Santa Monica

Anchoring the Westside of Los Angeles County, Santa Monica is a beachfront city popular with tourists for its expansive beach and its famous pier, which are among the most popular coastal attractions in Southern California. Within the city, visitors will find a number of urban shopping districts and plenty of restaurants and nightlife.

Understand


Santa Monica developed as a seaside retreat at the turn of the 20th century. The railroad owners built the first version of the amusement park on Santa Monica pier as an attraction to fill empty train seats on weekends. Santa Monica grew into an urban, eclectic, and prosperous beach city whose real estate values are amongst the most pricey in the world. Santa Monica is a very desirable city whose people are drawn to its accessibility and its progressiveness as a community. Today, Santa Monica is a mixture of very affluent, single-family neighborhoods, renters drawn by the high quality of life, lifelong surfers, young professionals and students.

Tourists visiting the Los Angeles region will find Santa Monica one of the best situated locations to base their trip. There are plenty of hotel, restaurant and entertainment options, as well as close accessibility to major sights like Venice Beach, Malibu and Beverly Hills. Visitors can also take advantage of the beach cities' moderate climate; during the summer and fall, as the mercury soars to in the San Fernando Valley and  downtown, Santa Monica usually remains at a very comfortable.

Santa Monica has three Visitor Information Centers that feature experienced Travel Counselors, foreign language line, tickets to area attractions and free visitor information on attractions, hotels, dining, museums, galleries and entertainment.

By car
Santa Monica sits at the western terminus of the 10 (Santa Monica) Freeway, about west of downtown Los Angeles and  north of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The city is roughly bounded by Centinela Blvd to the east, Ocean Park Blvd to the south, San Vicente Blvd to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

The tourist center of Santa Monica is the downtown area near the famous Santa Monica Pier, which was once the western end of historic Route 66. By car, take the 10 Freeway to the 4th/5th Street exit, then head left toward the ocean. From the north, turn left off the Pacific Coast Highway (California 1) at the California Incline, which deposits you just a few blocks north of the pier.

By public transit
The county-wide Metro public transit agency offers service to Santa Monica from throughout the Los Angeles region. Santa Monica is the western terminus for the Metro Rail Expo Line, which runs out to Culver City, Exposition Park, and onward to Downtown LA. The line ends in Downtown Santa Monica at Colorado Avenue and 4th Street, just a few blocks from the Santa Monica Pier. Prominent Metro bus lines to Santa Monica include the 20/720 via Wilshire Boulevard from Downtown LA and the 04/704 via Sunset Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard from Union Station in Downtown LA. Lines 720 and 704 are Rapid lines which stop only at major intersections, making them faster than their local-stop counterparts 20 and 04 (however, the 20 and 04 run later into the evening). Service tends to be every 10 to 20 minutes. Metro fare is $1.75.

Santa Monica is also served by its own Big Blue Bus, which runs bus lines to surrounding neighborhoods such as Venice Beach and West Los Angeles, as well as an express line to Downtown LA (requires extra fare). Local fare is $1.25, with a day pass costing $4, both of which can be purchased from the driver onboard the bus. The reusable TAP card is good on both Metro and Big Blue Bus.

By plane
If arriving on commercial flights, the closest airport is Los Angeles International Airport just a short drive south.

If you are arriving via LAX, you and your luggage can access the Santa Monica Downtown area for $1.25 by taking airport shuttle C and asking the driver to let you off closest to the stop for Big Blue Bus line 3. Once you step off the shuttle, exit the lot, and turn right, and look for a blue triangular-shaped sign at the corner of the street. Buses arrive every 15-20 minutes on weekdays, and every 15-30 minutes on weekends; this is a regular route, the fare is $1.25. Also, Big Blue Bus line 3 connects Santa Monica to the Los Angeles light rail Green Line at Aviation Station.



Get around
Many of Santa Monica's tourist destinations are within easy walking distance of each other. The city Big Blue Bus system operates a number of lines that link not only places within the city, but also neighboring Brentwood, Westwood and Venice Beach, making Santa Monica one of the relatively few places in Los Angeles where one needn't drive to get around. Some lines run every 10 minutes or so, which means you may not need to coordinate your plans around the schedule. Traffic is very heavy in the downtown area, and during rush hour and weekends the city's main arterial streets (Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica Blvd, Lincoln Blvd) are choked with cars. Santa Monica also has a fairly extensive bike share system, Breeze, with bike stations throughout Santa Monica and adjacent Venice Beach.

♿ Both the Big Blue Bus & Metro Rapid (Red Bus) fleets include pneumatic wheelchair ramps & chair anchor points. Most stations are level and paved and stops are pre-announced (audio & visual). Fares for passengers with a disability are at 50%.

See
Throughout Santa Monica there are numerous pieces of public art to discover. From large murals to huge sculptures, there are almost 40 of these to check out.



Do




Buy


Santa Monica like the rest of the LA area is very cosmopolitan and attracts a lot of tourist shopping dollars.



Eat
Very diverse food selection, from high-end cuisine to burgers and tacos.

Drink
Santa Monica offers over 50 Happy Hour specials all over town, from dive bars to the high end hotels.

Because LA and specifically the west side of LA are famous the world over for their night life, going out and drinking in Santa Monica is expensive, normal prices for a domestic beer are $5 and martinis frequently range over $15. The bars listed below are sorted by type and not price:



Stay safe
Crime rates in and around the tourist areas are relatively low, thanks to an increased police presence and "neighborhood watch" campaign by business owners. While there is a large homeless population in the area, you're unlikely to be seriously bothered.

The small neighborhood around Pico Boulevard and 20th Street can be a little rough, side streets in this area are best avoided at night.

Connect
Santa Monica has several free City Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the area.

Media

 * Santa Monica Daily Press – the local "paper of record", a free newspaper published five days a week with an emphasis on local and state news. Claims to be more widely circulated in Santa Monica than the LA Times, and it's believable with all the newspaper boxes on street corners. Editorials and reporting give an idea of local culture and issues of concern.
 * Santa Monica Mirror – free weekly newspaper with a strong local focus, including articles about new restaurants and exhibitions.
 * The Santa Monica Star – a free monthly paper with the vibe of a community newsletter – columns include "Do You Recognize These Neighborhood Celebrities?" and "People 'n' Pets". The writing won't win any Pulitzers, but the local event listings and restaurant coupons are useful for visitors.

Go next

 * Brentwood. An upscale neighborhood on Santa Monica's northern border that is home to the rich and famous.
 * Malibu. Just a few miles to the northwest and accessible via the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Malibu is a beach town that is home to many entertainment stars and offers great beaches, surfing and restaurants for visitors.
 * Pacific Palisades. A neighboring town that is home to multi-million dollar homes set amongst the hills overlooking the ocean, as well as the J. Paul Getty Villa which features classical sculpture.
 * Culver City. A neighboring city and the home of Sony Pictures Studios that has undergone a rebirth and has many food, shopping and entertainment options.  Accessible by Metro's Expo Line.
 * Venice. The neighboring beach town offers miles of sand, an eclectic nightlife, and the infamous Muscle Beach.
 * Marina del Rey. The "marina of the king" is home to a vast number of restaurants, hotels, and the largest man-made pleasure craft harbor in the world, yet is not as touristy as some of the neighboring beach cities.
 * Beverly Hills and its fabled shopping is accessed by driving east on Santa Monica or Wilshire Boulevards.