El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument050

In 1781, King Carlos III of Spain ordered eleven families to travel north from Baja California and colonize the western coast of North America. El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument is near the site of that first settlement, which eventually grew to become the city of Los Angeles.

What's left? Plenty of Mexican culture, and twenty-seven historic buildings, eleven of which are open to the public; four as museums.

Free tours, lasting two hours, leave from the Information booth in the Plaza at 10am, 11am, and 12n, Wed-Sat. Call 213.628.1274 for information.

But if you'd rather wander on your own, spend an afternoon ambling along the world famous Olvera Street, the Mexican-style outdoor market that bisects the Monument, and inhale enough sights and smells to make you feel as though you've taken a short trip south of the border.

You can poke around the museums, find crafts and souvenirs in dozens of shops, and sample delicious Mexican food in the restaurants.

The street has been closed to vehicular traffic for almost seventy-five years; it gets very crowded with tourists, especially on weekend afternoons.

A good place to start is the Visitors' Center, located in the Eastlake style Sepulveda House. Pick up maps and guidebooks, and view a free eighteen-minute video about the early history of Los Angeles. Open daily, except Sundays, 10am-3pm.

Children will love the Avila Adobe - the oldest existing house in Los Angeles, built by a farming family in the 1818. Walk through the furnished rooms, and see where the Avila family ate, worked, cooked, slept, and played 150 years ago. Open daily, 9am-4pm.

At the far end of the Monument is La Placita, formerly the town square, now towered over by the statue of Felipe de Neve, leader of the colonists,los pobladores. Seasonal celebrations and concerts are scheduled here throughout the year.

Stop by The Plaza for unscheduled performances of ethnic music and dancing, happening most weekend afternoons.

All kids love firetrucks; so do a lot of grown-ups. For them: the city's first firehouse, now a museum displaying 19th century firefighting equipment, at the western end of the Monument. Open daily, except Mondays, 9am-4pm.

Finish your wander with a quieter moment, across Main Street, at Mission Nuestra Senora Reina the oldest Catholic church in the city, open daily from 5:30am to 8pm, conducting masses weekdays at 6:30am, 8am, 12n, and 5:30pm, and every hour starting at 6:30am on Sundays.

There are bathrooms under the Plaza, in Parking Lot #3, at the eastern end of the Monument, and in Parking Lot #2, across Main Street, next to the Church.