Top Things to Do in the South Bay of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

If you are visiting LA and want to go somewhere beautiful that is a little off the beaten path, don’t miss the South Bay. Here are the best things to do in South Bay to get you started…

During my first couple of visits to Los Angeles, I did the usual tourist stuff: Hollywood Boulevard, Santa Monica, Malibu, Venice Beach, the Getty Center. It was fun, but I didn’t fall in love with the city.

Both times I left feeling like I didn’t get a feeling for LA as a liveable city. With traffic-choked highways, smoggy air, average beaches, and too many strip malls, it felt lackluster and disjointed to me, and I was generally underwhelmed.

Gorgeous beaches, windswept cliffs with magnificent views, walkable streets lined with delicious restaurants and cozy cafes, boardwalks and surf shops, and friendly, laid-back locals.

The South Bay is a southern region of the Los Angeles Metropolitan area and stretches south from LAX Airport to Long Beach along Santa Monica Bay.

It includes fifteen cities as well as portions of the City of Los Angeles, and it is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in the U.S. Oh, and if you haven’t gathered already, it’s awesome.

One of the best and most obvious things to do in South Bay is to enjoy the beautiful beaches, because they are abundant and incredible. My favorite is Manhattan Beach with its gorgeous stretch of white sand beach that screams California, with tall palm trees and iconic lifeguard stations. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).