It would be difficult to see very much in just a weekend.  You will need to rent a car, because public transportation is very slow and doesn't go very many places.  Trying to use Lyft or Uber would get costly.  You could start in Downtown and basically head west to Hollywood, Sunset Strip, shopping on Melrose in West Hollywood.  Further west is Brentwood, Santa Monica and eventually the Pacific Ocean.  From there north to Malibu for the sunset over the ocean.

As far as great restaurants, damn there are so many and everyone out here has their faves.  If I suggested any, I would probably start an argument, so I will leave that for others.

L.A. is so vast with many different neighborhood pockets all with different feels.  Off the top of my head there are Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Little Ethiopia, Koreatown as well as Silverlake, Culver City and East L.A.  Then there's the obvious cities that you already know.

Depends on what you're interested in seeing and how adventurous or not you are.  Driving up PCH to Malibu is fun.  You might like to shop on Rodeo Drive.  Maybe you'd be up for South Central LA. and going to a juke joint in someone's garage.  Very close by South Central is Watts Towers which is designated a National Historic Landmark.  Or, maybe you'd be up for a hike close to the Hollywood sign.  Then, there's museums and wonderful architecture to see in downtown L.A.

There are so many good restaurants from nearly every country you can think of that range from hole in the wall to 5 star dining.  It just depends on what you'd like to try.

Enjoy!

Thanks so much for the tips, gents!  Driving up the PCH to Malibu and sticking my toes in the Pacific has always been on my bucketlist.  I will have a car, so I think I will start with that, and see where the rest of the weekend takes me.  This won't be my only visit, so I'll try to knock out a few adventures with every visit.  Thanks again!  

Mariah

be warned however, Manhattan Beach is what made me fall in love with and subsequently make the move years later to LA!!  

No one mentioned Venice beach, not too far from manhattan beach but totally different scene/vibe.  muscle beach on VB is cool, you can always rent a cruiser and ride the beachfront path!!   you can take venice to manhattan beach easy like that.  have fun!!

if you like being outdoors by the sea in a quiet scenic area and want to possibly catch a glimpse of a whale calf and mother in the wild go to point Vicente lighthouse and right next to it is the whale watch station on palos verdes peninsula then afterward if youre hungry you can go have lunch at terranea just 5 minutes or so south of the lighthouse....I live a couple miles away from there and walk my dog at pt Vicente all the time....and this year and last year the whale calves and mothers have been in abundance just past the cove....you will see quite afew dolphins at the least I would expect....enjoy your sightseeing adventure wherever you end up going..

#1)  the Getty Museum is a must - can spend 2 hours there or 5 - the restaurant at the Getty is a great place to dine - and great sunset views!

#2)  2nd Street in Long Beach &  Naples canals - it's not Venice...it's nicer!  a great place to walk.  2nd street has a greet vibe - better than a mall - lots of non high end café type dining - and lots of shopping

#3)  L'Opera in downtown Long Beach - great place to eat

#4)  El Pollo Inka - in Gardena on Artesia - grab lunch, the green sauce is the best - Salsa Dancing scene with the Latina/Latinoo's dressed up on weekend nights

#5)  Hang out Downtown LA,  the Grand Central Market is a must
http://www.grandcentralmarket.com/

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With all of these suggestions, I may need to stay longer.  LOL!  I'll pick a few things and plan my weekend of sightseeing.  Can't wait for my visit!  Thanks again!  

Mariah