Los Angeles parking can be a bit dicey for the hapless tourist. There's plenty of things to do for everyone in Los Angeles because of its vast diversity and to drive home this point, over 20 million people come to LA every year for their vacation. If you're a tourist in Los Angeles, it might be a good idea not only to prioritize certain locations to visit - there's just too many of everything in LA - but to make sure there's a good parking spot for you at the more popular destinations.

For some locals, Los Angeles parking has evolved into a kind of a game that is played out every day, involving ancient parking meters and the ubiquitous parking attendants ready to slap a fine on the unsuspecting motorist who happened to park in a restricted residential area. Here are a few suggestions for the intrepid tourist who wants to have his or her share of fun without the parking hassle, in the City of Angels.

Los Angeles Parking - where to park?

The first stop in many tour itineraries is, of course, Hollywood and the most popular destinations in this area are the iconic Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Wax Museum. It's said that a vacation to LA without visiting the Chinese is like a vacation to China without visiting the Great Wall. This is also where the fabled "Walk of Fame" is located, a must-visit strip where tourists touch and get their pictures taken next to the stars on the sidewalk along Hollywoood Blvd. between Gower and La Brea. This area could be full of tourists during the day and metered parking is probably not available. You can park at the Hollywood and Highland shopping mall along N Highland Ave - parking fee is $2 for up to 4 hours with validation.

Los Angeles is an international shopping mecca and an LA vacation wouldn't be complete without a drop by at the shops along Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills - to do your shopping at Louis Vuitton or Gucci or just to ogle the movie stars shopping in those high-end stores. Your best bet would be the metered parking along Rodeo Drive. If none is available, you can try the nearby public parking facilities provided by the city. Just look for the Public Parking signs - parking is usually free for up to 2 hours.

For the business tourists, many streets in Los Angeles are off-limits for parking to non-residents or are available for parking only on certain hours of the day. If a street where your appointment or contact is located has no meters, it's a permit zone, most likely. You can cruise the nearby streets for an available metered spot or you can park directly in nearby garages that are open 24 hours a day. The permit zones are the funny sidestory to Los Angeles parking. All throughout the day, these streets are deserted, since only residents can buy parking permits, while day-time workers are often crammed in the parking garages nearby.

Los Angeles is a tourist-friendly city, for the most part. For any tourist who wants to absorb and enjoy as much of what the city has to offer, Los Angeles parking should be a basic item in the tour check list.