2 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.