Most people think a Sunday in Los Angeles involves a chaotic brunch marathon and getting stuck on the 405 for two hours. They are doing it all wrong. If you want to know how the city actually works when you live here, look at how actor Abigail Spencer maps out her weekends. It is equal parts wellness grounding, neighborhood pacing, and intentional quiet.
Forget the tourist traps. Let’s break down how to actually build an L.A. Sunday that leaves you energized instead of entirely exhausted. Read more on a similar issue: this related article.
Start with Movement and Green Space
You cannot anchor an L.A. weekend without hitting the trails or getting some physical movement in early. Spencer leans heavily into the outdoors, specifically heading out for walks and hikes in Griffith Park.
Griffith Park is massive. Most visitors just crowd around the Greek Theatre or hike straight up to the Observatory, but locals know the real magic is on the less-traveled fire roads where you can actually hear yourself think. Additional journalism by ELLE explores comparable perspectives on this issue.
Pair that early morning trek with a solid core workout. Pilates is a staple in many local actor routines for a reason—it keeps everything aligned without wrecking your joints. Hit a morning class before the city wakes up, then head straight to the hills.
Fuel Up Right
Coffee in Los Angeles is a minor religion, and you shouldn't just grab whatever is closest. Spencer's routine features stops at spots like Go Get Em Tiger. You want a place that takes its espresso extractions seriously and serves up an iced almond macadamia latte that actually tastes like coffee instead of a dessert drink.
Skip the massive hipster queues where you wait forty minutes for a piece of toast. Pick your coffee spot based on walkability. Grab your cup, walk your neighborhood, and actually look at the architecture. Los Angeles changes character every six blocks. One minute you are looking at mid-century modern apartment complexes, and the next you are passing Spanish colonial revival homes covered in bougainvillea.
Unplug and Reset by Evening
The biggest mistake people make on weekends is trying to pack in ten different activities across town. L.A. traffic will punish you for that ambition. By late afternoon, you need to anchor yourself in one neighborhood and stay put.
Spencer wraps up her ideal Sundays with an evening sound bath. Sound baths might sound deeply stereotypically Los Angeles, but spending an hour lying on a mat while someone plays crystal singing bowls does something neurological to your stress levels after a long week of production schedules or computer screens. It forces your brainwaves to slow down.
If sound bowls aren't your thing, swap it for a long, slow dinner with friends where nobody looks at their phone. Pick a spot with an outdoor patio in Silver Lake or Los Feliz, order something fresh, and let the evening drift.
Stop treating your weekends like a checklist you need to conquer. Pick two things that make you feel human, protect your time fiercely, and let the rest of the city sit in traffic without you.
Abigail Spencer's Perfect L.A. Sunday: From Pilates to Secret Margaritas
This video provides an immersive look into the exact spots and pacing that define a relaxing weekend routine in Los Angeles.
