Venice

When one thinks of the Venice boardwalk, large crowds and "unusual" people come to mind. On the weekends, you will find Ocean Front Walk crowded with people coming to shop, eat at the local restaurants, skate, get a tattoo, or just enjoy watching the local freaks (Herry Kerry- the rollerskating guitarist or a Grim Reaper carrying a sign stating "Meat is Murder" complete with plastic meats dangling).

It seems that visitors didn't always make Venice a destination in their travels. Abbot Kinney made it a tourist attraction at the turn of the century (canals were dug, a pleasure pier was constructed), however, the city was in a state of decay when the pier and over 500 buildings were demolished in the 1940's through the 1960's. It wasn't until the 1970's when the bicycle path was constructed and polyurethane skate wheels were invented that the beach began to attract vendors and crowds.

Besides shopping and cruising the boardwalk, you can rollerskate, fly kites, play basketball or volleyball under the sun and on the sand at Venice. Don't forget to check out Muscle Beach!