Santa Monica is home to the famous Santa Monica Pier with its historic carousel, Pacific Park amusement park, the pedestrian mall called Third Street Promenade, the spectacular coastline and beach, beautiful parks, hundreds of restaurants, scores of art galleries, theaters and performance spaces, four distinct shopping districts, and accommodations from economy to luxury. Whether visiting for business or pleasure, you can easily get around Santa Monica on the Big Blue Bus or the Tide Shuttle...and even fly in to Santa Monica Airport on your own plane or get here quickly from LAX or other area airports.
Visit the Santa Monica travel and tourism guide, featuring information on hotels, restaurants and more. It can help you plan a successful visit to Santa Monica, California, U.S.A. The ocean side city of Santa Monica is located between Venice and Malibu along the beautiful coastline of the Pacific.
Bordered on the north by Malibu and the south by Venice Beach, local transportation makes Santa Monica very accessible - 8 miles/13 km from Los Angles International Airport (LAX) , 13 miles/21 km to downtown Los Angeles (LA), making Santa Monica the perfect place to visit while checking out Disneyland, Beverly Hills, Universal Studios Hollywood, or Santa Monica's own unique attractions. In nearby Malibu, the famed J. Paul Getty Museum offers an exact replica of a Roman country villa. Ro
ute 66 ends on Ocean Ave. At the Pier.
This unique California destination has over 65 museum and galleries and is often reffered to as the city of murals, they can be found through out the city. The three major shopping destinations in Santa Monica are centered around Main Street, Montana Avenue and Third Street Promenade which features Santa Monica Place. All can be explored on foot and are lined with unique stores and specialty shops, cafés and street entertainers performing musical acts or magic shows. The Santa Monica Pier is home to the famous 1920s carousel that was seen in the movie "The Sting". A 22-mile beach bike path runs along the coast of Santa Monica.
Along the coast of California is the beautiful, historic seaside community of Monterey. Few California cities contributed as much to the historical story of early California as Monterey.
The story of Monterey extends beyond its secular and sacred origins. The Victorian homes of Pacific Grove grew out of a Methodist seaside camping retreat. In his book CANNERY ROW, John Steinbeck immortalized a chapter of recent Monterey history depicting the sardine fishery and its workers.
The one great constant, the thing that makes this area special still, is the long stretch of ocean that borders it. A few years ago, recognizing the area’s ecological worth, the federal government set aside a 5,200-square-mile area as the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. It is the largest protected oceanic zone in the United States, and second in the world only to Australia’s Barrier Reef. The area is home to countless blue whales, seals, fish, and seabirds, many on the endangered-species list.
This place is it for the whole family. The jewel of the area is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Situated in Monterey's Cannery Row, the world-acclaimed aquarium representing nearly 600 species. There are even rarities, such as Pacific hagfish, eelpouts, and squat lobsters, that only deep-sea divers have witnessed until now. There is a play land for the younger crowd who can play and learn at the same time about things like our earth, resources, how to conserve and keep them clean. There is also Fisherman’s Wharf for those who like to watch the surf, listen and gaze at giant sea lions.
