Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA

Echo Park is built around its lake, and on most days the path around the water in this Los Angeles neighborhood is full of walkers, joggers and people pedaling paddle boats. The lake was drained and rebuilt, reopening in 2013, and its lotus beds bloom in time for the Lotus Festival each July. Homes in Echo Park climb rolling hills and small valleys above Sunset and Glendale boulevards. The mix runs from Craftsman bungalows and 1920s Spanish houses to hillside cottages on steep, winding streets, with plenty of apartment buildings and small courtyard complexes closer to the commercial strips. Beyond the lake, the Echo Park Recreation Center on Bellevue Avenue covers sports and classes, and Elysian Park is just across the freeway to the north for longer hikes. The Aimee Semple McPherson Parsonage near the lake is now a small museum. Ostrich Farm is known for wood-grilled plates and a blue cheese flatbread, Konbi Ni makes a well-known egg salad sandwich, and Sticky Rice does Thai street food, with khao soi among the regulars' picks. Up Echo Park Avenue, Valerie runs a bakery cafe, and Counterpart is an all-day vegan spot sharing a building with Canyon Coffee. Cookbook Market on Echo Park Avenue works as the neighborhood grocer, and the Echo Park Farmers' Market sets up on Logan Street. Bigger grocery runs go to the nearby Sprouts on Glendale Boulevard or the Vons on Alvarado Street, and getting downtown by car or bus takes only minutes. Parking is the constant tradeoff. Sunset fills up fast, and the hillside streets are narrow, so guests often circle before they find a spot. For people who live near the lake, though, the day often starts with a loop around the water before coffee on Sunset.