Ventura

Ventura is a city of 111,000 people (2020) in Ventura County, a region of California's Central Coast. Ventura mixes old charm with new modern facilities to blend a rich and wonderful background to living.

Understand
Ventura, still officially called San Buenaventura, was founded in 1782 by Fray Junipero Serra with the establishment of his mission.

Along Main Street you will find fabulous food, excellent shopping from thrift stores to upscale boutiques, a movie theater, coffee shops, and other attractions. Turn the corner at Main Street and head up Ventura Avenue and you are on the Westside. The Westside is an up-and-coming area of Ventura with a rich cultural history.

Note the iron bells every few miles on the 101 freeway. They are markers of El Camino Real, the route of Father Serra.

Get in
Ventura is 68 miles (110 km) north of Los Angeles International Airport on the US Highway 101. Nearby Oxnard sports both a cruise ship port and an airport with connecting flights to LAX. Santa Barbara Airport can be a good alternative to LAX or Oxnard with flights to LAX, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix as well as other destinations and it is only about 30-40 minutes away up the breathtaking 101. Camarillo Airport is a dominant general aviation hub, though Oxnard and Santa Barbara take their share as well.

Amtrak serves the city with its Pacific Surfliner, the train stops at  in downtown Ventura multiple times a day on its San Luis Obispo-Los Angeles-San Diego route. Additionally, Metrolink has a commuter service from Los Angeles to, located in the Montalvo neighbourhood.

Get around


California Highway 126, California Highway 33, and US Highway 101 also connect Ventura well, providing a good inner city freeway/motorway network for a city of its size.

Do


Being a beach town, Ventura has developed the downtown beach area into a wonderful promenade that makes its way along the beach, from "Surfer's Point" past the pier all the way down to the southern end of San Buenaventura State Beach. It makes for a nice jog, bike ride, roller-blading path or just a leisurely stroll to watch the sunset.




 * - located in Ventura
 * International Book City - in mid 2006, Ventura declared itself an International Book City. The city is home to more independent bookstores than any other city in Ventura County; two publishing houses; and Perry Mason, the famous fictional lawyer created in the 1930s by writer Erle Stanley Gardner, who lived and worked here.
 * International Book City - in mid 2006, Ventura declared itself an International Book City. The city is home to more independent bookstores than any other city in Ventura County; two publishing houses; and Perry Mason, the famous fictional lawyer created in the 1930s by writer Erle Stanley Gardner, who lived and worked here.
 * International Book City - in mid 2006, Ventura declared itself an International Book City. The city is home to more independent bookstores than any other city in Ventura County; two publishing houses; and Perry Mason, the famous fictional lawyer created in the 1930s by writer Erle Stanley Gardner, who lived and worked here.

Buy
The Pacific View Mall and surrounding area (located about 3–5 miles (5-8 km) southeast of old town Ventura, toward Oxnard) tends to be the shopping hub for the locals while tourists will appreciate the kitsch and variety of Old Town. Still, serious shopaholics are better off in Camarillo at the Camarillo Premium Outlets or in Thousand Oaks at The Oaks.


 * Ventura has a hidden gem in the music/alternative mecca known as Salzer's which is on Victoria near Oxnard and Montalvo. The store is split into two factions: Music and Video which oddly enough are located in separate buildings on either side of Victoria.
 * Thrift Stores! Main street (near California street intersection) has a great selection of thrift and antique stores. Many really great finds can be found if you are willing to look through some junk.

Drink
Overall, Ventura is a great place for easy-going party people. Many restaurants have terrific happy hour specials daily with both food and drinks at remarkably low prices. This makes it easy to grab an early meal or make plans with friends.

San Souci is the local dive where young and old alike go.

The local gay bar has the unlikely name of Paddy's, so don't be fooled into thinking it's an Irish pub. Friendly atmosphere and reasonable prices.

Go next
As with the route into this fine beach city, there are a number of options when it is time to leave. Southbound Highway 101 and the Pacific Coast Highway are both great options if you are headed south to another destination or to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Northbound Highway 101 will take you up to Santa Barbara and on through San Luis Obispo on the way to San Francisco. To head east, just jump on Highway 126 which leads through the citrus-rich Santa Clara Valley to the small towns of Santa Paula and Fillmore on the way to Six Flags Magic Mountain.


 * Ojai - 22 miles inland from Ventura, Ojai is a popular weekend getaway for Southern California residents, offering wine tasting, art galleries, hiking, horseback riding, spas, and a rustic environment for those looking to escape the big cities.
 * Santa Paula - 12 miles northeast of Ventura, Santa Paula advertises itself as the "Citrus Capital of the World" and was an early center of California's petroleum industry. It is home to the California Oil Museum, housed in the historic Union Oil Building.
 * Carpinteria - This small oceanside town is 23 miles northwest of Ventura and offers a salt marsh preserve, tide pools, and a seal and sea lion rookery that is active from December through May. During the first weekend in October Carpinteria plays host to nearly 100,000 visitors at its annual avocado festival, which features the world's largest vat of guacamole.
 * Channel Islands National Park - The Ventura harbor is the departure point for most excursions to the Channel Islands National Park, a series of islands that are home to incredible marine life, beautiful and remote scenery, and the wily Channel Islands fox.