Flights to Los Angeles with Air France from GBP 430*

* The displayed prices are applicable for one adult. All amounts are in GBP including taxes and surcharges, except where taxes are collected locally at the airport. A booking fee is not applicable, but a payment surcharge may apply. Prices and availability are subject to change without notice, see Air France Price Display for more information.

Los Angeles: discover an American megalopolis

Air France has many flights per week from London to Los Angeles with stopover in Paris, Detroit or Minneapolis. There are more than 9 000 km and an 8-hour time difference between the two cities. Plan on over 11:30 flying time. You can depart from major airports in the United Kingdom with connecting flights in Paris, Detroit or Minneapolis.

You will land in Los Angeles at the international airport located 24 km southwest of Los Angeles and you can reach the city by car, taxi, van or subway.

Remember that Los Angeles is a gigantic city, the second largest in the United States in terms of population after New York, with 3.7 million inhabitants and 18.5 million inhabitants in the greater Los Angeles area. The suburbs spread out over hundreds of kilometres.

Located in southern California, Los Angeles is bordered by the San Gabriel Mountains to the north, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west and south. From white sandy beaches to the mountains, Los Angeles offers a wide variety of landscapes over an area of nearly 1 300 km².

Los Angeles, recent history

However, Los Angeles did not become today's megalopolis overnight! Amerindians were the first inhabitants around the Los Angeles bay, before the Portuguese, followed by the Spanish in 1781, who founded the “Pueblo”, the district that is the centre of Los Angeles today, even though people often say that Los Angeles doesn't have a real city centre.

During the 19th century, Los Angeles was still a small town filled with cowboys and farmers! The city began to boom during the 20th century, especially in the 20s when many movie studios set up on the hill in Hollywood. The seventh art is still the symbol of Los Angeles. Moreover, Los Angeles, and particularly the town of Santa Monica on the Pacific coast, are at the end of the 3 900 kilometres of the legendary Route 66, built during the 1920s when the west of the country was in full development.

The history of the city explains why the current city is so spread out and why there are so many motorways and pollution, as well as the division of the city into specific neighbourhoods, depending on the origin of the population. Los Angeles has always been a city of mixed origins: Little Armenia, Thai town, Historic Filipinotown, Little Ethiopia and Little Persia.

If you purchase a plane ticket for Los Angeles, you will have the opportunity to discover very wealthy, beautiful cities within the city such as Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Malibu and Venice Beach, authentic paradises for billionaires, surfers or simply tourists.

Los Angeles: the various neighbourhoods to visit

So you would like to be a tourist in Los Angeles? Movie-lovers (and even others) will want to visit the movie studios (note, many of them are closed on week-ends), or the Dolby Theatre (formerly the Kodak Theatre) where the Oscar ceremony takes place, walk on the Walk of Fame, famous for its more than 2 000 stars on which are written celebrities' names. The Walt Disney Concert Hall, with its bold architecture, is also worth the visit!

If you are looking for a city centre where you can stroll, go to the Pueblo, centre of Los Angeles with its lovely churches and colourful shops which recall the city's Hispanic origin.

You must see Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, where there is a concentration of gorgeous cars and luxury shops!

Of course, you must also go to the beaches in Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Malibu.

Seeing how huge the city is, it is easier to get around by car, despite traffic jams.

To travel to the USA, you need a valid passport and most British citizens qualify for the US Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) for stays up to 90 days, but when arriving by air you must get an authorisation via the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) before entering the country. The currency is of course, the dollar.