Editor’s Travel Tips: Group Acting Editor In Chief Natasha Faruque’s Guide To Los Angeles
From Nobu Malibu and Santa Monica Pier to Abbott Kinney and The Cabana Café, Natasha Faruque shares her ultimate guide to the best of Los Angeles
Stay: Book a bungalow at The Bel-Air Hotel; this rose-hued Dorchester Collection boutique property oozes old-world Hollywood glamour. After all, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe were regulars.
Shop: L.A. is known for its expertly curated, independent multi-brand concept stores so stop in at Culver City’s Teller, Mameg on Little Santa Monica, H. Lorenzo, and Heist by Nilou Ghodsi.
Culture fix: You’ve ticked off the Getty Villa and the L.A. Opera so make your way to Pasadena for The Huntington. A 120-acre cultural centre featuring a library, botanical gardens and museum, expect to see everything from Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy, to a Gutenberg Bible and a First Folio edition of Shakespeare.
Best people watching: Giorgio Baldi attracts a crowd as varied as Rhianna and Martha Stewart. The fact that it’s tiny means that you’ll probably be able to overhear their conversations too.
What’s the first thing you pack?
Trainers. A friend with a puppy will make you do the Runyon Canyon loop.
What do you always over-pack, even though you know you shouldn’t?
Glitzy going ‘out-out’ clothes. L.A. fancy is Dubai laid-back.
Which table would you book if you had one night in town?
Sugarfish – I would be outside when it opens at 11:30am to indulge in the $40 no-reservation Nozawa Trust Me set lunch. Fresh, quick, great value, the lines outside are testament to its enduring popularity. It has been around for years!
Suitcase Staples
Sunglasses: At least three pairs; this season I’m swapping between Celine, Max Mara and Karen Wazen
Braided Ballerinas: Comfortable and they match any look.
Dress: One that slips seamlessly from long lunches to art-filled cultural wanderings.
Camera Bag: The small Bottega Veneta fits everything from your phone to your passport.
Beauty MVPs
Your packing philosophy in three words?
Colourful. Cool. Heels.
Where do you go when you want to feel like a local, not a visitor?
The West Hollywood Target.
What’s the soundtrack to this trip?
A mix of Tom Petty’s Free Fallin’, California Dreamin’ by The Mamas and The Papas and the soundtrack to La La Land.
If Los Angeles were a look, it would be: Dior SS/26
You Haven’t Really Experienced L.A. Until…
You’ve done a hike at dawn, been to a workout class and chatted with a celebrity over a Coconut Cloud smoothie at Erewhon.
Between hiking the Hollywood Hills and pit-stop Sugarfish lunches, Natasha slips into L.A. life like she’s always belonged there
Images Supplied
From the Harper’s Bazaar Arabia July / August 2026 issue