If you are planning a trip to Anaheim, California, and you want to visit as many tourist destinations as you can, with the time and resources that you have, you may be thinking that Disneyland and California Adventure probably will snag the top 2 spots in your list. After all, they are both in the top 10 tourist destinations for travelers. While that may be accurate, because both places have quite a stellar reputation, once you have spent enough time in Disneyland, maybe a day or two, there will still be a lot of other places to explore.
If you are in town for a five-day trip, you’re going to have your hands full because there are a lot of tourist attractions to select from. In fact, your five days may not be enough. Your trip will come to a halt not because you have run out of places to go to. The reality is, you will never run out of options but you will simply not have time for everything. That’s how much big and culturally rich Anaheim is.
The point here is to not restrict yourself to Disneyland as the only place that you can visit while you are in Anaheim. Knowing that you have a limited amount of time and money, plan your trip to include other tourist destinations other than the two theme parks above mentioned. Keep in mind that Disneyland and its parks are created by Disney with the intention that guests are going to want to come back. No matter what you do, you will not be able to exhaust all the rides and attractions in just one trip. You will be back in the future.
For now, create an itinerary that is diverse enough to include most of Anaheim. It just has too much to give to travelers that it would be such a shame if you don’t give it a chance just because the big-ticket spots like Disneyland and its parks eclipsed all the others. Try the rest of Anaheim and it will not disappoint you.
If you can afford to go on a long vacation leave, say 7-10 days, it will be a completely rewarding experience. This is because Anaheim, CA and surrounding areas, like the San Diego County, Los Angeles County and the greater Orange County, have so much to offer. Whether you’re looking for museums, nature trails, cuisines from all over the world, and an amazing night life, you will find it here.
This is one of the reasons why people from all over the world have found themselves in this part of California and nowhere else. There’s just a tremendous amount of diversity. Also, a lot of places are very progressive, clean, well-maintained, and simply beautiful.
So, whether you are looking to have a good time or you’re looking to possibly relocate your family sometime in the future, you might want to consider Anaheim, CA. The surrounding counties like Los Angeles are not only geographically huge, but also very culturally deep.
So, with no further ado, here are the top 10 tourism spots in Anaheim, CA and surrounding areas.
Disneyland and Disney California Adventure
Knott’s Berry Farm Theme Park and Adventure Rides
Adventure City Theme Park for Children
Yorba Linda National Park (Lakeside Picnic Park)
The Ranch Restaurant & Saloon
Local Beaches: Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Malibu Beach
Hollywood Hills, the Hollywood sign, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Anaheim Packing District
Westside of Los Angeles and Brentwood
Angel Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Universal Studios Hollywood
Keep the list above in mind. Please understand that these are just starting points. When you go to Los Angeles, for example, and try to research alternative places to visit when you’re in that neck of the woods, you’ll quickly discover that if you do a search on Hollywood or House of Blues, then all sorts of spots on Sunset Boulevard open up. Similarly, if you’re doing a search on the Westside of LA, like, let’s say, you start off with the Santa Monica Promenade, a lot of other places show up in your options like Brentwood.
This is what’s so awesome about Anaheim and surrounding regions. You can start with one district when you go online, but your attention would be quickly taken to other equally attractive and diverse areas in the same general vicinity.
Regardless of how you plan your trip, remember that Southern California has excellent roads and highways. This is one part of the United States that really became independent after the invention of the automobile. This means that it’s less dependent on subways and other means of public transport. Instead, the transportation system is composed primarily of private automobiles and highways.
If you booked a room in Anaheim and you need to go to Hollywood Hills, you’re only a freeway away. You just basically hop on a highway and go north. Similarly, if you have your eyes set on an attraction in San Diego, maybe a day trip, it’s only half an hour away.
Orange County is strategically located and it’s only a highway away from the rest of Southern California.
With all these in mind, go and enjoy exploring!