Address: 1531 Ocean Front Walk Zipcode: 90291 Phone Number: 310-399-2775 Venice Beach boasts the same golden sand and mesmerizing ocean views as its Southern California brethren, but it’s undeniably more hip. Home to freaks, misfits and artists, Venice Beach offers people-watching that has been elevated to a sport. Fire-breathers, Rollerblading musicians, and a chainsaw juggler compete for attention with colorful sidewalk vendors hawking everything from homemade jewelry to T-shirts to politically inspired artwork. Hollywood types, tattooed locals, families on rented bikes, and tanned bikini-clad babes on Rollerblades share the paved bike path that runs parallel to the Pacific Ocean (part of the 22-mile path that stretches from north of Santa Monica to Torrance Beach). The outdoor gym at Muscle Beach offers a glimpse of freaks of another sort, with frequent Arnold Schwarzenegger sightings (he’s not nearly as big in person, by the way). Weekdays and winter bring smaller crowds, but summer weekends ensure a full Venice Beach experience, when as many as 150,000 well-oiled bodies cram into every available square inch of beach and sidewalk.
