Top choice in Santa Monica
A creative speakeasy, housed in the basement of the Victorian, and our favorite well in Santa Monica. We love it for its craft cocktails, cozy booths, island bar and nightly live-music calendar that features blues, jazz, bluegrass and rock bands. It gets way too busy on weekends for our taste, but weeknights can be special.
The Birdcage, Santa Monica's only LGBT bar, is right upstairs.
13.23 MILES
With eyes on both the galaxy above and palm-flanked boulevards below, the Griffith Observatory hovers above LA like a hulking spacecraft. This is one of…
29.89 MILES
What started as a simple berry farm is now a sprawling 160-acre operation with rides, live shows and lovable Peanuts characters roaming the grounds. Knott…
1.05 MILES
Prepare for a sensory overload on Venice's Boardwalk, a one-of-a-kind experience. Buff bodybuilders brush elbows with street performers and sellers of…
1.02 MILES
Once the very end of the legendary Route 66 and still the object of a tourist love affair, this much-photographed pier dates back to 1908 and is the city…
Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
23.08 MILES
One of the most delightful, inspirational spots in LA, the Huntington is rightly a highlight of any trip to California thanks to a world-class mix of art,…
13.85 MILES
From the instant it opened in September 2015, the Broad (rhymes with 'road') became a must-visit for contemporary-art fans. It houses the world-class…
5.31 MILES
In its billion-dollar, in-the-clouds perch, high above the city grit and grime, the Getty Center presents triple delights: a stellar art collection …
12.02 MILES
Dodge dinosaurs, hang with Homer Simpson and morph into a Minion on the sometimes hair-raising, always entertaining attractions at Universal Studios…
0.04 MILES
For a trip back in time, check out the latest exhibit at this museum housed in one of Santa Monica’s few surviving grand Victorian mansions – this one…
0.09 MILES
Don’t miss this homespun, steampunk-paradise museum and shop, grinding with old gears and spare-part robots, antique clocks, concept planes and cars, old…
0.13 MILES
This spacious contemporary-art gallery featuring sculpture and canvases spread over two rooms always makes for a fun wander.
0.18 MILES
A shopping mall like no other, this was designed by Frank Gehry, whose signature LA work is Walt Disney Concert Hall. It's a relatively early design of…
0.48 MILES
Even the artist, Jonathan Borofsky, has questioned the taste of this landmark sculpture of a ballerina in a bearded clown mask perched above the corner of…
0.54 MILES
Formerly known as the Chiat/Day Building, this Frank Gehry–designed office building is home to Google and, thanks to its eye-catching architecture and the…
0.83 MILES
Close by the Original Muscle Beach, the search for the next Bobby Fischer is on at the International Chess Park. There are more than 65 regular-sized…
0.83 MILES
South of Santa Monica Pier is the Original Muscle Beach, where the Southern California exercise craze began in the 1930s and '40s. While it's more…