Venice Specialty Attractions

Muscle Beach is a specific area of Venice's famous beach and boardwalk where bodybuilders work out and show their strength in public. The beach has been a feature of the Venice scene since the 1930s when crowds watched muscled men perform acrobatic activities and pump iron, then on Santa Monica Beach. The entertainment continues, but since the late 1950s, it has been located along the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

Venice Beach visitors wanting street-style entertainment can try the Venice Beach Drum Circle. The experience is a regular spectacle of drummers, dancers, spectators, listeners, and tourists and can be found along Venice's popular boardwalk.

The Venice Beach Boardwalk, also called the Ocean Front Walk, is perhaps Venice's most well-known attraction and a popular tourist destination for its one-of-a-kind atmosphere and fascinating people-watching opportunities. The boardwalk features all things weird and wonderful, including street entertainers, surfers, drumming circles, dogs, roller-bladers, rastafarians, Muscle Beach and much more. Located parallel to the ocean from Venice Boulevard to Rose.

The murals and public art around Venice form an eclectic collection of publicly funded creativity. The art features on 5th, Rose, Windward, Westminster, Park and Ozone Avenues as well as Ocean Front Walk and Venice High School.

Intended to be a California replica of its namesake in Europe, Venice originally had 16 mi (26 km) of canals, as well as gondolas, Venetian architecture and seaside amusement rides. The city of Los Angeles drained most of the canals in the mid 1900s and created streets in their place but today six of the canals remain and have been refurbished and are home to some of the area's most beautiful houses. In winter, an old-fashioned boat parade is held on the canals and lights up the waterways.