Region Guide
The Westside: LA's Coastal & Upscale Heart
From Santa Monica's pier to the manicured streets of Beverly Hills, the Westside pairs ocean breezes with LA's most polished neighborhoods.
From Santa Monica's pier to the manicured streets of Beverly Hills, the Westside pairs ocean breezes with LA's most polished neighborhoods.
The Westside is the Los Angeles many visitors picture first: wide beaches and palm-lined bluffs giving way to leafy, affluent neighborhoods just inland. It stretches from the surf at Santa Monica and Venice through Brentwood, Bel-Air, and Beverly Hills, with Culver City and Century City anchoring its busier, more urban edges. The vibe shifts block by block, from boardwalk bohemia to white-tablecloth glamour.
It is also one of the easier corners of LA to explore on foot once you arrive in a given neighborhood, even if getting between them still means driving or rideshare. Traffic on the 405 and along Wilshire Boulevard can be punishing at rush hour, so plan to anchor your day in one or two areas rather than crisscrossing. Many of the marquee sights, like the Getty Center, are free to enter, though parking and hours change, so check the official website before visiting.
WestsideSanta Monica is a breezy beachfront city famous for its historic pier, wide sandy beaches, and walkable shopping. It blends classic Southern California seaside leisure with a polished, pedestrian-friendly downtown. Visitors come for the ocean, the sunsets, and the easygoing coastal energy.
WestsideVenice Beach is a free-spirited coastal neighborhood known for its carnival-like boardwalk, muscle-bound Muscle Beach, street performers, and canals. It's eclectic, artsy, and unpretentious, a place to people-watch and soak up offbeat LA energy. The mix of skate culture, public art, and beach life makes it one of the city's most distinctive spots.
WestsideBeverly Hills is the byword for upscale LA, famous for Rodeo Drive's designer boutiques, manicured streets, and celebrity homes. It offers polished luxury shopping, fine dining, and elegant gardens in a compact, walkable core. Even for window-shoppers, the glamour and people-watching are part of the appeal.
WestsideWestwood is a lively Westside district built around UCLA, with a walkable village of shops, theaters, and cafes. It blends student energy with serious cultural anchors like the Hammer Museum and the Geffen Playhouse. Movie premieres still light up its historic theaters.
WestsideBrentwood is an affluent, leafy Westside neighborhood known for hillside estates, upscale dining, and the hilltop Getty Center. It pairs quiet residential charm with a refined San Vicente Boulevard shopping strip. The Getty alone makes it a must-visit.
WestsidePacific Palisades is a serene coastal neighborhood where the Santa Monica Mountains meet the sea, prized for hiking, ocean bluffs, and a cozy village center. It's home to cultural gems like the Getty Villa and the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. The pace is calm, scenic, and outdoorsy.
WestsideMarina del Rey is a waterfront community built around one of the largest man-made small-craft harbors in the world. It's a relaxed base for boating, paddling, waterfront dining, and bike rides along the coast. The vibe is breezy, nautical, and unpretentious.
WestsideCentury City is a polished high-rise business district on LA's Westside, built on a former movie-studio backlot. It's known for its corporate towers, a major outdoor shopping mall, and easy proximity to Beverly Hills and Westwood.
WestsideBel Air is one of LA's most exclusive residential enclaves, a hillside maze of gated estates above the Westside. While largely private, it offers a few public draws including a famed luxury hotel and stunning canyon views.
WestsideCulver City is a compact, design-forward Westside city built on a century of moviemaking and now a hotspot for tech, art galleries, and standout restaurants. Its walkable downtown and the buzzing Arts District make it one of LA's most appealing creative hubs.
WestsidePlaya Vista is a modern master-planned community on the Westside, at the heart of LA's 'Silicon Beach' tech corridor. It pairs sleek new offices and apartments with walkable retail and the nearby Ballona Wetlands nature reserve.
WestsideWestchester is a residential Westside neighborhood best known as the home of Los Angeles International Airport. Beyond LAX, it offers leafy streets, a community park, Otis College of Art and Design, and convenient access to the South Bay beaches.
LandmarksThe Santa Monica Pier is a historic wooden pier jutting into the Pacific, crowned by the small Pacific Park amusement park and its solar-powered Ferris wheel. It marks the symbolic western end of Route 66 and is one of LA's most festive seaside gathering spots.
BeachesThe Venice Beach Boardwalk is a vibrant, eccentric oceanfront promenade famous for street performers, artists, and the open-air Muscle Beach gym. It's a free, free-spirited slice of LA culture where the beach, the skate park, and the carnival of vendors all blend together.
MuseumsThe Getty Center is a world-class art museum set on a hilltop above the 405, famous for its Richard Meier travertine architecture and sweeping city views. Admission is free, and the galleries, gardens, and panoramas make it one of LA's most rewarding cultural destinations.
LandmarksThe Venice Canals are a tranquil network of waterways lined with footbridges, gardens, and charming homes, just blocks from the boardwalk chaos. This walkable historic district offers one of the most peaceful and photogenic strolls on the Westside.
ShoppingRodeo Drive is the world-famous luxury shopping street in the heart of Beverly Hills, lined with flagship boutiques of the planet's most prestigious fashion houses. Even window-shopping here is an iconic Los Angeles experience.
MuseumsThe Getty Villa is a recreated ancient Roman country house overlooking the Pacific that houses the J. Paul Getty Museum's collection of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities. Set among gardens, fountains, and a peristyle pool, it pairs world-class classical art with one of LA's most serene settings.
ParksOnce the ranch home of cowboy humorist Will Rogers, this hillside park pairs a preserved 1920s ranch house with open lawns, a polo field, and trailheads into the Santa Monica Mountains. It is a rare combination of California history and accessible hiking just minutes from the coast.
HikingTemescal Gateway Park is a shaded canyon trailhead in Pacific Palisades that leads hikers up to a seasonal waterfall and ridgeline ocean views. It is one of the Westside's most approachable real hikes, doubling as a leafy spot for a picnic at the canyon mouth.
Neighborhoods and top attractions across this region.
Map pins are approximate and for visitor planning only — they may not mark the exact entrance or parking. Please check official directions before visiting.
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Santa Monica is the most iconic and family-friendly, with its pier and wide sands, while Venice Beach next door offers a livelier, more eclectic boardwalk scene.
Admission to the Getty Center is free, though there is a charge for parking. Hours and parking fees can change, so check the official website before visiting.
The Metro E (Expo) Line links Downtown LA to Santa Monica, and rideshare works well within neighborhoods, but a car gives you the most flexibility between areas.
BeachesFrom the family-friendly South Bay piers to Malibu's cliff-backed coves, here is how to pick the right stretch of LA sand for your day.
MuseumsLA's museums span Old Master paintings, dinosaurs, movie history, and contemporary art, and several of the best are free to enter.
PhotographyWhere to be when the LA sky turns gold and pink, from the Griffith Observatory terraces to Malibu's sea-cave coves.