Best Venice Beach Day Trips & Things to Do

This Southern California beach area is known for the parade of characters including street performers, fortune tellers, magicians, snake charmers, artists and vendors on its Ocean Front Walk as well as its Venetian canals, Muscle Beach bodybuilders and sports courts. Venice Beach is the coastal portion of the Los Angeles neighborhood of Venice that was founded in 1905 as Ocean Park by tobacco tycoon Abbot Kinney as a "Venice of America." It was annexed by Santa Monica for several years ending in 1911 and later incorporated into the City of Los Angeles in 1925. The Ocean Front Walk boardwalk is lined with many restaurants, stores and attractions. Visitors are sure to see strange, interesting and beautiful sights in Venice Beach!