logo
ic_menu

Venice Beach, Los Angeles

Ocean Front Walk, Los Angeles, California

Description

Venice is a seaside neighbourhood of LA known for its beach, ocean-front walk and canals. In the 1950's-60's it was LA's center for the Beat generation and contemporary artists maintained studios there in the 70's. Venice Beach is famous for its murals, its sports infrastructure and skate park, its open-air gym section nicknamed 'Muscle Beach' and its 4km pedestrian promenade. Abbot Kinney Boulevard (named after the founder of the seaside town in 1905 after it was annexed by LA in 1926) is known for its high-end restaurants, galleries and shopping.

Access & Transport

Venice is located between Santa Monica and the LAX airport. The main road leading there from the city is 'Venice Blvd' (187). Buses #1, 33 and CC1 head there.

Instructions & Recommendations

The Venice Canals are located about 150m from the beach, in a small square bounded by Pacific Ave (SW edge) and S. Venice Blvd (NW edge).

Meta review

Very mixed reviews for this neighbourhood that is considered a must see by most travel guides. The reason is probably because people think about it as an attraction whereas it is an area with its very own identity which clearly benefits from tourist dollars and has unique features but also its own problems to deal with... What visitors enjoy are the beach itself, the bike rental and lanes as well as the skate park (to look at, not practice). What they generally dislike are the street vendors and beggars, the poorly maintained public toilets and the difficulty in finding parking.

Environmental & Social

Doesn't score very well on waste and cleanliness though water is fine. Tourism is a needed source of economic activity but doesn't bring out the best of the neighbourhood.

Conclusion

We think Venice Beach is interesting because it is a neighbourhood with a distinctive identity, and we would recommend travellers to read about it first before heading there because the decision of whether to spend a couple of hours should ultimately depend both on personal interests and on context; not everybody will necessarily enjoy the place or see the point of stopping there.

Key positive

Good beach and promenade

Very lively and dynamic with the gym, skate park and basketball courts

Key negative

A little gritty and the buildings are nothing to write home about

Suitability

No restrictions but not the most family-friendly part of LA coastline

About this Rating

TYPE

Onsite

RESEARCHED IN

August 2024

PROVIDER

Koreval

Included Items
None
Timing
Duration of visit

av. transport time:0h 30m

est. visit time:2h 30m

Sunlight based

Sunrise / early morningOk

MorningOk

Lunch timeOk

AfternoonOk

Sunset / eveningOk

Night – bef. midnightNo

Night – aft. midnightNo

Pricing
Free

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. For a complete overview of all cookies used, please see MORE INFORMATION.