Venice Beach: The Best Of Los Angeles

by Tsvete Popp
Woman standing among palm trees on a sunny Los Angeles beach.

“The best of” is always kind of illusory way to describe things in life and therefore people tend to exercise it all too often for my understanding. However, my personal intention was to share with you my thoughts about the part of this oversized metropolis I liked most and the things I think everybody should see when visiting Venice in Los Angeles for a couple of day or even hours.

Palm-lined street in Los Angeles, USA with cars driving under a clear blue sky.

Palm tree-lined street in Los Angeles, USA under a clear blue sky.

Street view of tall buildings and palm trees in Los Angeles, USA, on a clear day.

Wavy metal facade of Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on a sunny day.

There is no doubt – Venice is one of the most beloved neighbourhoods in LA! And the reasons are more than obvious! More than 8 km of fine sand paradise, marvellous palm trees, probably the best streets in Los Angeles, lovely restaurants, bars and boutiques, stunning street art and relaxed People. And all this ensure the very-well-known “Californian Feeling”!

 

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. on the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, USA.

Do you remember Forrest Gump?!

“Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it.”

 

Santa Monica Pier with Ferris wheel and beach in Los Angeles, USA on a cloudy day.

Santa Monica Pier


Woman in sunglasses at a busy beach in Los Angeles, USA, with cloudy skies and ocean waves.

Santa Monica Pier

 

We (probably the best beach junkies ever lived) decided to spend our last two days in California nowhere else, but here! Unfortunately, the tricky side and the keyword for Venice is Expensive … And not only expensive but also difficult to find a place to stay. You should probably search for a room at least three months prior to your visit if you want to check a nice and (half-decent) affordable room here.

 

People enjoy outdoor activities on a sunny beach in Los Angeles, USA.

Muscle Beach ~ Venice


Woman posing under Muscle Beach sign in Santa Monica, near Los Angeles, USA.

Muscle Beach ~ Venice

 

Santa Monica Pier

 

Santa Monica Pier has more than 100 years of history as it opened in September 1909. Nowadays the Pier is famous for its theme park and most photographed Ferris wheel in California. The place is very busy – locals and guests from all over the world visit this place the whole year long. The Pier Pacific Park offers numerous restaurants, small shops and bars with local live music, and of course a huge entertaining playground for children (and not only).

 

Santa Monica Beach gym with Ferris wheel in the background, Los Angeles, USA.

Muscle Beach ~ Venice


Palm trees and playground on Venice Beach, Los Angeles, USA, with people enjoying the area.

Muscle Beach ~ Venice

Child sitting on pole at beach in Los Angeles, USA, with cyclists in the background.

Woman walks on Santa Monica Beach with a Ferris wheel view, Los Angeles, USA.

Did you know that the end of Santa Monica Pier is the official stopping point of the famous East-to-West historic Route 66? Me neither! Here you can take a picture with the sign “66” – “End of the Trail” (where to find it – just past the Bubba Gump shop and just before the Playland area).

Woman in sunglasses on a sunny beach in Los Angeles, USA, with swings and palm trees nearby.

Venice Beach

 

Venice Beach is located on the south side of Santa Monica and shares its iconic beachfront boardwalk with locals and visitors. There is nothing you cannot find and see in this hip cultural mecca! The local scene of people and happenings – numerous musicians and street entertainers; a showroom for surfers, bodybuilder and random athletes; a good combination of edgy bars, restaurants, galleries and boutiques – the many reasons why Venice Beach is a must see place for visitors from all over the world (28,000 to 30,000 people per day and 10 million visitors per year!!!).

Woman posing on a sunny beach with swings in Los Angeles, USA.

The Venice Ocean Front Walk stretches over 2.5 km of coastline to meet Santa Monica’s pier and is one of the best in the world! Venice is not only about its never-ending “paradise-like beach”! Nevertheless, this city area is a vibrant mix for various activities like surfing, skating, biking, jogging, basketball, tennis, handball etc. … and not to forget the world famous Muscle Beach!

Woman in a floral dress leaning on a palm tree at a Los Angeles beach.

Woman standing among palm trees on a sunny Los Angeles beach.

Sunny beach with lifeguard tower and people relaxing in Los Angeles, USA.

Sunny Venice Beach in Los Angeles with people enjoying the sand and ocean views.

People enjoying a sunny day at the beach under a red umbrella in Los Angeles, USA.

Explore the Venice Canals

 

Not far away from the Venice Boardwalk, you can discover the reason why this place is sharing the same name with the most famous canal city in the world located in north Italy …. Unfortunately not many people know about their existence – the Venice Canals of Los Angeles! This place was part of the project “Venice of America”, inspired by the real Venice in Italy. The canals were finished in the year of 1905 and rapidly became a favourite choice for (rich) investors and house owners. There is no doubt, the canals of Venice are one of the seaside community's hidden charms. In combination with its street art, alluring houses and scenic gardens is a perfect place to go for a stroll on a summer afternoon.

Colorful mural of famous figures on a building wall in Los Angeles, USA.

Venice Canals with bridges and palm trees in Los Angeles, USA.

Scenic canal view with lush greenery and houses in Los Angeles, USA.

The canals, which we are able to visit nowadays, were reopened in the year of 1993 as a result of a multimillion-dollar restoration project. Many of the historic houses have been completely renovated and other – just “face-lifted”. And of course, many new modern houses and cottages have been built …

Scenic Venice Canal with bridge and boats in Los Angeles, USA.

Man walking along the Venice Canals in Los Angeles, USA, with lush greenery and kayaks.

We spent more than one hour here. The place is absolutely stunning! I played with my thoughts of becoming wealthy one day and buying a house here … The Venice Canals got even more beautiful by the fact that we were solo walkers on that summer afternoon, able to share the dream of belonging a small piece of this paradise.

Venice Canal view with boats and palm trees in Los Angeles, USA, under a clear sky.

Scenic canal with colorful houses and lush trees in Los Angeles, USA.

I'm going  to complete today’s post with my last Facebook statement from California:

 

“@Venice Beach, Mother's Beach… Our last day in beautiful California, and the best place from Los Angeles… My 10 Californian points go to San Diego followed by San Francisco If you're planning to move to LA, make sure you can afford a place to live in Beverly Hills or near Sunset Blvd… Otherwise “Viel Spaß!” Anyway, some of the best days in my life! Thanks for the Californian sun and all the beautiful places we have visited…”

 

Street art of a gas mask kiss titled 'Venice is for Lovers' in Los Angeles, USA.

Enjoy the day!

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