Hotels near Venice Beach

Venice Beach is Los Angeles at its most free-spirited, a boardwalk carnival of street performers, skateboarders, artists and vendors strung along the Ocean Front Walk. The open-air Muscle Beach gym, the skate park on the sand and the colourful shopfronts give it a gritty, theatrical energy unlike anywhere else in the city.

Inland, the Venice Canals are a quiet surprise - a small network of waterways and footbridges built in 1905 to mimic Venice, Italy, now lined with desirable cottages. Abbot Kinney Boulevard nearby has become one of LA's coolest shopping and dining streets.

Pro Tip: Visit the boardwalk by day for the people-watching, but move on before dark when it quietens down. Walk a couple of blocks inland to the tranquil Venice Canals and the boutiques of Abbot Kinney for a completely different side of the neighbourhood.