Although historians still debate the fine points, it was in or around what is now El Pueblo State Historic Park that LA’s 44 ethnically-diverse original set­tlers arrived in 1781, charged with the task of growing food for California’s Spanish missions.

What little there was of Los Angeles throughout the 19thC grew up around El Pueblo, but one thing which didn’t exist then was the enjoyable pseudo-Mexican market of Olvera Street, off the park’s Old Plaza, which was creat­ed in 1930 as a tourist attraction and a celebration of LA’s Mexican roots. Interesting handicrafts and less inter­esting tourist tack stand side by side on the market’s stalls, and several hole-in-the-wall eateries offer well-priced snacks – look for those offering hand made tortillas.

Aside from the 1818 Avila Adobe, 10 Olvera Street, claimed to be the old­est house in LA, with tourable rooms furnished in 1840s style, the park’s real history lies around the Old Plaza and along Main Street. Most of the 19thC buildings here – notably the Merced Theatre, the Masonic Hall and the Pico House can only be admired from the outside, but do explore the richly-decorated interior of the Plaza Church, 535 N. Main Street. Building began in 1818, took 40 years, and was partly financed by donations of cattle and whiskey.

The Olvera Street information centre provides background on El Pueblo State Historic Park, although you’ll learn a great deal more by joining the walking tour, which begins from the Visitor Information Centre on the Old Plaza and winds around the area’s points of interest, providing historical anecdotes by the score.