The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing.

Santa Monica State Beach is a California State Park operated by the city of Santa Monica.

Beach workout area, dating to the 1930s, with popular public bars, rings & ropes over the sand.

Airy, refined rooms, most with balconies, marble bathrooms with whirlpool tubs. Upgraded rooms add ocean views, and suites feature living rooms with fireplaces. There's a polished restaurant, a casual beachfront cafe and bar, and a lobby lounge. Other amenities include a seasonal outdoor pool and hot tub, a spa and a fitness center.

Known for its bohemian spirit, Venice is a buzzing beach town with upscale commercial and residential pockets. Free-spirited Venice Boardwalk is the site of funky shops, street performers and colorful murals. There’s also a skate park and Muscle Beach outdoor gym. Abbot Kinney Boulevard features foodie hot spots, stylish boutiques and coffee bars. A picturesque enclave of canals is surrounded by modernist homes.

Oceanfront skatepark featuring a sunken pool & a street-inspired area with stairs, ledges & rails.

Muscle Beach Venice is the “Home of Bodybuilding”, nestled right in the heart of Venice Beach since 1963. Some of the biggest names in bodybuilding and film including Franco Columbu, Lou Ferrigno, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank Zane have all called Muscle Beach Venice home. Bodybuilders and bodybuilding enthusiasts flock to this outdoor gym to work out and be a part of the bodybuilding tradition. Muscle Beach Venice is open 7 days a week except for major holidays, city holidays, rainy days and annual fitness events.

Italian-inspired artificial canals built in 1905, with sidewalks & bridges for pedestrians.

The surrounding beach and boardwalk is what makes this pier a must-visit destination in the colorful Venice district of Los Angeles, a few miles south of Santa Monica. While the pier itself offers a 1,300-foot walking path with expansive ocean views (and scenes of fisherman reeling in the day’s catch), you’ll enjoy some seriously entertaining people-watching in any direction. To the immediate north: famed Muscle Beach—an alfresco weight-lifting gym—and a buzzing bike path that cuts through the sand and leads to Santa Monica. To the south: one of the widest beaches in Southern California that’s always packed with surfers, sunbathers, and volleyball players. Street performers and artists entertain on the adjacent boardwalk, which is home to a wide variety of shops that sell everything from souvenir muscle tees to local art. But you can’t live on eye candy alone: The dining options, ranging from foodie magnets (like Gjelina and bakery Gjusta) to sushi and street tacos, are abundant.

Set amid a bustling intersection, this colorful, hanging city sign is a celebrated, local landmark.