Venice Beach + Boardwalk

Venice Beach is a destination for surfing and enjoying the sun year round. With a 2.5-mile, pedestrian-only promenade, it is also a destination for plenty of unique shops, bars, and restaurants. Aside from the shops, surfing, and swimming, bike rentals are available for an easy ride between Venice Beach and Santa Monica. Other attractions of the area include a skate park, a famous beach-side gym, the Venice Pier, and an extensive canal system.

Venice was originally named "Venice of America.” It was founded in 1905 as a beach resort town, and the several miles of canals were dug in order to drain the marshes in the area and make way for residential lots.