Scoops Chinatown

Home of the French dip since 1908, with sawdust on the floor, long communal tables and counter lines that move fast enough for hungry kids.

A pedestrian-only Mexican market street packed with toy and novelty stalls, taquitos at Cielito Lindo, and free museums including the city's oldest house.

Chinatown's birthday-cake institution since 1938. Kids press against the case for sugar butterflies, pineapple buns and the famous strawberry whipped cream cake.

A splash pad with inch-deep water and a playground with a soft, wavy rubber surface and climbing structures, right by City Hall. There's a Starbucks inside the park for the grown-ups.

A family-run mochi and manju shop in Little Tokyo since 1903. Kids get to pick their own rainbow rows of sweets straight from the case.

Free contemporary art museum with a scavenger hunt for kids (finish it and claim a prize), a quiet room for sensory breaks, and a kids' audio tour narrated by LeVar Burton.