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Venice, the original weirdo beach
Skaters, bodybuilders, drum circles and canals dug for a fake Italian resort. Here's how to do Venice right, and where the sesh actually happens.
Venice has been a little strange since day one. It was built as a fake Italian resort town, swallowed by Los Angeles two decades later, and it never fully calmed down. The boardwalk still smells like sunscreen and someone's joint. The skatepark still draws a crowd at golden hour. Abbot Kinney still costs too much for a coffee.
This guide covers the stuff worth your time, the food worth the wait, and the honest answer on where you can light up. Short version on that last one: not on the sand. More below, and the full rundown lives on our where to smoke page.
How Venice got this way: a short history
Developer Abbot Kinney opened Venice of America on July 4, 1905. He dug miles of canals to drain the marshland and sold the whole thing as a seaside resort with gondolas. The same year he put up a breakwater to protect his amusement piers from the ocean, and a lit VENICE sign over the corner of Windward and Pacific to lure home buyers.
Voters approved joining Los Angeles in 1925 and the merger went through in 1926. The city filled in most of the canals and paved them into streets. The original sign disappeared around fifty years after it went up. A replica, 63 feet across and lit with LEDs, went back up on the original anchors in 2007.
The bones are still there if you look. The arched arcades along Windward Avenue are left over from Kinney's resort days. Abbot Kinney Boulevard used to be a rundown stretch called West Washington Boulevard until locals pushed to rename it in the late 1980s.
Things to do in Venice Beach
Most of this sits within walking distance of the Windward Avenue circle. Go on a weekday morning if you want space. Go on a weekend afternoon if you want the full circus.
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Venice
Ocean Front Walk (the Venice Beach boardwalk)
Two and a half miles of performers, fortune tellers, vendors and people you will be describing to your friends for a week. It's loud and a little grimy, and it's the whole point of coming here. Walk it at least once end to end.
TipBring cash for the street performers you actually stopped to watch.
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Venice
Muscle Beach Venice
1800 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291The outdoor weight pen run by LA Rec and Parks, born after the original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica faded out. Lifting inside costs a fee. Watching the giants from outside the fence costs nothing and is honestly better entertainment.
TipIt closes on rainy days, so check the sky.
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Venice
Venice Beach Skatepark
1800 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291Sixteen thousand square feet of concrete bowls, rails and steps right on the sand, opened in 2009 after years of local skaters pushing for it. Its official name honors Dennis "Polar Bear" Agnew, one of the Z-Boys. The bowls that look like empty swimming pools are a nod to where this whole style came from.
TipSit on the edge at sunset. The light plus the bowls is the best free show in town.
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Venice
Venice Art Walls
1800 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291Free legal graffiti walls between Muscle Beach and the skatepark, first built in 1961 as part of the old Venice Pavilion. Artists paint first come, first served on weekends only. Every visit looks different.
TipWeekends are when the walls are live. Weekdays they're closed to painters.
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Venice
Venice Canals
Six canals survive out of the original network, a few blocks inland from the beach. They were restored in the early 1990s and the district has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Little footbridges, quiet water, ducks with attitude. It's the quietest walk in Venice.
TipGo in the morning before the photo crowd shows up. Keep it low key, people live here.
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Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice's shopping and eating strip, lined with boutiques and some of the best restaurants on the Westside. It's pricier than the boardwalk vibe would suggest. Come hungry, browse, then go eat.
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Venice
The Venice sign and the Windward colonnades
Windward Ave and Pacific Ave, Venice, CA 90291The replica of Kinney's 1905 sign hangs over Windward and Pacific. Walk west under the arched arcades toward the beach and you're tracing the old resort's main drag.
TipShoot the sign after dark when it's lit.
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Venice
Boardwalk murals
Venice is basically an outdoor gallery. Look for Rip Cronk's Venice Kinesis (2010) and the 2013 Arnold Schwarzenegger mural by Jonas, aka Never. There's also a 1941 Edward Biberman mural inside the old Venice post office with Abbot Kinney at the center.
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Venice
Venice Breakwater
The rock jetty Kinney built in 1905 to protect his piers is now one of the best-known surf breaks in town. Even if you don't surf, it's a great spot to watch people who do, and the sunsets from this stretch of sand are the real deal.
TipWatch from the sand, not the rocks.
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Venice
Venice Beach Recreation Center courts
1800 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291The outdoor basketball courts are the famous ones, but there's also handball, sand volleyball and pickleball. The pickup games on a sunny weekend are worth a stop even if you're just watching.
Where to eat in Venice
Munchies hit hard after a day in the sun. These are all in Venice proper and all still cooking as of 2026.
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Venice
Hinano Cafe
15 Washington Blvd, Venice, CA 90292A dive bar that's been pouring since the 1960s, a few steps off the sand. Free popcorn, pool tables and a charred cheeseburger with mayo and yellow mustard on a sesame bun. Beer and wine only.
TipAdd the hot link to the burger. Trust us.
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Venice
Gjusta
320 Sunset Ave, Venice, CA 90291Bakery and deli with a ticket system, a patio and a line that tells you everything. The smoked fish sandwiches and the croque madame are the moves. It's a daytime spot.
TipWeekdays are way less chaotic. Weekends, grab a ticket and be patient.
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Venice
Gjelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291The all-day Cal-Italian place that made Abbot Kinney a dining street. Seasonal plates, grilled mushrooms, pizzas, good bread. A bit of a scene, but the food earns it.
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Venice
The Win-Dow
425 Rose Ave, Venice, CA 90291The walk-up burger window attached to American Beauty on Rose. Smashburgers, a fried chicken sandwich and a kale salad if you need to feel better about yourself. Fast, cheap-ish, exactly what you want after the boardwalk.
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RVR
1305 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291A dim, record-spinning izakaya on Abbot Kinney. Hand rolls, charcoal-grilled duck meatballs, chicken karaage and pork rib gyoza. Good for a real dinner when you want to sit down.
TipGet the duck meatballs.
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Venice
Great White
1604 Pacific Ave, Venice, CA 90291Australian-style cafe a block off the beach. Breakfast burritos, smoothie bowls and fish tacos. The best way to start a Venice morning that's going to turn into a Venice afternoon.
A perfect day in Venice
Start early at Great White for a breakfast burrito, then walk the Venice Canals while it's still quiet and the ducks own the place. Head back toward the water and catch Muscle Beach in the late morning when the lifters are warmed up.
Walk the boardwalk south to north with no plan. Stop at the Art Walls if it's a weekend, then grab a Gjusta sandwich or a Win-Dow smashburger. Spend the afternoon browsing Abbot Kinney and pick your dinner spot while you're there.
Be back at the skatepark for golden hour, then walk down to the breakwater for sunset. Finish under the lit Venice sign and end the night with a burger and a beer at Hinano. If you're smoking, save it for when you're back at your place, and let somebody else drive.
Nearby neighborhoods
Santa Monica starts right where Venice's north end does, and the beach bike path connects the two. For the only legal smoking lounges in the area, head inland to West Hollywood. When you're ready for the Eastside, Silver Lake is a different planet with better hills. More late-night food ideas live on our eat page, and the full neighborhood list is on neighborhoods.
Questions about Venice
Can you smoke weed on Venice Beach?
Technically, no. The beach and boardwalk are public places, and California law bans smoking cannabis in public, so it's a ticket if you get caught. Yes, people do it constantly. Your best bet is to save it for your place or a licensed lounge.
Are there weed lounges in Venice?
No. Venice is part of the City of Los Angeles, which doesn't license consumption lounges. The nearest legal lounges are in West Hollywood, plus The Artist Tree in Hawthorne near LAX.
Is Venice its own city?
No. Abbot Kinney founded Venice of America in 1905, but it merged with Los Angeles in 1926. That's why LA city rules apply here.
What are the best things to do in Venice Beach?
Walk the boardwalk, watch the lifters at Muscle Beach, sit at the skatepark at sunset and wander the canals. On weekends, check out the Venice Art Walls. Then eat your way down Abbot Kinney.
When can you paint at the Venice Art Walls?
Painting is open on weekends only, first come, first served, and it's free. On weekdays the walls are closed to painters, but you can still look.
Can you watch Muscle Beach for free?
Yes. Lifting inside the pen costs a fee, but anyone can watch from outside the fence. It closes when it rains.