Venice is a beach with happy hours before and after the sun goes down. It is a beachside Greenwich Village, attracting the artistic, the creative and the bizarre. Along its 2.5-mile (4 k) Ocean Front Walk or boardwalk, you'll find Muscle Beach where Schwarzenegger once pumped, pick-up basketball, beach volleyball, skate dancing, handball and paddle tennis and assorted street performers. The pier and surfing are also draws.

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