(Credit: Sefano Paltera LAT)
The Metro Red Line makes barhopping from Downtown to NoHo (and vice versa) easier than hailing a cab, so we’ve created the ideal RL pub crawl. Be sure to buy a Day Pass for $5 so you can hop aboard as often as you like. Even better, the train, which normally stops service at 1 a.m., will run until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays during the holiday season beginning November 22. Come January 1, however, it's back to calling it a night before bartenders have even thought about flicking on the lights for last call.
- Start at Union Station. You can get liquored up at Traxx, an art deco gem inside the station that speaks to the days when train travel was glam.
- Hop on the Metro and make your way to the pirate-themed Redwood Bar & Grill, just a .2-mile walk from the Civic Center stop.
- Next stop is the swanky Gallery Bar inside the Biltmore Hotel, another .2-mile jaunt, this time from the Pershing Square station.
- Downtown barhopping wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Seven Grand, where the bartenders wear ties and serve classic cocktails. It’s about two blocks from the 7th Street Metro Center.
- From Downtown, cruise on the subway a bit until you hit Santa Monica/Vermont. Get off and head east .3 mile to Little Temple, where you can get in on one of the best hip-hop parties in L.A.
- Then head up to Vermont/Sunset. A two-to-four-minute walk from the subway will land you at the Chinese-themed Good Luck Bar for sweet cocktails and even sweeter bartenders.
- Now it’s off to Blu Monkey for some soulful electronica in East Hollywood. The best part? It’s just 276 feet from the Hollywood/Western stop.
- Head over to Hollywood/Vine and take your pick: Cinespace, S Bar and Frolic Room are all within a block of the Metro.
- Next on the Red is the Hollywood/Highland stop on Hollywood Boulevard, where it seems every other venue is a nightlife destination, including The Highlands dance club just upstairs. (P.S. Did you know the musical notes along the stairway walls are to the song “Hooray for Hollywood”?)
- Back on subway, we pass by Universal Studios (too many tourists) and head straight to NoHo, the last stop on the line, for the chic yet unassuming Skinny’s. It’s a 12-minute walk from the subway to the bar, but come this time of night you might appreciate the time to sober up.
- From Nov. 21 to Dec. 27, if you show your Metro card at Downtown establishments Seven Grand, Golden Gopher, Broadway Bar or the upcoming restaurant Cole's, they will provide a $1 off cocktails. Yipee!
Alexandra Le Tellier is Bars & Clubs editor for Metromix Los Angeles.
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