Santa Monica Activities

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A beach in Santa Monica

• Bergamot Station. A city-owned art gallery compound which includes the Santa Monica Museum of Art.

• Chess Park. How is your chess game? Chess park lies along the concrete path about 500 feet (150 m) south of the pier, and is frequented by locals who rate no less than class B in standard chess and can promise a fierce game of blitz chess. Watch a game in action, or challenge an aficionado. Be prepared for some keen competition, though.

• Montana Avenue. A local street with lots of small stores and restaurants. This is where the local rich folks hang out, so you'll see lots of rich folks shopping, going to Yoga, and walking dogs.

• Main Street. A local street that attracts the most surfers and bikers. It is just 2 blocks from the ocean, and have many hotspots on the street like Urth Care, World Cafe, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf along with cool local restaurants, pubs and just few blocks to Abbot Kinney, Venice.

• Santa Monica Pier, www.santamonicapier.org. A bustling boardwalk whose huge Ferris Wheel is the city's icon. The long pier has an old-fashioned amusement park, with reasonable by-the-ride pricing, including a small roller coaster. The Pier has restaurants, bars, souvenir shops, and some street performers. At almost all hours you'll find at least a few people fishing as well. The Santa Monica Pier has terrific coastline views of Malibu and the Southbay. The Pier is within easy walking distance to the Promenade.

• Santa Monica Beach. A large, wide, beautiful beach on either side of the pier. Perry's rents bikes and roller blades or bring your own for use on the world famous *strand* that links all of the Westside beach cities. For some of the best people watching in the world, follow the strand south a couple of miles to Venice Beach. Hire a bike or skates and travel along the cycle path (there are a number of shops to hire from around and on the pier).

• Third Street Promenade, (several blocks of Third Street), www.downtownsm.com. A very successful Urban mall project: a vibrant, outdoor street full of restaurants, movie theaters, shopping, bookstores, and bars. Those who enjoy street performances will be impressed by the quality of musicians, dancers, and others. The Promenade is located only three blocks from the beach, the Promenade is one of L.A.'s most popular places to "hang out" for people of all ages.

• Twilight Dance Series, (on the Santa Monica Pier), www.twilightdance.org. Thursday evenings in summer, starting at 7:30PM. The Twilight Dance Series is a free concert series that has been running since 1983. Acts range from rock to reggae to folk and have included artists such as the Indigo Girls, Patti Smith, Los Lobos, Dick Dale and others. There is no organized seating, so arrive early to stake out a spot and bring something soft to sit on since the pier can be hard (note that once concerts start most people end up standing). Free!.

• www.santamonicapier.org
• www.downtownsm.com
• www.twilightdance.org