Santa Monica State Beach

This big beach, which effectively runs the length of Santa Monica itself, is usually crowded and has a festive, summer-holiday feel to it. The big attraction is Santa Monica Pier (on a level with Colorado Avenue), roughly three city blocks in length and packed with typical and endearingly low-tech distractions: pier fishing, video arcades, free twilight dance concerts in summer, fortune tellers, fairground games, rides and Ferris wheel.