Venice Beach, Los Angeles: the neighbourhood guide
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Watch this video and read on to find out where some of the places are…
Founded in 1905 by the tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney as a canal-crossed beach resort town, Venice was better known by the 1950s as a hangout for artists, musicians, stoners and surfers. The writer Charles Bukowski, musicians Tom Waits and Patti Smith, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and actor and photographer Dennis Hopper all found inspiration – and who knows what else – in Venice. Today, the neighbourhood remains thrillingly alternative: you’ll find stoned skateboarders co-existing amicably with yoga-honed paleo obsessives and Google employees from the nearby HQ (Vice, YouTube and Snapchat have also moved to so-called Silicon Beach) clinking beer bottles with eccentric octogenarian performance artists. And in May, the long-awaited Metro Expo Line extension linked neighbouring Santa Monica to Downtown LA.
Where to stay in Venice Beach, Los Angeles
Just a block from the Venice Beach boardwalk, fashion photographers Glen Luchford and Doug Bruce’s laidback Rose Hotel is giving the stuffy beachfront hotels a run for their money. All 14 rooms are stylishly simple, with beach-house décor and a low-key surfer vibe, but it’s the killer sunset views from the Simpson Suite that steal the show.
Address: 15 Rose Ave Venice, California, 90291 USA
Telephone: +1 310 450 3474
Website: therosehotelvenice.com
Prices: Doubles from about £125
Where to eat in Venice Beach, Los Angeles
No LA restaurant has been more hyped than Gjelina on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, famous for long waits, stressed-out staff and worth-all-that farm-to-table food. Next door is a takeaway counter if you’d rather skip the queue and eat squash-blossom pizza on upturned vegetable crates in a fairylight-strewn alley. Nearby its sister bakery-deli Gjusta does a sell-out line in baklava croissants. Meanwhile, Moon Juice is where the beautiful people get their brazil-nut-and-kale smoothies and raw chocolate fix.
Address: Gjelina, 1429 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291, USA
Telephone: +1 310 450 1429
Website: gjelina.com
Address: Moon Juice, 507 Rose Ave, Venice, CA 90291, USA
Telephone: +1 310 399 2929
Website: moonjuice.com
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