Fodor's Expert Review Venice Beach Boardwalk

The surf and sand of Venice are fine, but the main attraction here is the boardwalk scene, which is a cosmos all its own. Go on weekend afternoons for the best people-watching experience; you'll see everything from Baywatch wannabes to break-dancers to TikTok influencers to would-be messiahs. You can also swim, fish, surf, and skateboard, or have a go at racquetball, handball, shuffleboard, and basketball (the boardwalk is the site of hotly contested pickup games). Or you can rent a bike or in-line skates and hit the Strand bike path, then poke around the gloriously tacky tourist and souvenir shops before pulling up a seat at a sidewalk café and watching the action unfold.