Manhattan Beach

Getty Images/Moment Open


If Manhattan Beach had its own magazine, it would surely be called Gorgeous Living. Classy beachside cottages, bougainvillea-lined walk streets, bustling sidewalk patios, friendly boutiques, surfers silhouetted against the setting sun over the ocean, and babies who never seem to cry – all within half a mile of a portrait-worthy pier. It’s that impossibly perfect.

Its downtown area along Manhattan Beach Blvd has seen an explosion of trendy restaurants, boutiques and hotels, yet it remains a serene seaside enclave with prime surf on either side of the pier.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

2. Hermosa Beach

1.84 MILES

Strolling down Hermosa Beach’s Pier Ave on a summer weekend, you’re immediately struck by two things: everybody’s wearing flip-flops, tiny tees and a tan,…

3. Redondo Beach Pier

3.47 MILES

Arching from the bottom of Torrance Blvd all the way to King Harbor, this classic 1960s multilevel beast is the Redondo hub, with plenty of pierside…

4. Veterans Park

3.75 MILES

Come here for the weekly farmers market, Thursdays 8am to 1pm.

5. Redondo & Torrance Beaches

4.02 MILES

Redondo Beach is a working-class beach town, the largest in the South Bay and the most ethnically diverse. As it wanders inland it bleeds into neighboring…

6. Dockweiler State Beach

4.33 MILES

With jumbo jets soaring overhead, sailboats bobbing beyond the rolling surf, bonfires raging in the pit and a waxing moon rising high, summer nights on…

7. Ballona Wetlands

5.65 MILES

These last remaining wetlands in LA County are home to at least 200 migrating and resident bird species, including the great blue heron. Their habitat,…

8. Fisherman’s Village

6.19 MILES

Most boats, including party fishing boats and winter whale-watching boats, leave from this kitschy strip of candy-colored cottages filled with tacky gift…