Date Night Ideas in Los Angeles

Setup.Check the Los Angeles Astronomical Society calendar for the next Griffith star party; they usually fall on the Saturday nearest the first quarter moon, starting in the afternoon with solar viewing and running well after dark. Bring layers for the hilltop chill and a thermos of something warm.

1. Get there before sunset and walk the grounds while the lights come on, from downtown out toward the ocean.
2. Duck inside, where entry is free, to watch the Foucault pendulum prove the Earth is turning and catch a Tesla coil demonstration.
3. Once the telescopes are up on the lawn in front of the main entrance, join the short lines and ask each astronomer what you are looking at and how far away it is.
4. Finish at the historic Zeiss telescope, which offers free public viewing on clear nights when the building is open, and take turns at the eyepiece.

Talk about:If we could stand on any planet for five minutes, which one would you pick and what would you do first?

Setup.Ride Metro to Union Station, where the A, B and D Lines all stop. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a little cash for the market stalls. If you want a guide, El Pueblo runs free one hour walking tours Thursday through Saturday, but every tour has to be requested at least two weeks ahead.

1. Start in Union Station's grand waiting room. Look up: the ceiling that looks like wood is actually steel. Then step out into the garden patios on either side.
2. Cross the street to El Pueblo and stand in the Old Plaza, where the city's story starts.
3. Walk the Olvera Street marketplace, then step into the Avila Adobe, the oldest house still standing in Los Angeles and one of the district's free museums.
4. Find Siqueiros's America Tropical mural at its interpretive center, then share a snack from the stalls on a bench in the Plaza.

Talk about:What is the oldest story your family tells about where it came from?

Setup.Check the library's docent tour page for the next public tour. There is no booking for couples or small groups; just meet the docent in the main lobby. Tours run about an hour.

1. Meet the docent in the main lobby and let them lead you through the original Goodhue building first.
2. In the rotunda, find Dean Cornwell's murals of California history and each pick the panel you would step into.
3. Follow the tour into the 1993 Tom Bradley Wing and look up through the atrium to the glass roof.
4. Before you leave, each pick a shelf for the other, pull a book from it and read the first line to each other in a whisper.
5. Finish outside in Maguire Gardens, the library's 1.5 acre public park, and decide whose first line won.

Talk about:Which book found you at exactly the right age, and what would you have missed reading it later?

Setup.A clear afternoon, a jacket for the ocean wind, binoculars if you own them, and a simple picnic.

1. Start at the Korean Bell of Friendship in Angels Gate Park. Circle the pavilion and find your own zodiac animals among the carved guardians on its twelve columns.
2. Look out over San Pedro Bay from the hilltop, then make your way to Point Fermin Park next door.
3. Cross the meadows to the Point Fermin Lighthouse. It is a museum now and general admission is free, so if it is open, go inside; check hours before you go.
4. Pick a spot on the bluff, spread the picnic, and pass the binoculars back and forth over the water.

Talk about:Which friendship, old or new, changed the direction of your life the most?

Setup.Sneakers, water, and a map with the Music Box Steps, the Descanso Stairs and the Redcliff Stairs pinned. Go early while it is cool.

1. Start at the foot of the Music Box Steps on Vendome Street and find the plaque set into one of the lower steps.
2. Climb all 133 together. Whoever reaches the top less winded picks the next staircase.
3. Wander the hilltop streets toward the Descanso or Redcliff Stairs, taking the long way on purpose.
4. Finish on the walking path around the Silver Lake Reservoir, about 2.2 miles, or flop on the grass at the Meadow on the east side.

Talk about:What is a hill in your life you are glad you climbed, even if you complained the whole way up?

Setup.Book timed tickets online ahead; it is small and capacity is limited. It stays open into the evening on some days, so check hours before you go.

1. Go in without reading about it first. Split up for twenty minutes and each find the one exhibit you are sure is invented.
2. Meet back up and trade picks, then find the micro miniatures carved from single human hairs.
3. Look for the portrait gallery of the dogs of the Soviet space program.
4. Climb to the Tula Tea Room on the second floor, where tea and cookies come with admission, and make your case for what was real.

Talk about:What is something you believed for years that turned out not to be true?

Setup.A baseball, basketball, hockey, or football game. Cheap seats, they are cheap for a reason and that's fine.

1. Get there 30 minutes before first pitch.
2. Hot dog and a drink each.
3. Stay through the seventh-inning stretch.
4. Walk to a bar near the stadium afterwards.

Setup.A real diner, booths, vinyl seats, a paper menu. Cash or card.

1. Sit in a booth, not at the counter.
2. Order one savoury and one sweet to share.
3. Stay through three coffee refills.
4. Tip 20%.

Setup.A state, county, or regional fair. Comfortable shoes, sunscreen, cash for the booths.

1. Walk the agricultural building first.
2. One ride, two deep-fried foods.
3. Watch one of the live performances, cover band, pig race, anything.
4. Eat dinner from a different stall on the way out.

Setup.A small brewery, cidery, or distillery with tastings. Many do a flight under $15.

1. Order the standard flight, not your usual style.
2. Score on smell, taste, finish.
3. Ask one staff member how they got into brewing.
4. Leave with one bottle from the flight.

Setup.A renowned BBQ joint. Get there early, the good stuff sells out.

1. Order one of every meat, sharing is the whole game.
2. Skip the chairs if there is a queue. Take it to a park.
3. Walk for at least 30 minutes after.

Setup.A pumpkin patch (October only). Boots, it gets muddy.

1. Walk the whole patch before picking.
2. Hayride if available.
3. Carve at home that evening.

Setup.An independent cheese shop with a counter. Cash for tips.

1. Tell the cheesemonger your style, soft, hard, blue, weird.
2. Six tastes between you. Buy three to take home.
3. Pair with bread and fruit at home.

Setup.A beach with a surf school. Reef-safe sunscreen, swimwear, a change of clothes.

1. Group lesson on land first, listen carefully.
2. Whitewater only, do not chase real waves first time.
3. Lunch at the beach café afterwards.

Setup.Most cities have a "free walking tour" with a tip-based model. Comfortable shoes, a refillable water bottle.

1. Get there 10 minutes early. Pick a guide whose intro you like.
2. Stay close enough to hear without crowding.
3. Tip the guide well at the end, these are real working people.
4. Eat at the most lived-in place near the end of the tour.

Setup.A pot of tea, chai, mint, chamomile, anything. Two cups. After 10pm.

1. Wait until the house is quiet. Brew the tea hot.
2. Sit somewhere that is not the dining table, floor, balcony, bed.
3. Open with: "What is one thing on your mind I do not know about?"
4. No phones for the duration of the pot. Refill twice.

Talk about:What is the thing you would say to me if you knew it would not start a fight?

Setup.A laptop or notebook for each. A pomodoro timer. Coffee, water, snacks within reach.

1. Each names what they will work on in one sentence.
2. Two 50-minute focused blocks with a 10-minute break.
3. Break: stretch, snack, no phones.
4. End with one sentence each on what got done.

Setup.A 1000-piece jigsaw. A clear table. Tea or something fizzy within reach.

1. Sort edge pieces first, together.
2. Each picks a "section" to work on.
3. Music low, no podcast.
4. Stop after two hours. Cover with a sheet, leave on the table.