Santa Monica: California’s cool
Just after the sun comes up, surfers dash down the long, sandy stretch of beach and launch their boards into the water, as wave after wave of runners with tanned shoulders and coordinated outfits prance down the boardwalk behind.
Some push strollers, some hold dog leashes, and others throw up a peace sign and offer a smile to passersby.
Located west of downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica is a coastal city known for its famed Santa Monica Pier and Pacific Park, which features multiple oceanfront dining venues, midway games and riveting rides, including the first-ever solar-powered ferris wheel and a rollercoaster.
Home to 95,000 residents, the city is also a hub for health and wellness enthusiasts. Just south of the pier, you’ll find the Original Muscle Beach—an outdoor gym that opened in the 1930s that’s decked out with aerial ropes, parallel bars, travelling rings and swings.
Originally intended for use by acrobats, gymnasts and wrestlers, now, at any hour of the day, it’s not uncommon to see people young and old, doing everything from tight-rope walking to acro yoga, aerial rope tricks and meditation. In 1952, Muscle Beach Venice, a 20-minute walk from the Santa Monica Muscle Beach, was opened, and became the training grounds for some of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno.
“In Santa Monica, you can do whatever you want to do, and be whoever you want to be.”
Pedalling on my e-bike alongside my guide Erik Hines, from Bikes and Hikes LA, I watch as he effortlessly interacts with everyone we pass—the vendor selling artwork spread out on a picnic blanket; the man blasting Biggie from a stereo; the couple sitting on the grass as the sun sets over Santa Monica Beach.
“The thing I love most about Santa Monica is that you can wander down to the beach any time of day and leave with a handful of new friends,” he says, noting that he’s lived in several other places, but always finds his way back.
“In Santa Monica, you can do whatever you want to do, and be whoever you want to be,” he adds, right as a man on rollerblades wearing a cowboy hat saunters by singing opera and a woman with bright purple lipstick and a faux fur coat pushes two Pomeranian pups in a stroller.
Off the beach and the boardwalk, Santa Monica is also well-known for its restaurant and bar scene, as well as its shopping. Largely influenced by coastal Mediterranean and Mexican diets, Santa Monica is home to two Michelin-star and 14 Michelin-recommended restaurants and countless other options ranging from mom n’ pop shops to food trucks, cafes and contemporary eateries that often specialize in seafood and seasonal farm-to-table dishes. Most establishments do happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m., and bars shut down by 2 a.m.
For those looking to spend, Santa Monica has three main shopping districts. The Downtown District is where you’ll find Third Street Promenade, an outdoor pedestrian-only area stretching three blocks that carries a mix of retail stores and dining.
At the southern end of the Promenade you’ll find Santa Monica Place, which is another outdoor shopping district, but home to higher end brands, as well as department stores like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s. In the city’s north end, Montana Ave. promises upscale shopping from luxury boutiques, restaurants, and specialty shops.
This article first appeared in the winter 2024 issue of OFFSHORE. To read the full story, click here. To subscribe to the print magazine, click here.
