13 Best Sights in Westside, Los Angeles

The surf and sand of Venice are fine, but the main attraction here is the boardwalk scene, which is a cosmos all its own. Go on weekend afternoons for the best people-watching experience; you'll see everything from Baywatch wannabes to break-dancers to TikTok influencers to would-be messiahs. You can also swim, fish, surf, and skateboard, or have a go at racquetball, handball, shuffleboard, and basketball (the boardwalk is the site of hotly contested pickup games). Or you can rent a bike or in-line skates and hit the Strand bike path, then poke around the gloriously tacky tourist and souvenir shops before pulling up a seat at a sidewalk café and watching the action unfold.

If ever a museum had its own unique spin, it's the Museum of Jurassic Technology, with an oddball assortment of natural (and partly fictional) "art" pieces such as fruit stone carvings, theater models, string figures, finds from mobile home parks, and a tribute room filled with paintings of dogs from the Soviet Space Program. All are housed in a low-lighted, haunted house–style atmosphere that makes you feel as if the Addams Family butler will come to greet you at any moment. Go upstairs after your visit to enjoy complimentary tea and cookies in the Tula Tea Room, and short films in the Borzoi Kabinet Theater.  The museum is home to multiple dogs and birds, so be advised if you have allergies.

Frank Gehry is known around the world for his architectural masterpieces. In L.A. alone he’s responsible for multiple houses and buildings like the Gehry Residence, Loyola Law School, and Walt Disney Hall. But one of his most interesting creations, completed in 1991, is the Binoculars Building, a quirky Venice spot that is exactly as advertised: a giant set of binoculars standing on their end. While you can't tour the building, you can take a clever Instagram shot out front.

In the heart of Culver City is the Culver Hotel, built in 1924 and now preserved as a historic landmark. It will catch your eye with its old-world glory and lobby entrance, which has sweeping dark wood and a high ceiling. It's as seductive as the many classic film stars that took up residency here over the years, including Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, John Wayne, Clark Gable, Buster Keaton, Ronald Reagan, and cast members from The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind as they filmed in the nearby studio.

The Culver Studios are best known as the location where Gone with the Wind was filmed in addition to classics including Citizen Kane and the Desilu Productions TV hits of the '50s and '60s, including The Andy Griffith Show, Lassie, and Batman. Amazon Studios currently occupies the space and is further developing it. This studio currently does not offer tours to the public, but the view of historic buildings from the front gate is still Insta-worthy.

South of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach has all the amenities of its neighbor but attracts a rowdier crowd. Swimming takes a back seat to the volleyball games and parties on the pier and bustling boardwalk, but the water here is consistently clean and inviting. Amenities: food and drink; parking (fee); lifeguards; showers; toilets. Best for: partiers; surfing; swimming.

Opened in 2024, the Intuit Dome is Inglewood's newest sports and entertainment venue, seating 18,000 and serving as the home of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. Its instantly iconic steel-and-fabric grid architecture is a high-tech nod to a basketball net. Visitors enter through tiered "sky gardens" that let in natural light and set the stage for the experience inside, which includes a huge 360-degree halo screen. Another standout feature at the Dome is the Wall, a floor-to-ceiling set of rows behind the net that amplifies fan voices and creates an imposing home-court advantage.

This condo-laden, chain restaurant–lined development is a good place to grab brunch, walk, or ride bikes along the waterfront. A number of places, such as Hornblower Cruises and Events in Fisherman's Village, rent boats for romantic dinner or party cruises around the marina. There are a few man-made beaches, but you're better off hitting the larger (and cleaner) beaches up the coast.

Bronzed young men bench-pressing five girls at once, weightlifters doing tricks on the sand—the Muscle Beach facility fired up the country's imagination from the get-go. The original Muscle Beach, just south of the Santa Monica Pier, is where bodybuilders Jack LaLanne and Vic and Armand Tanny used to work out in the 1950s. When it was closed in 1959, the bodybuilders moved south along the beach to Venice, to a city-run facility known as "the Pen," and the Venice Beach spot inherited the Muscle Beach moniker. The spot is probably best known now as a place where a young Arnold Schwarzenegger first came to flex his muscles in the late '60s and began his rise to fame. The area now hosts a variety of sports and gymnastics events, along with occasional "beach babe" beauty contests that always draw a crowd. But stop by any time during daylight for an eye-popping array of beefcakes.

The pier here marks the starting point of this wide, busy beach along a heavily developed shoreline community. Restaurants and shops flourish along the pier; excursion boats and privately owned crafts depart from launching ramps; and a reef formed by a sunken ship creates prime fishing and snorkeling conditions. If you're adventurous, you might try to kayak out to the buoys and hobnob with pelicans and sea lions. A series of free rock and jazz concerts takes place at the pier every summer. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; sunset; swimming; walking.

Opened in 2020, SoFi Stadium serves as the home field for the NFL's Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. This architectural marvel, the most expensive stadium ever built at more than $5 billion, boasts a capacity of up to 100,000 and features a unique indoor-outdoor design with a transparent roof and the largest video board in sports. Along with that, you'll enjoy premium amenities without a bad seat in the house. Parking is abundant (though expensive) and major events offer public transit shuttles. For those not attending events, an hour-long tour is frequently offered (though pricey). SoFi will be a centerpiece venue housing events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics.

Sony Pictures Studios (formerly the MGM Studios), where movie magic from The Wizard of Oz to Spider-Man was made, offers two-hour weekday walking tours to dive into their rich TV and blockbuster film history. (If game shows are your thing, you can also be a part of the studio audience for Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune for free by booking tickets online at  on-camera-audiences.com.)

Ride the concrete waves or watch others display a wide range of ability levels as they careen around this universally beloved skatepark, situated between the beach and the boardwalk in Venice. There's also an impressive crew of disco roller skaters, and drum circles that gravitate toward the middle of the boardwalk. Lessons are offered frequently, and there is an abundance of skate shops nearby if you are infected with the sudden need to hit the half pipe.