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Van Nuys, Los Angeles — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Van Nuys anchors the central San Fernando Valley, a district of Los Angeles known for Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building.
About Van Nuys
Where to stay in Van Nuys
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Van Nuys works as a practical Valley base. Rooms cluster along the commercial spine near the Valley Municipal Building, where civic offices, courts, and shops draw daytime traffic from across the San Fernando Valley. Travellers flying private or light aircraft into Van Nuys Airport stay close by.
It suits you if you want a central San Fernando Valley address within the city of Los Angeles, close to the Valley's civic and commercial core. After the offices close, the district settles.
About Van Nuys
What are the main landmarks in Van Nuys?
The landmarks of Van Nuys are civic and aeronautical rather than scenic. The Valley Municipal Building rises as a tower at the civic heart of the neighbourhood, long the government seat for the San Fernando Valley. Nearby, Van Nuys Airport spreads its runways across a broad stretch of the Valley floor.
Together they define the neighbourhood. Few classic tourist sights sit within Los Angeles here.
What is the history of Van Nuys?
Van Nuys began in 1911 as a new townsite laid out on the flat land of the San Fernando Valley. It took shape as part of the growing city of Los Angeles, developing on the Valley plain through the early twentieth century. Open fields gave way to streets.
Van Nuys Airport later tied the neighbourhood to aviation and the Valley's commercial life. The Valley set its pace.
Where is Van Nuys?
Van Nuys occupies the central San Fernando Valley in Southern California, part of the city of Los Angeles, its flat streets served from Van Nuys Airport.
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Updated September 2026