Torrance

Introduction

Torrance sits in the South Bay region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, in southwestern Los Angeles County. Founded in 1912, the city borders Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills Estates, Palos Verdes Estates, Lomita, Gardena, Lawndale and Alondra Park, along with the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Harbor City and Harbor Gateway.

Use Torrance as a South Bay base: the surrounding communities put you within easy reach of the beach towns and the Palos Verdes peninsula to the west, and the Harbor City and Harbor Gateway districts of Los Angeles to the south and east.

Before you go

Torrance is generally a safe city with a low crime rate, and most crime here is property-related — shoplifting or break-ins — rather than violent. Take the usual precautions with your belongings and you should have few concerns. Del Amo Mall has seen some violent crime, though you are unlikely to be involved as long as you don't make anyone angry. Eastern Torrance is not as safe as the rest of the city, but again, you are unlikely to fall victim to anything.

A couple of spots call for extra care on the roads. Be cautious at the intersection of Anza Ave. and Halison St., where accidents involving students from the nearby middle school happen once or twice a year. Accidents are also fairly frequent on Hawthorne Boulevard, though these are usually collisions between cars and pedestrians are rarely if ever hit.

Getting there

Torrance sits just a couple of miles south of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Interstate 405, the San Diego Freeway. By car, take the 42A exit and head south on State Route 107 (Hawthorne Boulevard); as you travel south, watch for the Del Amo Fashion Center on your left. For public transit, Line 8 of Torrance Transit offers service from the airport.

Several other exits off the 405 also bring you into Torrance, including Redondo Beach Blvd., Artesia Blvd., Crenshaw Blvd., and Western Blvd. From the 110 south of the 405, heading west on Torrance Blvd., Carson St., 223rd St., Sepulveda Blvd., or Pacific Coast Highway will also land you in the city. If you have a personal airplane or helicopter, you can land at Zamperini Field (Torrance Municipal Airport) on Airport Dr, a public airport open to private aircraft with no commercial flights; call ahead to schedule a landing and to rent a hangar or other dock.

Getting around

Torrance is a spread-out, car-oriented city, and getting around is easiest if you have access to a car or are comfortable using ride-hailing services such as Uber or Lyft, which offer door-to-door convenience and spare you the waiting and transfers of the bus network. Car rental is another practical option, especially if you plan to explore beyond the city. Walking works within specific areas such as the Del Amo Fashion Center and the surrounding commercial districts once you are there, but it is not a practical way to cover the city as a whole; plan to combine walking with a car, ride-hailing, or transit for longer trips.

Public transit exists but is not the most common way locals or visitors travel here. Three agencies serve the city — LA Metro, Torrance Transit, and GTrans — all integrated with the TAP card payment system, so a single card works across the different operators rather than buying separate tickets for each. Torrance Transit runs local bus service within the city, including a route connecting to Los Angeles International Airport, while LA Metro and GTrans extend the network to surrounding communities. Expect longer travel times and less frequent service than you might in a denser city, and look to metro.net for route planning and maps of the South Bay and Gateway Cities area.

Where to stay

Torrance has a spread of chain hotels and extended-stay properties rather than a single concentrated hotel district, so your choice depends on whether you want to be near the South Bay business corridors or closer to the beaches. The Torrance Marriott sits at Fashion Way, handy if shopping is on your agenda, while the Courtyard Los Angeles Torrance/Palos Verdes on Sepulveda Boulevard and the Holiday Inn on South Vermont Avenue put you on straightforward driving routes through town. For longer stays, the Residence Inn Los Angeles Torrance/Redondo Beach on Torrance Boulevard and the Sonesta ES Suites Torrance Redondo Beach on Prairie Avenue offer suite-style lodging, and the Sonesta Select Los Angeles Torrance South Bay on West 190th Street is another option in the same family.

If you'd like a distinctive stay, the Miyako Hybrid Hotel on South Western Avenue stands out: it offers Japanese-style accommodations and suites, along with meeting rooms and the Gonpachi restaurant, sushi bar and lounge. It's a good base if you want an on-site meal without driving, and it's convenient to local attractions.

Food & drink

Torrance has a strong Japanese dining scene, and ramen is a good place to start: Umenoya Ramen on Crenshaw Boulevard serves big bowls of soup and noodles that are fairly priced and consistently good, and Iccho in the Rolling Hills Plaza draws a bustling late-night crowd with Japanese dishes and good, reasonably priced sake. For something distinctly local, King's Hawaiian Bakery and Restaurant on Sepulveda Boulevard is run by the company behind the sweet Hawaiian bread, and you can pick up fresh breads and cookies from the bakery to take home.

For cheap, cheerful Mexican food, Taco Sinaloa #3 on West Carson Street serves tacos and burritos in a somewhat grungy setting, stays open around the clock, and pours cervezas late into the night. Take the hot sauce seriously — most people who think they can handle it find they can't.

What to see and do

Torrance Beach is the city's main stretch of sand: clean, large and busy, drawing crowds from across the surrounding area without the parking headaches of Hermosa Beach or Venice Beach. Just south of it lies RAT Beach (Right After Torrance), reachable only from Torrance Beach. Inland, the Madrona Marsh Preserve is a seasonal wetland with vernal pools, said to be among the last remaining vernal freshwater marshes in Los Angeles County; you can walk the preserve or visit the nature center across from the marsh, which has exhibits on the area's nature and history plus live animals. Birdwatchers have plenty to look for here. History buffs can seek out the Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge, a historic double-tracked arch bridge spanning Torrance Boulevard at Bow Street, once part of the rail line to San Pedro.

Television fans should head to Torrance High School, which stood in for West Beverly High in Beverly Hills, 90210 and Sunnydale High in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and appeared in films including Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Bring It On; it is a working school, so you can view the building from outside only. The Western Museum of Flight, next to Torrance Airport, covers the history of general and military aviation with a large collection of planes and memorabilia. For active time outdoors, Columbia Park offers soccer fields, baseball diamonds, bocce ball courts, community garden beds, walking paths and a cross-country running trail, while Wilson Park has a treehouse-themed accessible playground, picnic tables, courts and a splash pad, and hosts a farmers' market twice a week.

Three days in Torrance

Day one: Start in Torrance and get your bearings in the South Bay, using the city as your base for exploring Los Angeles County. Browse Del Amo Fashion Center, the large mall in the city, and spend time in Eastern Torrance around the Anza Ave and Halison St area. In the evening, head west toward Redondo Beach for a change of scene.

Day two: Take a drive out to the Palos Verdes peninsula, passing through Rolling Hills Estates, Palos Verdes Estates and Palos Verdes for coastal views. On your way back, loop through Lomita, Gardena and Lawndale, or stop in Alondra Park, Harbor City or Harbor Gateway. Note that Hawthorne Boulevard carries a lot of traffic, so plan your route around it.

Day three: Use Torrance Transit or your own car to explore the commercial corridors along Redondo Beach Blvd, Artesia Blvd, Crenshaw Blvd and Western Blvd. If you're heading onward, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is nearby, and the San Diego Freeway and Interstate routes make it easy to reach the rest of Los Angeles.