Hilgard Ave, Westwood

Hilgard Avenue is one of the most scenic streets in the college part of Westwood Village. It goes around the back side of the University so the people traffic isn't nearly as much as other major streets. But, the cars go really fast down the street so you do have to be careful. The sororities line Hilgard and they are spectacular. Actually, all of the houses are spectacular. They're all massive mansions and most of them are Spanish style with a ton of trees in the yard. The backside of campus is really beautiful too. There is green everywhere and you can see all of the old buildings peeking up through the trees.
The W Hotel is on Hilgard and it's one of my favorite hotels in the city. We used to go there on weekdays when I was in school and eat lunch, order fruity cocktails and swim all afternoon. They're really cool about you swimming as a non-guest as long as you spend a little money. My mom always stayed here when she came to visit and the rooms are small but really cool. And, you can bring your dog to stay with you at the W which is pretty cool. There are three bars in the hotel that are great for an older than college crowd. They're meant to be hip and trendy but because Westwood is so off the beaten path of the hip and trendy area, they are always relatively mellow. They have great cocktails and it's lovely to go in and have a few after a day of swimming. Parking is pretty much non-existent on this street unless you pay to park at one of the UCLA lots, but it's so beautiful, it's worth going. It's so much quieter on this side of campus and they houses are breathtaking.