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
Keep scrolling to see more pictures of Venice Beach.
Like this? Now watch and read:
Matthew BuckMoon Juice bar
Matthew BuckMidday shadows.
Matthew BuckThe skate park.
Matthew BuckSunset over Los Angeles.
Matthew BuckThe white sands at Venice Beach.
Matthew BuckA classic Falcon car.
Matthew BuckVenice Beach, LA