Los Angeles, California

The beach is located along Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica. It is 3.5 miles long and has parks, picnic areas, playgrounds, well as manned lifeguard stations,  concessions, a few hotels, a bike path, and wooden pathways for warm days and beachgoers with disabilities. Visitor activities include volleyball, surfing, stand up paddleboarding, and swimming of course.

Santa Monica Beach

Venice is a residential, commercial and recreational beachfront neighborhood on the Westside of the city of Los Angeles.

Venice, California

Venice, originally called “Venice of America,” was founded by tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney.

Venice is known as a hangout for the creative and the artistic^. In the 1950s and 1960s, Venice became a center for the Beat generation. There was an explosion of poetry and art.

Venice was where legendary rock band The Doors were formed in 1965 by UCLA alums and Venice bohemians Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison. The Doors would go on to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and are considered one of the greatest rock groups of all time, with Morrison being considered one of the greatest rock frontmen. Venice would also be the birthplace of another legendary rock band in the 1980s in Jane’s Addiction. Perry Farrell, frontman and founder of Lollapalooza, was a longtime Venice resident until 2010.

 

Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills is a highly affluent city in Los Angeles County, it is surrounded by the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood. Originally a Spanish ranch where lima beans were grown, Beverly Hills was incorporated in 1914 by a group of investors who had failed to find oil, but found water instead and eventually decided to develop it into a town. By 2013, its population had grown to 34,658. Sometimes referred to as “90210”, one of its primary ZIP codes, it is home to many actors and celebrities. The city includes the Rodeo Drive shopping district and the Beverly Hills Oil Field.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame comprises more than 2,500 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California. The stars are permanent public monuments of achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, musicians, directors, producers, musical and theatrical groups, fictional characters, and others. The Walk of Fame is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and maintained by the self-financing Hollywood Historic Trust. It is a popular tourist destination, with a reported 10 million visitors in 2003.

Universal Studios

Universal Studios are the world’s fourth oldest major film studio, after the renowned French studios Gaumont Film Company and Pathé, and the Danish Nordisk Film company. Seven of Universal Studios’ films; Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), Despicable Me 2 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), Jurassic World (2015) and Minions (2015) achieved box office records, with the first three (which were directed by Steven Spielberg) all becoming the highest-grossing film at the time of their initial releases.