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VENICE BOARDWALK

Life in Venice moves to a different rhythm and nowhere more so than on the famous Venice Boardwalk (btwn Venice Pier to Rose Ave; admission free; 24hr; ), officially known as Ocean Front Walk. It’s a freak show, a human zoo and a wacky carnival, but as far as LA experiences go, it’s a must. This is where to get your hair braided, your karma corrected or your back massaged qi gong–style. Encounters with budding Schwarzeneggers, hoop dreamers, a Speedo-clad snake charmer and a roller-skating Sikh minstrel are pretty much guaranteed, especially on hot summer days. The Sunday-afternoon drum circle draws hundreds of revelers for tribal playing and spontaneous dancing. If the noise doesn’t show you the way there, just follow your nose towards whiffs of ‘wacky tabaccy.’ Alas, the boardwalk vibe gets a bit sketchy after dark.

VENICE CANALS

Even many Angelenos have no idea that just a couple of blocks away from the Boardwalk madness is an idyllic neighborhood that preserves 3 miles of Kinney’s canals. The Venice Canal Walk threads past eclectic homes, bridges and waterways where ducks preen and locals lollygag in little row boats. It’s best accessed from either Venice or Washington Blvds, near Dell Ave.

ABBOT KINNEY BLVD

Kinney would probably be delighted to find that one of Venice’s most individualistic streets bears his name. Sort of a seaside Melrose with a Venetian flavor, the mile-long stretch of Abbot Kinney Blvd between Venice Blvd and Main St is chockablock with unique boutiques, galleries, vintage-clothing stores and interesting restaurants, including Axe, Joe’s Click here and Abbot’s Pizza. In late September, the Abbot Kinney Festival draws thousands of revelers.

Marina del Rey

As the name suggests, Marina del Rey is really all about the water and has nearly as many boats as residents. Some 5300 vessels – funky live-aboards to sport-fishing crafts to experimental vessels – bob gaily in what is one of the largest artificial small-craft harbors in the country. Wrested from coastal wetlands in the ’60s, the surrounding neighborhood consists mostly of generic concrete towers and has that disjointed, sterile feel typical of urban planning during the Modernist era. As an architectural case study, the Marina has its appeal, but the rest of us are really here to get active in what is truly an aquatic playground.

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VENICE ART WALK

Who needs galleries when you’ve got great outdoor art? Venice has plenty of both, so keep your eyes open as you stroll around town (and let us know your favorite finds!). A leisurely tour might start at the corner of Rose Ave and Main St where Jonathan Borofsky’s 30ft tutu-clad Ballerina Clown (1989) offers up a surreal presence. One block south, Frank-Gehry’s Chiat/Day office building is fronted by massive binoculars by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

But Venice’s real strength is its murals. Fine specimens along the Venice Boardwalk include Chagall Returns to Venice Beach (1996; 201 Ocean Front Walk at Ozone Ave) by Christina Schlesinger, and Venice Reconstituted (1989; 25 Windward Ave) by Rip Cronk. The latter is a parody of Botticelli’s Venus in the Halfshell and a cacophony of figures, many of them real Venetians. As you walk around, you’ll find lots more Cronk murals. His Homage to a Starry Night (1990; Ocean Front Walk at Wavecrest Ave) was inspired by the Van Gogh original. The same artist also created the epic 30ft-high portraits of one-time Venice resident Jim Morrison (titled Morning Shot; 1991; 1881 Speedway) and of city-founder Abbot Kinney (2004; N Venice at Pacific Ave).

With such a strong mural tradition, it only makes sense that the nonprofit Social & Public Art Resource Center (SPARC; 310-822-9560; www.sparcmurals.org; 685 S Venice Blvd; admission free; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri), which promotes, preserves and produces public murals throughout LA, is based in Venice. Its gallery and bookstore are well worth a look if you’re interested in this type of art.

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