Original Farmers Market

The Original Farmers Market at the corner of Third Street and Fairfax Avenue began in 1934, when local farmers started selling produce from their trucks on land belonging to the Gilmore family. It grew into a permanent, seven-day market, and today it is a rambling collection of more than a hundred grocers, restaurants and shops under open-sided roofs, with its clock tower as a landmark.

The market is at its best as a place to graze. Stalls, identified by numbers rather than grand signs, sell produce, baked goods, sweets, coffee and prepared food from many cuisines, and you eat at shared tables in the open air. Bob's Coffee and Doughnuts and long-running produce and butcher counters sit alongside newer arrivals, so regulars and first-time visitors mix easily.

Opening hours are 9am to 9pm from Monday to Friday, 10am to 9pm on Saturday and 10am to 7pm on Sunday, although individual merchants can vary. Mornings are pleasant and quiet, lunchtime is busiest, and early evening is relaxed. Allow an hour or two to wander and eat.

The market suits families, food lovers and visitors who want a break from formal sightseeing. It is also a good option for groups who cannot agree where to eat, because everyone can pick their own stall. Since the setting is open-air, bring a layer on cooler evenings in winter.

Right next door is The Grove, an outdoor shopping centre with a trolley that runs between the two, and many visitors combine them. LACMA, the Academy Museum and the Miracle Mile are about ten minutes away by car, and CBS Television City stands across the road. Many stalls are family businesses that have traded here for decades, and that continuity is part of the market's character compared with newer food halls. Look out for the produce and speciality grocery counters if you are self-catering, and the sweet shops and bakeries if you are travelling with children. The market's directory, organised by stall number, helps when you want to find a particular trader in the maze of aisles.

Parking is available on site; check the market's website for current validation rules before you go. Buses run along Third Street and Fairfax Avenue. If you want to buy food to take back to a hotel or for a picnic at the Hollywood Bowl, this is one of the most convenient places in the city to do it.