Venice Beach & Boardwalk

Visitor Guide to LA's Most Free-Spirited Beach

⏱ 1.5-3 hours👤 All agesFree

Venice Beach, just south of Santa Monica, is one of the most distinctive places in Los Angeles — a beach community founded in the early 1900s as a fanciful "Venice of America," complete with canals, that evolved into a bohemian, anything-goes seaside scene. Its heart is the Ocean Front Walk, the bustling boardwalk that runs along the sand, lined with street performers, artists selling work, vendors, henna and fortune-telling stalls, medical-marijuana shops, and a constant parade of skaters, cyclists, and characters.

Several Venice institutions sit right on the walk. Muscle Beach, the open-air weightlifting area where bodybuilding culture took hold (and where Arnold Schwarzenegger famously trained), still draws athletes. The Venice Skate Park, perched on the sand, is a magnet for skaters and spectators alike, especially at sunset. Basketball courts, handball courts, and the beach bike path (running between Santa Monica and points south) add to the active, outdoor energy. Colorful murals and the eclectic shops and restaurants of Abbot Kinney Boulevard (a trendy strip a bit inland) round out the area.

A few blocks from the boardwalk, the Venice Canals offer a complete contrast — a peaceful, picturesque network of residential waterways crossed by footbridges, a lovely and free place to stroll. The whole area is free to explore (you pay only for food, shopping, or parking). It's busiest and most colorful on warm weekends; sunsets are spectacular. Be aware it has a gritty, edgy side and some areas can feel rough, so keep your wits and belongings close, especially after dark. For people-watching and only-in-LA atmosphere, nothing beats it.