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XSouthern California Close-Ups | A vacation guide to the Southland
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You could spend a solid year sniffing out cool spots for travelers in Venice, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and Malibu — scores of hotels, hundreds of restaurants and bars, more than 30 miles of coastline. But you're new to the scene, or you haven't visited in a while, and who has a year anyway?
We offer the seventh installment of our yearlong series of Southern California close-ups — 11 micro-itineraries that will lead you to fresh fruit, ancient art, pub darts, magic, gymnastics, Venus on roller skates and J. Paul Getty on how to be rich. Read more... --Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times staff writer |
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Scroll over each image for info on each itinerary
1. Veni, Vidi, Venice. That's a loose Latin paraphrase for: "I came, I saw and, boy, are we a long way from Burbank." Venice lies just south of Santa Monica and left of the American mainstream — artsy, edgy, defiant and occasionally downright dissolute. Click for more...
2. Sweet swimming on a tight budget. For a memorable pool or a base camp for a beach day with the kids, head to 415 Pacific Coast Highway. There, by wide, sandy Santa Monica beach, William Randolph Hearst in the late 1920s built a vast mansion for his mistress, actress Marion Davies. Click for more...
3. Pier people, parallel bars and prawns. You can't overlook the Santa Monica Pier. It starts where Colorado Avenue stops, it dates to 1909 and its Pacific Park amusement zone includes the world's first solar-powered Ferris wheel. You'll find plenty of junk food, several restaurants, free live music on Thursday nights in summer and abundant people-watching at all hours. Click for more...
4. Retail, produce, magic, beer and darts. You know that Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade isn't as trendy as it was 20 years ago. You understand that Santa Monica Place, a mall that reopened at the south end of the promenade after a major rehab in 2010, generates more retail heat these days. Click for more...
5. Let's face it, you're cheap. Just a block off the Third Street Promenade, at 1436 2nd St., is Hostelling International Santa Monica, a 260-bed haven built in 1990 for frugal, youngish travelers, and later upgraded. Click for more...
6. Then again, you may be rich.. If so, Santa Monica hoteliers are ready for you. Prove your cool by choosing the historic grandeur of the beachfront Casa del Mar, a redone '20s building with cool tile, big views from its upstairs bar and brochure rates that begin at $565 a night. Click for more...
7. Sweat, then shop. Check in at Santa Monica's venerable Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, grab a table overlooking the pool and dig into an early dinner at Fig, an in-house bistro that focuses on seasonal dishes. Splurge on the carbohydrates, because you'll be up and out early the next morning in your workout wear, walking, jogging or pedaling 1.3 miles along Palisades Park to the public stairways on Adelaide Drive near 4th Street, a.k.a. the Santa Monica Stairs. Click for more...
8. Art and music, all day and into the night. Once upon a time, in the 19th century, Santa Monica's Bergamot Station (2525 Michigan Ave.) was a rail yard. But ever since its revival as a cluster of galleries in 1994, it has been a treasured spot for one-stop art browsing. Click for more...
9. The Getty Villa. The Romans, the Greeks, the Etruscans — they're all here in Pacific Palisades, surrounded by gardens that have matured nicely since the villa's grand reopening in 2006 after a massive redo. Click for more...
10. The Malibu quartet.. First, acknowledge that you underestimated the size of Malibu. Twenty-seven miles of coastline! But at about 23000 Pacific Coast Highway (about 12 miles from the Santa Monica Pier), you will find a handy foursome. Click for more...
11. Cove, sand, café. Simple. Right? Out-of-towners, beware. If you ask a local for tips on the best beaches in Malibu, you risk drowning in a sea of beach-bum bombast and legal disputes over what's public and what isn't, where to park, the shape of the waves, the clarity of the water, the rights of wealthy beach-dwellers and who lives in that big, ugly house over there, anyway? Click for more...
Video: Venice, Santa Monica and Malibu attractions
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