I go to The Grove quite often. I live 5 minutes away. It's a great place to hang out, watch movies and shop. Farmer's Market is also a great place to eat and shop for mostly food. Comfortable cushioned, stadium seating and usually easy to park when not crowded (but of course, avoid Friday and Saturday nights). Familiar food places include Wood Ranch BBQ, Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano's Little Italy and The Farm of Beverly Hills. Also has a French restaurant called Morels. I tried it once and was disappointed. Good for people watching. Most people have to walk thru the outside patio from the self-park to get to the main part of the Grove. Nordstroms, Crate and Barrel, Anthropologie, Jcrew, Barney's Co-op here.
Star sightings a couple of times at the Grove. The biggest stars I saw on the same day hanging out together was in the last week of December last year. Waiting on a bench inside the movie theatre was George Lucas. A couple of minutes later, Ron Howard walks up to him. They met up to watch "Children of Men" which I decided to watch as well. Turns out George Lucas was in town to be the Grand Marshall of the 2007 Rose Parade.
Beverly Center is indoor and has H&M, Forever 21, Macy's with Home Department (better selection than other Macy's), Bloomingdales (no home dept) , Banana Republic, Club Monaco, Sephora, Victoria Secret, Louis Vuitton, Gucci. Food places include Rubio's, Mongolian BBQ and KFC.
Banana Republic, Forever 21 and Victoria Secret are all at The Grove and Beverly Center.
Westfield Century City Mall - I used to go here a lot to watch movies before the recent renovations, but I hardly ever go now. The all new movie theatre is nice (stadium, cushioned seating). They moved the movie theatre to the other side of the mall. Bloomingdales with home dept, Macy's (no home dept), Jcrew, Tiffany, Benetton/Sisley.
3rd Street Promenade - My, how 3rd street has developed (spans over 4 long blocks now). I don't go here that often, but it is a nice one-stop shopping area. Urban Outfitters is on one end and Banana Republic is on the other end, 4 long blocks away. How inconvenient. Lots of street acts. Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Banana Republic, Jcrew, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Club Monaco, Levis. Parking is free for 2 hours at one of the many Santa Monica parking lots if you enter before 6 pm.
Old Town Pasadena - Outdoor shopping street. H&M, Tiffany, Crate and Barrel, Jcrew. Lots of boutique stores too. Over 10 miles away. There's really nothing here that I don't have at the closer area malls.
