This is the beach where the free-spirits go. Take a stroll on the Venice Beach "boardwalk" from the Venice Beach Pier or Windward to Santa Monica. Stop along the way to have a slice of pizza or a falafel. Sit wherever you find a spot or watch street performers sing, dance, mime, or perform acrobatic feats. It can be crowded, it can be noisy, it can be a bit chaotic, but it is always fun. Bring a drum and join the Drum Circle (every weekend). Rent a funny-looking bicycle and pedal to your heart's desire as you pass by the model-wannabes, the hippies, and the Hip Hop kids while you appreciate the views of the Santa Monica Mountains, the beach, and the boardwalk.

Venice beach is a must see. There is muscle beach, where people really do work out, people rollerblading, skate tournaments, surfing, graffiti, Henna and real tattooing, medical marijuana facilities, college students getting wasted, artists selling crafts, and of course drum circles and music. Although it can smell a bit at times, it is all part of the scene there. Keep in mind that it does "close" after dark and you probably don't want to wander the streets around then anyways. Great place to find cheesy souvenirs, talented artists, interesting stories and great pizza. Just don't wander in the alleys :-)

an array of disorganized, beautiful places and people, lots of random music and art comming from wanderers, bums, gurus, musicians/artists, poets, wierd people, beach bums and general chillers alongside a bar-hopping tapestry on a nice, mountainous beach easy on the eyes day night. I met some interesting folks there, especialy a Val Kilmer semi-lookalike army vet w/PTSD 'medical' marajuana use, who knew what a tactical SINCGARS ground-to-airborne radio was and could sing The Doors like Morrison.

I love this beach. It's much more relaxing than Santa Monica because there's more sand space to lie out on. Also, it has a great skate/bike path. There's bike rentals right along the beach, so don't worry about bringing your own unless you want to bike there. But then again, Venice beach is really easy to bike to because it's bike lane leads right to the beach and you don't have to pay for expensive parking.

You cannot beat this for free entertainment. Street performers can put on a real show. But I prefer the nearby Getty Museum. I am not so much wowed by the collection as I am by the Museum building itself. It was inspired by a Roman Villa at Pompeii, Italy.