Known for its healthy lifestyle, Santa Monica is situated in a compact, walkable 8.3 square miles. This environment- and pedestrian-friendly city also boasts one of the most respected public transportation systems in the nation, making the entire city easily accessible and convenient, even without a vehicle. Additionally, the city’s world-famous beach and bike trail offer a vast assortment of outdoor recreation and activities.

Santa Monica is the perfect base for vacationers and business travelers seeking easy access to metropolitan Los Angeles and the rest of this destination-rich region. Located only eight miles north of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the city is a short drive from downtown Los Angeles and less than an hour from virtually every major visitor destination in Southern California. After a day of sightseeing, Santa Monica is a tranquil, easygoing haven where you can get to everything good in the city without even getting back in the car.

The beach setting is the number-one reason many people visit Santa Monica and the city’s world-class restaurants and first-rate shops also draw thousands of families, couples, celebrities, international travelers and first-time vacationers each year. Nearly 400 dining options and hundreds of retail shops contribute to an immensely satisfying destination for travelers.

The Districts

Eight easily approachable districts are located throughout the city, each featuring its own mix of shopping, dining and entertainment options. These districts include Downtown & Third Street Promenade, Mid-City, Montana Avenue, Main Street, Santa Monica Pier & Ocean Avenue, Ocean Park, Pico Boulevard and Santa Monica Airport.

Bounded by Wilshire Boulevard on the north, the 10 Santa Monica Freeway to the south, Seventh Street to the east and Ocean Avenue to the West, Downtown and pedestrian-only Third Street Promenade (also known as the Bayside District) offer a highly concentrated array of shopping, dining and entertainment. This world-famous alfresco shopping and dining experience includes national stores, boutiques, casual and fine dining restaurants, street performers, bookstores, movie theaters and more. Santa Monica Place, a multi-story shopping mall, anchors the south end of Third Street and offers a more traditional shopping experience. This district comes alive after dark with residents and visitors shopping, eating, strolling or just soaking up the scene.

Expansive and varied Mid-City includes the artistically sophisticated Ambrose Hotel and Best Western Gateway; a number of the world’s major film, television and music companies, including Universal Music, MTV and Sony; several British and Irish pubs; a lawn-bowling area in Douglas Park; the Santa Monica Historical Society Museum; and the medical facilities of Santa Monica/UCLA Medical Center, St. John’s Hospital and the John Wayne Cancer Institute. Mid-City is also a growing art hub with the renowned 18th Street Arts Complex and Bergamot Station Arts Center, the latter of which houses the Santa Monica Museum of Art as well as the largest collection of art galleries on the West Coast.

At the northern edge of town, Montana Avenue offers casual yet luxurious shopping and dining that stretches for ten blocks. One-of-a-kind boutiques selling top-quality clothing, exquisite home furnishings, accessories and unique specialty gifts are interspersed along the tree-lined street with bistros, cafés, bakeries and restaurants frequented by locals, visitors and celebrities alike.

Just two blocks from the beach, eclectic and lively Main Street exudes a friendly, community vibe. Its diverse shops and restaurants attract many locals who can be spotted walking their dogs, sipping coffee or perusing the many shops. The district also offers a weekly farmers’ market, vibrant nightlife, the historic California Heritage Museum and Edgemar Center for the Arts.

Santa Monica Pier and Ocean Avenue intersect at Colorado Boulevard in front of the world-famous sign for the Santa Monica Pier. Palm-lined Ocean Avenue runs along Palisades Park, which sits atop the sandstone bluffs overlooking the Pacific. The Santa Monica Visitor Information Kiosk (1400 Ocean Avenue), a number of seafood and fine dining restaurants and fine art galleries also line the avenue. The famous, high-energy Santa Monica Pier, originally built in 1912, boasts popular dining and nightlife options as well as an amusement park with the world’s first solar-powered Ferris wheel, a five-story roller coaster, full arcade and the famed Looff Carousel—a lavish 1922 merry-go-round installed in the Hippodrome in 1947.

Ocean Park is a friendly, inviting district with neighborhood coffee shops, gift boutiques, galleries and eateries—including The Counter (an unparalleled you-build-it burger diner offering 40 different topping choices) and Bistro 310, the restaurant at the culinary arts department at the Art Institute of California, Los Angeles.

Comprising most of the southern end of Santa Monica, Pico Boulevard district contains a growing number of attractions and businesses from Santa Monica College’s performing arts venues and planetarium to one-of-a-kind clothing boutiques, art galleries, coffee shops, record stores and more. A zone of small clubs and cafés, the critically acclaimed restaurants Cha Cha Chicken (Caribbean) and Valentino (Italian) are found along the East-West boulevard while Shutters on the Beach and Casa del Mar hotels mark Pico’s western terminus.

For lovers of airplanes, airports and sushi, Santa Monica Airport’s private airfield is a must. Former site of the Douglas Airplane Co., the airport today is home to private aircrafts, several notable restaurants, a weekly farmers’ market and the sprawling monthly Santa Monica Outdoor Antique Market.