Venice 101: The Beach and Boardwalk

The Venice Beach and Boardwalk is a place I rarely go. I am afraid that even I don’t love everything about Los Angeles. Yes, it is true. As a person who has dedicated her time talking about how great this city is, I still have some places I, well, avoid. I have really been struggling with what to say about this touristy area. 

Why I don’t like it

It is crowded.

The concentration of people walking the boardwalk is pretty intense, even on a slow day. The crowd moves you like an undertow spitting you out on Windward. You barely have the time to look at the souvenir shops or menus at the boardwalk restaurants before the flow of people displace you. The restaurants here are hard to get into and are often standing room only.

Someone is always trying to sell you something.

If you have been to the Santa Monica Pier, think about that, but on steroids. Can I draw you? Do you want your fortune read? Listen to my demo. Buy this from me. Watch me do tricks for money. It can be pretty relentless.

I would skip the Ocean Front Walk and hit the Venice Beach walking trail. You aren’t missing too much besides cheap souvenirs and dipping dots ice cream.

In Venice, rents are high, and you will pay extra for things you can get in other parts of the city.

I think that pretty much sums up that point.

Venice Beach is disparate.

I need to be honest here and say that Venice is one of the most disparate cities in Los Angeles. You will notice this as multi-million-dollar homes line the beach and face off against the growing camp of unhoused residents*. The truth is that there are a whole lot of people in Venice who aren’t doing well in a city where you really need to do well to live. This is sadly becoming the story of Los Angeles.

*As of this post there is growing tension between residents and the unhoused resulting in all of the tents and dwellings being removed from the beach. They have relocated the homeless to hotels and other shelters as a temporary measure. Tomorrow the Los Angeles City Council votes on making blocking the sidewalk with personal belongings or camping near public places a crime. The city has no long-term solution only band-aids.

Venice Beach is polluted.

Just don’t swim here. Just don’t. I don’t want to get into it. 

This probably wasn’t the post you wanted to read. If you do head to Venice Beach, my suggestions for what to do, see, and eat are in my next post.