abandoned zoo hiding inside a public park is the kind of detail that makes Griffith Park worth more than one visit.
Good to know before you go
The Old Zoo sits near the Griffith Park merry-go-round, an easy stop if you’re already exploring the park.
- Cost: Free, no ticket or reservation needed.
- Access: A short, easy walk from the nearest parking lot, no serious hiking gear required.
- Best time: Morning or late afternoon avoids the harshest midday sun.
- Safety: Some enclosures have crumbling ledges, so watch your footing if you climb around.
- Pairing: Combine with a visit to the Griffith Observatory or a longer Griffith Park hike for a fuller afternoon.
Bring water and decent shoes, and you’ve got a free, genuinely strange stop most visitors never hear about.
6. Snap photos at LA’s giant novelty roadside buildings
What it is
Los Angeles has a handful of buildings shaped like the thing they used to sell, a leftover from the era when roadside businesses competed for attention before anyone had a smartphone to scroll past. The Donut Hole in La Puente lets you drive your car straight through a giant concrete donut to reach the shop’s drive-through window. Randy’s Donuts, near LAX, has anchored countless movie shots with its rooftop donut the size of a small car. These novelty roadside buildings were built purely to grab your eye from a moving vehicle, and decades later they still do exactly that.
Why it’s fun and unusual
Driving through a hole shaped like a pastry is the kind of thing you can’t explain without sounding a little ridiculous, which is precisely why it works. These stops cost nothing beyond the coffee or donut you’ll buy, and they’re among the best photo spots in LA, photographing better than most paid attractions in the city. It’s a five-minute stop that turns into one of the better photos from your whole trip.
A giant donut you can drive through is proof that LA’s weirdest landmarks were never trying to be taken seriously.
Good to know before you go
Both spots sit off the beaten path, so plan them around a drive rather than a walk.
- Cost: Free to visit, just pay for whatever you order.
- Best time: Early morning avoids traffic and gets you better light for photos.
- Location: Randy’s Donuts is a quick detour near LAX; the Donut Hole is farther east in La Puente.
- Time needed: 10 to 15 minutes at each stop.
Pair a couple of these buildings into one drive and you’ve got a genuinely funny photo album by lunchtime.
7. Sip through 500 soda flavors at Galco’s Soda Pop Stop
What it is
Galco’s started as a neighborhood Italian grocery in 1955 and slowly turned into something much stranger: a soda shop stocking over 500 flavors from small bottlers across the country. Walk the aisles at this Highland Park soda shop and you’ll find root beer from Wisconsin, cream soda from a family bottler in Vermont, and flavors like bacon, buffalo wing, and pickle that exist mostly to see who’s brave enough to try them. Owner John Nese built the collection over decades, tracking down regional bottlers that most of the country forgot existed.
Why it’s fun and unusual
Nobody expects a soda aisle to double as a scavenger hunt, but that’s exactly what Galco’s delivers. Reading labels becomes the entertainment, and daring your travel companions to pick the weirdest flavor turns a quick stop into a genuine group activity. It’s one of those funny things to do in Los Angeles that costs almost nothing and gives you a story better than most paid attractions.
A wall of 500 sodas turns a five-minute errand into a genuine dare among friends.
Good to know before you go
Galco’s sits at 5702 York Blvd in Highland Park, a neighborhood worth a slower afternoon anyway.
- Cost: Sodas run $2 to $5 each, no entry fee.
- Hours: Open daily, though weekday afternoons are quieter than weekends.
- Time needed: 20 to 30 minutes browsing the full wall.
- Payment: Cards and cash both accepted.
- Pairing: Combine with a walk down York Boulevard’s cafés and vintage shops for a longer stop.
Buy a few bottles to go. Half the fun happens later, when you crack open something labeled "clam juice soda" in front of someone who dared you to.
8. Step into a sci-fi film set at the Bradbury Building
What it is
Walk in off a plain downtown street and you’ll wonder if you took a wrong turn into a movie set, because you basically did. The Bradbury Building on South Broadway is a working office building from 1893 with a cast-iron atrium, open cage elevators, and skylights that flood the whole space with light. It’s one of the most famous Hollywood film locations, best known for its turn in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, where its Victorian ironwork stood in for a crumbling dystopian future.
Why it’s fun and unusual
Finding a movie-famous set piece hiding inside a functioning office building is a strange little jolt, especially in a city built around illusion. You expect a soundstage somewhere in Burbank, not a real address downtown that people still commute to every day. That contrast between ordinary office life and cinematic history is exactly what earns this spot a place among LA’s unusual things to do, and it’s free to walk in and gawk.
A real office building doubling as a sci-fi landmark is downtown LA’s best-kept photo op.
Good to know before you go
The building sits at 304 S Broadway, an easy add-on if you’re already exploring the Historic Core or Grand Central Market a few blocks over.
- Access: Public visitors are limited to the ground floor lobby; upper floors are private offices.
- Cost: Free to enter and photograph.
- Hours: Weekdays are best, since it’s an active workplace, not a museum.
- Time needed: 10 to 15 minutes for photos and a slow look up at the ironwork.
- Etiquette: Keep voices down and stay out of the way of tenants heading to work.
Go on a quiet weekday morning and you’ll likely get the atrium mostly to yourself, which makes for far better photos than a crowded lunch hour.
9. Get puzzled by the Museum of Jurassic Technology
What it is
The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City looks like a normal small museum from outside, dim lighting, glass cases, hushed rooms. Inside, you’ll find exhibits on subjects like mice that supposedly lived on toast, a trailer park diorama shrunk to microscopic scale, and biographical displays of obscure inventors who may or may not have existed. Nothing is labeled as fake, and nothing is labeled as real either. That ambiguity is the entire point.
Why it’s fun and unusual
Half the fun is arguing with your travel companions afterward about what was actually true. The museum never winks at you or breaks character, so you leave genuinely unsure whether you just learned something obscure or got played for forty-five minutes straight. It’s a quieter, weirder cousin to the other best museums in Los Angeles on this list, less shock value, more slow-building confusion that turns into a great conversation over dinner.
A museum that never tells you what’s real is the most honest kind of trick LA has to offer.
Good to know before you go
The museum sits at 9341 Venice Blvd, tucked into a stretch of Culver City easy to miss if you’re not looking for it.
- Admission: Around $12, cash preferred at the door.
- Hours: Closed Mondays and Tuesdays; check the current schedule before driving over.
- Time needed: 45 minutes to an hour, longer if you read every placard twice.
- Atmosphere: Quiet and dim, not built for large groups or loud conversation.
- Rooftop tearoom: Often open after your visit, a nice quiet spot to decompress and debate what you just saw.
Go without Googling anything beforehand. Half the experience is not knowing.
10. Marvel at the folk-art spires of Watts Towers
What it is
Italian immigrant Simon Rodia spent 33 years building the Watts Towers, a cluster of soaring spires made from steel rods, cement, and whatever scraps he could scavenge: broken pottery, seashells, bottle glass, tile fragments, even old bed frames. He worked alone, mostly at night after his day job, with no blueprint and no engineering background. The tallest spire reaches nearly 100 feet, and every inch is covered in mosaic patterns he pieced together by hand.
Why it’s fun and unusual
There’s no other way to say it: one guy building a personal monument out of trash and stubbornness for over three decades is objectively strange, and that’s exactly why it belongs on any list of unusual things to do in Los Angeles. Rodia never explained his reasons before he left LA for good in 1955, gifting the property to a neighbor and walking away from his life’s work without a word. Standing underneath towers built from nothing but scrap and persistence hits differently than any polished museum exhibit could.
A man spent 33 years building towers from trash with no blueprint, then walked away without explaining why.
Good to know before you go
The towers sit at 1727 E 107th St in Watts, a neighborhood worth visiting with a clear plan rather than a wander.
- Admission: Free to view from outside; guided tours run a small fee and require advance booking.
- Access: Interior tours are limited; check the current schedule before driving over.
- Time needed: 30 minutes for photos, longer if you book a guided walk.
- Getting there: Driving or rideshare is easier than public transit for most visitors.
- Pairing: Combine with the nearby Watts Towers Arts Center for context on Rodia’s process.
Go for the towers, but stay for the reminder that LA’s strangest landmarks often come from one person’s obsession, not a committee.
11. Laugh out loud at an intimate LA comedy club
What it is
Los Angeles built modern stand-up comedy, and a handful of small LA comedy clubs still run shows in rooms tiny enough to feel like you’re sitting in on a rehearsal. The Comedy Store on Sunset, Largo at the Coronet, and the Upright Citizens Brigade theater all book working comedians and surprise drop-ins between paid sets, much like the best concert venues in Los Angeles, since half the industry lives within driving distance and likes to test new material on a real crowd. You won’t always know who’s showing up. That’s part of the deal.
Why it’s fun and unusual
Sitting fifteen feet from a comedian working out a bit that might end up on a Netflix special next year is a strange kind of front-row access you don’t get in most cities. Small comedy rooms force performers to read the crowd honestly, no big stage, no polish, just a mic and whatever’s actually funny that night. It’s one of the better funny things to do in Los Angeles precisely because it’s unscripted. You might catch a household name testing five new minutes, or you might catch someone bombing spectacularly, and either one makes a better story than a polished theater show ever would.
The best LA comedy nights happen in rooms too small to hide a bad joke.
Good to know before you go
Most clubs post lineups just days ahead, so flexibility beats advance planning here.
- Cost: Tickets run $20 to $40; some rooms add a one or two drink minimum.
- Booking: Check lineups the same week, since surprise sets aren’t announced early.
- Seating: Arrive 30 minutes early for the smaller rooms; seating fills fast.
- Etiquette: Phones stay off during sets, no exceptions at most venues.
- Age: Most shows are 18 or 21 and up, check the specific club.
Go on a weeknight if you can. Smaller crowds mean better banter with the room.
12. Shop for the strange at LA’s quirkiest boutiques
What it is
Los Angeles has a handful of shops built around a single strange fixation rather than a normal product line. Necromance in Los Feliz sells taxidermy, bones, and Victorian mourning jewelry next to a case of preserved insects. Wacko in Los Feliz stacks pop culture ephemera, cult movie memorabilia, and outsider art under one roof, run by the same owner behind the La Luz de Jesus gallery next door. These quirky LA boutiques aren’t novelty gift shops padded with tourist junk. They’re curated collections built by people who genuinely love the strange stuff they’re selling.
Why it’s fun and unusual
Browsing a shop where a raccoon skull sits next to a rare pulp paperback is a different kind of shopping trip than anything back home. You’re not hunting for souvenirs so much as stumbling into someone else’s obsession, and that makes every aisle worth a slow look. It’s one of the better unusual things to do in Los Angeles if you’d rather bring home a weird conversation piece than another t-shirt with the Hollywood sign on it.
Shopping somewhere that sells raccoon skulls next to pulp paperbacks beats another souvenir shop every time.
Good to know before you go
Both shops sit in Los Feliz, close enough to combine with lunch or a walk down Vermont Avenue.
- Cost: Free to browse; most items run $10 to $150.
- Hours: Open daily, though afternoons draw the bigger crowds.
- Time needed: 20 to 40 minutes per shop, longer if you dig through the bins.
- Payment: Cash and card both accepted.
- Pairing: Combine with a coffee stop nearby to compare finds before deciding what actually makes the flight home.
Budget a little extra cash. You’ll find something you didn’t know you wanted.
13. Pedal a swan boat around Echo Park Lake
What it is
Echo Park Lake rents oversized pedal boats shaped like giant white swans, and yes, you climb inside the swan’s body and pedal it around the water like a slow, ridiculous bumper car. The Echo Park swan boats have been a neighborhood fixture for years, gliding past the lotus beds and downtown skyline views that make this lake one of LA’s more photogenic corners. It’s low-tech, a little clunky, and completely sincere about being a swan-shaped boat.
Why it’s fun and unusual
There’s something inherently funny about adults pedaling around in a giant plastic bird while downtown’s skyscrapers loom in the background. Nobody looks cool doing this, and that’s the appeal. It’s one of the more lighthearted funny things to do in Los Angeles, less about spectacle and more about the simple absurdity of steering a swan past actual real ducks who clearly aren’t impressed. Bring someone you don’t mind looking silly with, since photos are unavoidable.
Pedaling a giant plastic swan past real ducks sums up Echo Park’s whole personality.
Good to know before you go
The boathouse sits right on the lake, an easy stop if you already checked out the Time Travel Mart nearby.
- Cost: Roughly $10 to $15 for a 30-minute rental, cash or card.
- Hours: Seasonal and weather-dependent; weekends draw longer lines.
- Capacity: Most swan boats fit two to four people.
- Best time: Late afternoon for cooler weather and better light over the water.
- Pairing: Combine with lotus flowers in bloom (usually July through August) for the best photos.
Skip a rainy day. Otherwise, this is a cheap, genuinely goofy half hour that photographs better than you’d expect.
Wrapping up your unusual LA itinerary
Los Angeles rewards the traveler who skips the rushed photo-op circuit and actually pokes around. Swap one afternoon of star maps for a swan boat, a soda scavenger hunt, or a museum that never tells you what’s real, and you’ll walk away with better stories than anyone who stuck to the Walk of Fame. That’s the whole point of chasing funny things to do in Los Angeles: the weird stuff sticks with you longer than the postcard version ever does.
You don’t need to plan all thirteen stops yourself, especially if you’re short on time or don’t know which neighborhoods pair well together. A guide who already knows the backstreets and the backstories can string these oddities into one smooth day instead of a scattered checklist. If you’d rather hand off the logistics and just show up for the good parts, book a private tour and let a local expert build the strange, memorable version of LA you actually came for.
