Los Angeles - Coastal California - page 866

Drinking & Nightlife
20 Basement Tavern

B4

21 Misfit B2
Townhouse & Delmonte Speakeasy

A6

Shopping
22 Alexis Bittar B7
23 Planet Blue B5
24 Santa Monica Place

B2

25 Will B6

Venice

If you were born too late, and have always been jealous of the hippie heyday, come down
to the Boardwalk and inhale an incense-scented whiff of Venice, a boho beach town and
longtime haven for artists, New Agers, road-weary tramps, freaks and free spirits. This is
where Jim Morrison and the Doors lit their fire, where Arnold Schwarzenegger pumped
himself to stardom and where the late Dennis Hopper once lived.
The Venice Boardwalk (Ocean Front Walk; MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Venice Pier to Rose Ave;
24hr) , officially known as Ocean Front Walk is a wacky carnival alive with altered-states
hoola-hoop acrobats, old-timey jazz combos, solo distorted garage rockers and artists -
good and bad, but as far as LA experiences go, it's a must. Rent a bike ( MAP
GOOGLE MAP ; 310-396-2453; 517 Ocean Front Walk; per hr/2hr/day bikes $7/12/20, surfboards
$10/20/30, skates $7/12/20) and join the parade, glimpse Muscle Beach ( MAP
GOOGLE MAP ; www.musclebeach.net ; 1800 Ocean Front Walk; per day $10; 8am-7pm May-Sep, to
6pm Oct-Apr) or hit the Skate Park ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 1800 Ocean Front Walk;

dawn-

dusk) . The Sunday afternoon drum circle is always wild.
Just a couple of blocks away from the Boardwalk madness is an idyllic neighborhood of
eclectic homes laced with 3 miles of the original canals ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) , built as an
homage to the late Abbot Kinney's beloved Venezia. Hence the name.