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Very clean beach ! Got here at 9am had a girls day with my cousin ! We tanned and were here for about 6hrs! Only thing to look out for is the seagulls! Water was actually clear! Definitely recommend coming here if you haven't already !
Many of the area beaches are nice and of course they all have their pluses and minuses but Manhattan Beach has a nice location south of Malibu and a much different feel. In comparison, this area is more condensed and has wonder restaurants all within walking distance of the beach for breakfast or a nice lunch. Malibu on the other hand is of course spread out for miles so it means a drive many times. I used to head to Sharkeys for lunch on occasion but now I move around when in town. Variety is the spice of life.
It's clean, it's sunny, it's the best way to wait for a flight at LAX! It gets five stars for being so close to the airport. You can watch surfers, walk on the beach, go out on the pier, or go into shops. On the shops portion: there's lots of unique stuff (not just made-in-China-tourist-junk). As a bonus: you'll also get to see what 7-digit homes look like in California.
What used to be a little beach town is now a grown up destination. In a good way. I've lived here for a while. so I have a different view of it and here's what I love. The strand...grab a bike or just walk and people watch. It never gets old and the best part of it is when you get farther away from the pier. Go early or late if you can and catch the sunset. We have a ton of benches and just chill. Get a coffee of bring a beverage (no red solo cups please, go opaque and be local) and breathe. The food, it's now a destination. Uncle Bills to Simony's...its all great. Hit Ercoles or Shellbacks for a true local vibe. Drink up and talk to folks. Shopping is good and again, try and get off the main streets. The pier is my favorite and a great spot to just sit and watch the water. No jumping! We also have this thing called the ocean that is as clean and pretty as anywhere. That you CAN jump into. Go nuts, its free. Free tip, park at the top of the structure off 12th and Highland on the third floor. 10 hours and so cheap. See ya here!
This is one of my favorite beaches in So Cal, and I make it a point to come here on every trip to the area, whether personal or business. The vibe is very relaxed and casual and there are plenty of eateries to suit every taste and budget. A favorite family activity is walking along the pier and people watching or spreading a picnic blanket on the beach and watching the surfers. We usually spend a couple of hours playing on the beach, which is the max allowed on most of the parking meters, so it works out just right. Parking can be tricky but I usually find a spot on Highland or Manhattan Avenue (if I'm lucky). One can always park a few blocks away along Manhattan Beach Boulevard and walk a bit. Go well before noon, especially on weekends, for the best experience without the crowds. If you bundle up, going late evening after 9 pm is also an excellent option. I heart you MB - can't wait to come back.
Ah, Manhattan Beach. Located in South Bay Los Angeles, you get a good bang for your buck if you're visiting. For those of you local to MB, you're a lucky bastard. Swung by here recently to get some fresh air as I am working on a weekend DevOps project at home. Home is in Fullerton, so when I want to get away, I just take the 91 freeway west until I hit the ocean, then follow it up the 105 freeway til I hit the El Segundo area. From there, it's side streets to MB. Once in MB, the power of Google Maps really shines. Where at some other beaches (I'm looking at you, San Diego), I run into calibration issues, here in Manhattan Beach I get perfect T-Mobile reception and can navigate safely and quickly to the nearest parking lot. Speaking of parking, there's tons of it around here! Flick around on Google Maps and you'll see plenty of parking structures around here. Makes you wish Downtown LA had this many parking structures to help with the people-congestion problem. Finally, when it comes to the cost of parking: They take cards here, not just quarters like in the 1990's. Insert your card, press the PLUS and MINUS keys and hit OK when you're done and you're all set! As far as the beach itself, I love that they split up the roadways, one for pedestrians a level up and one for the bike lane. Don't be the douche that walks in the bike lane, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, go on YouTube and search up "Star Wars Bike Lane" to see what I mean (would post link directly, but Yelp apparently doesn't like external links going into user submitted reviews). The beach is very clean whenever I go, especially this most recent trip. There are not just trash cans, but recycling cans too that tell you explicitly what you can put in, like plastic bottles, cans, that sort of thing. Finally, while this beach isn't as progressive as others like in Vancouver BC where you can literally use your cell phone to do NFC-based payments for parking, Manhattan Beach at least tries to be innovative within the confines of US culture. All in all, I like it here. Good cell signal, decent pathways to have a Sunday morning stroll, plenty of parking, decent payment options. I forgot to mention there are public restroom (washroom) buildings every few blocks which is useful if you have to go frequently and don't want to feel like you need to double back just to get some bathroom relief. So check out MB sometime!
I will go along with the full 5 stars saying that I also love Manhatten Beach! So close to LA, yet such a different vibe! Love the downtown, the pier, the food, all around great vibes going on here. It is super clean, plenty of parking (all meters). Easy to walk everywhere, just a pretty little beach town right at the airport, though you feel miles away from the buzz going on all around you, love coming here every time!
Downtown Manhattan is a really neat town located next to manhattan beach. You can spend a whole day in the area and find plenty of things to do. Summer are a nice time to go hang out at the beach for a nice tan. Take a stroll for dessert or boutique shopping in the area. I would recommend grabbing fresh gelato and having dinner at katsuya. Warning: This place gets crazy busy on the weekend. It can be hard finding parking. So I strongly advise to get to the beach early before the crowd or you're gonna be driving in circles going crazy.
Love this Beach! The pier with the aquarium at the end is Awesome. Even though it was closed when was there. Great beach even though the waves aren't huge here for surfing.
Downtown Manhattan Beach is located just a few miles from LAX, which is perfect for visiting if you have a long layover. I love the ocean, especially the Pacific Ocean. There's just something calming about the waves crashing against the shore. We arrived right before sunset and the views were gorgeous. Parking at Downtown Manhattan Beach must be ridiculous during the day. We visited during the evening and still had to park a few blocks away. The pier is cool and busy with tourist, skateboarders, homeless, and peeps attempting to catch some fish.
I'm from Colorado and was looking for a beach to check out for the day before I headed home with my 13 year old. Manhattan Beach was close to our hotel so we thought we would give it a try. We were pleasantly surprised! It was a beautiful beach area with a small town feel. The aquarium on the pier was small but full of interesting creatures to learn about. We found an amazing restaurant Rock N' Fish that had wonderful seafood and a salad for me! We fell in love with this area and know why so many people want to live in Southern California! We also checked out the darling library, cute shops and treat shops. This day at the beach made our quick trip to California and we are so glad we found it!
I would kill for a block that had Manhattan Beach Post, Fishing with Dynamite, Little Sister. Manhattan Beach Creamery, and a Coffee Bean. Add all the eye candy walking around I could just hang out all day. The problem is parking isnt that easy and even if you're lucky you may just score a 3 hour spot which just isnt nearly long enough
Beautiful Pier! I could watch the sunset from here every night (and often have) as it's so gorgeous. Prices in the area are obviously going to be on the higher end of the scale, but that's normal for a nice beach town. The food choices are plenty and tasty. The shopping varies from $$ to $$$$ depending on which shop you enter. It can get pretty crowded during special events like 6 Man Volleyball Tournament. However, it's really nice and relaxing on a regular weekday or weekend.
13 days ago
Very quaint and vibing downtown of Manhattan Beach. My eldest daughter and I got a chance to walk through most of downtown in route to Caffe Luxxe and Manhattan Beach. What a fun stroll on Manhattan Ave! Love seeing the local small businesses thriving together. We saw some beautiful homes, too. Area is so clean. We didn't stay too long, hence, we did not get to visit many more shops and eateries. I have a few biz that I would love to support the next time I'm back here such as Manhattan Beach Creamery, Caffe Luxxe, Pages Bookstore, and other shops that cross my path. Several public parking lots are located close by. These include the Upper Pier Lots, Lower Pier Lots, and Lot 2. Street parking is also available. If you're lucky, you may get a parking spot. Come early! read more
Wow this is one of the biggest, nicest and cleanest beach towns i've seen! One a Tuesday night my sister and bro-in-law took me here for an evening stroll followed by a great seafood dinner. There's tons of surfing, beach volleyball, and plenty of paved areas just to walk and smell that fresh air. The area was also super clean and seemed safe. I have not visited Venice Beach in over a decade but folks tell me its gone downhill. Manhattan Beach also has tons of shops, bars, and restaurants mixed in with residences overlooking the beach. You can also see Chevron's El Segundo Refinery along this beach. The workers there must be among the happiest since they can just decompress at the beach after work! read more
6 months ago
Very clean beach ! Got here at 9am had a girls day with my cousin ! We tanned and were here for about 6hrs! Only thing to look out for is the seagulls! Water was actually clear! Definitely recommend coming here if you haven't already ! read more
Many of the area beaches are nice and of course they all have their pluses and minuses but Manhattan Beach has a nice location south of Malibu and a much different feel. In comparison, this area is more condensed and has wonder restaurants all within walking distance of the beach for breakfast or a nice lunch. Malibu on the other hand is of course spread out for miles so it means a drive many times. I used to head to Sharkeys for lunch on occasion but now I move around when in town. Variety is the spice of life. read more
5 years ago
It's clean, it's sunny, it's the best way to wait for a flight at LAX! It gets five stars for being so close to the airport. You can watch surfers, walk on the beach, go out on the pier, or go into shops. On the shops portion: there's lots of unique stuff (not just made-in-China-tourist-junk). As a bonus: you'll also get to see what 7-digit homes look like in California. read more
What used to be a little beach town is now a grown up destination. In a good way. I've lived here for a while. so I have a different view of it and here's what I love. The strand...grab a bike or just walk and people watch. It never gets old and the best part of it is when you get farther away from the pier. Go early or late if you can and catch the sunset. We have a ton of benches and just chill. Get a coffee of bring a beverage (no red solo cups please, go opaque and be local) and breathe. The food, it's now a destination. Uncle Bills to Simony's...its all great. Hit Ercoles or Shellbacks for a true local vibe. Drink up and talk to folks. Shopping is good and again, try and get off the main streets. The pier is my favorite and a great spot to just sit and watch the water. No jumping! We also have this thing called the ocean that is as clean and pretty as anywhere. That you CAN jump into. Go nuts, its free. Free tip, park at the top of the structure off 12th and Highland on the third floor. 10 hours and so cheap. See ya here! read more
This is one of my favorite beaches in So Cal, and I make it a point to come here on every trip to the area, whether personal or business. The vibe is very relaxed and casual and there are plenty of eateries to suit every taste and budget. A favorite family activity is walking along the pier and people watching or spreading a picnic blanket on the beach and watching the surfers. We usually spend a couple of hours playing on the beach, which is the max allowed on most of the parking meters, so it works out just right. Parking can be tricky but I usually find a spot on Highland or Manhattan Avenue (if I'm lucky). One can always park a few blocks away along Manhattan Beach Boulevard and walk a bit. Go well before noon, especially on weekends, for the best experience without the crowds. If you bundle up, going late evening after 9 pm is also an excellent option. I heart you MB - can't wait to come back. read more
2 years ago
8 years ago
Ah, Manhattan Beach. Located in South Bay Los Angeles, you get a good bang for your buck if you're visiting. For those of you local to MB, you're a lucky bastard. Swung by here recently to get some fresh air as I am working on a weekend DevOps project at home. Home is in Fullerton, so when I want to get away, I just take the 91 freeway west until I hit the ocean, then follow it up the 105 freeway til I hit the El Segundo area. From there, it's side streets to MB. Once in MB, the power of Google Maps really shines. Where at some other beaches (I'm looking at you, San Diego), I run into calibration issues, here in Manhattan Beach I get perfect T-Mobile reception and can navigate safely and quickly to the nearest parking lot. Speaking of parking, there's tons of it around here! Flick around on Google Maps and you'll see plenty of parking structures around here. Makes you wish Downtown LA had this many parking structures to help with the people-congestion problem. Finally, when it comes to the cost of parking: They take cards here, not just quarters like in the 1990's. Insert your card, press the PLUS and MINUS keys and hit OK when you're done and you're all set! As far as the beach itself, I love that they split up the roadways, one for pedestrians a level up and one for the bike lane. Don't be the douche that walks in the bike lane, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, go on YouTube and search up "Star Wars Bike Lane" to see what I mean (would post link directly, but Yelp apparently doesn't like external links going into user submitted reviews). The beach is very clean whenever I go, especially this most recent trip. There are not just trash cans, but recycling cans too that tell you explicitly what you can put in, like plastic bottles, cans, that sort of thing. Finally, while this beach isn't as progressive as others like in Vancouver BC where you can literally use your cell phone to do NFC-based payments for parking, Manhattan Beach at least tries to be innovative within the confines of US culture. All in all, I like it here. Good cell signal, decent pathways to have a Sunday morning stroll, plenty of parking, decent payment options. I forgot to mention there are public restroom (washroom) buildings every few blocks which is useful if you have to go frequently and don't want to feel like you need to double back just to get some bathroom relief. So check out MB sometime! read more
I will go along with the full 5 stars saying that I also love Manhatten Beach! So close to LA, yet such a different vibe! Love the downtown, the pier, the food, all around great vibes going on here. It is super clean, plenty of parking (all meters). Easy to walk everywhere, just a pretty little beach town right at the airport, though you feel miles away from the buzz going on all around you, love coming here every time! read more
Downtown Manhattan is a really neat town located next to manhattan beach. You can spend a whole day in the area and find plenty of things to do. Summer are a nice time to go hang out at the beach for a nice tan. Take a stroll for dessert or boutique shopping in the area. I would recommend grabbing fresh gelato and having dinner at katsuya. Warning: This place gets crazy busy on the weekend. It can be hard finding parking. So I strongly advise to get to the beach early before the crowd or you're gonna be driving in circles going crazy. read more
Downtown Manhattan Beach is located just a few miles from LAX, which is perfect for visiting if you have a long layover. I love the ocean, especially the Pacific Ocean. There's just something calming about the waves crashing against the shore. We arrived right before sunset and the views were gorgeous. Parking at Downtown Manhattan Beach must be ridiculous during the day. We visited during the evening and still had to park a few blocks away. The pier is cool and busy with tourist, skateboarders, homeless, and peeps attempting to catch some fish. read more
7 years ago
I'm from Colorado and was looking for a beach to check out for the day before I headed home with my 13 year old. Manhattan Beach was close to our hotel so we thought we would give it a try. We were pleasantly surprised! It was a beautiful beach area with a small town feel. The aquarium on the pier was small but full of interesting creatures to learn about. We found an amazing restaurant Rock N' Fish that had wonderful seafood and a salad for me! We fell in love with this area and know why so many people want to live in Southern California! We also checked out the darling library, cute shops and treat shops. This day at the beach made our quick trip to California and we are so glad we found it! read more
13 years ago
I would kill for a block that had Manhattan Beach Post, Fishing with Dynamite, Little Sister. Manhattan Beach Creamery, and a Coffee Bean. Add all the eye candy walking around I could just hang out all day. The problem is parking isnt that easy and even if you're lucky you may just score a 3 hour spot which just isnt nearly long enough read more
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Maryann V.
Thanks for the great review! You are right on, that stretch certainly…
12 years ago
Beautiful Pier! I could watch the sunset from here every night (and often have) as it's so gorgeous. Prices in the area are obviously going to be on the higher end of the scale, but that's normal for a nice beach town. The food choices are plenty and tasty. The shopping varies from $$ to $$$$ depending on which shop you enter. It can get pretty crowded during special events like 6 Man Volleyball Tournament. However, it's really nice and relaxing on a regular weekday or weekend. read more
8 years ago
Best beach, by far in LA. Clean sand, showers for after beach, very clean overall especially surprisingly near the pier. The food selection is very good on the board walk. Parking was cheap and easy. Overall : BEST read more
10 years ago
Definitely a beautiful beach. Lots of space to park (paid meter or free up the hill) and tons of space on the sand. I loved the swings on the beach, too. The water is perfect and warm, as it should be in SoCal. I also love that it's less crowded here than other LA beaches so that I can actually feel like I'm here alone/with just my party instead of the whole world. My only gripe was that there didn't seem to be a public bathroom nearby, but I also didn't look too far. I will return! read more
5 years ago
8 years ago
13 years ago
Beautiful place , you can enjoy half a day or a full day there. Walking between many shops, eating lunch, going to a yoga class , enjoying the clean beach , riding a bike alone the beach... Recommended! read more
8 years ago
10 years ago
A very nice clean beach. I had a blast here. There were people, but it's not quite as crowded as, say Santa Monica or Venice Beach. If you desire a game, there are volleyball nets all over the place. There's also a small aquarium located on the pier. The downtown area also has a nice seaside resort town feel to it. One annoyance: parking. Very limited spaces and metered parking lots everywhere (so don't expect your trip to the beach to be an all-day thing.) Maybe a shuttle service that could take beachgoers to designated parking lots could help? Also, maybe I missed them, but some kind of nearby "beach essentials" shop would really clean up there, for people who need to purchase last-minute towels and bikinis. read more
13 years ago
If I had $5-20 million dollars to spend on a beachfront home in Manhattan Beach I would in a heartbeat. During my week long stay near the LAX airport I had the pleasure of visiting Manhattan Beach to exercise and take in some sunny vitamin D. The separate bike and pedestrian pathways are in excellent condition for for a casual or intensive stroll. I loved running along the pedestrian path admiring all the old and modern beachfront homes wishing I had a home here to look out onto the beautiful Pacific Ocean and to walk seconds onto the smooth yellow sanded beach. $1.25 parking is available right by the beach and near side streets but if you park at a 2hr max or 8hour max city owned parking lot your hourly rate is $0.75 per hour. Coming from Chicago where he sold our parking souls to the devil for the 99 years (no joke, our former mayor King Richard II signed a lease jacking up street parking to fund our poorly managed govt). Anyway back to Manhattan, a must visit if you're in the area. There are plenty of local shops and restaurants in downtown Manhattan Beach that will keep you engaged if relaxing in the beach and sun or playing volleyball isn't your thing. read more
8 years ago
9 years ago
8 years ago
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More info about Downtown Manhattan Beach
1104 Highland Ave
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
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(310) 379-9901
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http://downtownmanhattanbeach.com/
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