Spending the Day in Alhambra: A Full Day Itinerary

With a history as interesting as its neighborhood architecture, Alhambra is currently home to a thriving Asian-American community and some of LA County’s best Asian-fusion food. Get hungry, because this itinerary will take you on a culinary adventure through the city.

‍

Getting There

• Metro: The 78 bus goes from Downtown LA straight to our starting point.
• Driving: Park in an outdoor spot at 122 N Garfield Ave. The garage has a 4-hour limit, but there are no signs limiting hours on the outdoor spots.

Morning Plans in Alhambra

• 10:00am: Start your day with Indonesian coffee at Uncle Fung Coffee Stall, sweetly named after the owner’s father. Grab a specialty coffee with flavors like coconut and pandan and join the online waitlist for brunch at your next stop.
• 10:45am: One block West, fill up on a delicious brunch at Chinese-fusion noodle shop, Yang’s Kitchen. You can’t go wrong with the menu, but don’t sleep on the mochi pancake.
• 11:30am: Walk off your brunch for 22 minutes on your way to your next treat (yes, we’re for real). No trip to Alhambra would be complete without a stop at historic - over 100 years old! - and delicious Fosselman’s Ice Cream Co.

Afternoon Plans in Alhambra

• 12:30pm: 8 minutes North, you’ll find Alhambra Park which is home to tennis courts, basketball courts, an amphitheater, and some lovely trees. There is a water playground at the park to cool your toes on a hot day. Otherwise, take a stroll and enjoy the scenery.
• 3:00pm: Make your way to the Alhambra Historical Society offers free admission to learn about the city’s rich history. This will be useful for your next stop!
• 4:00pm: It’s time for a not-so-brief architectural tour! Start by walking North along Bushell Ave for Arts & Crafts homes, then make your way to the Carmelite Monastery of St. Teresa, a 100-year-old Mediterranean Renaissance Revival building. Take a right onto N Almansor St for Spanish, English Tudor Revival, and Colonial Revival homes.
• 5:30pm: Now that you’ve had your fill of architecture, move on to art with a visit to Nucleus, a gallery/book shop/gift store highlighting illustrated arts. 

Evening Plans in Alhambra

• 6:15pm: Relatively new on the scene, try Taste of Home, an authentic Chinese restaurant. Consider the mapo tofu and the tree mushroom dry pot for dinner.
• 7:00pm: Don’t even think about skipping dessert from Patisserie Too, just one block over! In addition to the gorgeous patisserie sculptures, make sure to grab a few of their popular egg tarts.
• 7:15pm: Turn the corner to get to Ohana Brewing Company to unwind over a craft brew.
• 8:30pm: Well rested? Good! The cherry on top of this day is 3 floors of dancing at The Granada ($20), just next door to Ohana. You’re just in time for a drop in Salsa class on Saturdays (on other days, take your time at Ohana since open dancing starts at 9:30). When you’re ready to head home, your car is only 2.5 blocks away!

Tips to Spending the Day in Alhambra

• Total walk time: 2h
• This itinerary can be done Thursday-Saturday, but we recommend Saturday so you can make it to the history museum and salsa lesson. 
• The Alhambra Historic Society Museum is only open every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month. If you’re not that interested in ice cream and history (couldn’t be us), you could spend the afternoon at Alhambra Golf Course playing 18 holes of golf ($60 for up to 4 players). Make a reservation for tee time online in advance!

‍