Stroll the Downtown Farmers’ Market and sample delectables as you stock up with fresh California produce. Wednesday’s market is the biggest of the two days, when you’re apt to see local chefs making their choices and working their magic. The food tent on Arizona Avenue is where Santa Monica restaurants set up. Rain or Santa Ana wind, the market stays...

If you’re looking for a street fair atmosphere mixed with fresh produce, then make tracks for the Main Street Farmer’s Market. All kinds of things are going on – live music, pony rides and chefs serving breakfast, lunch and snacks. You’ll also find a substantial area devoted to non-agricultural items. Every Saturday morning at 11 am, KCRW-FM 89.9 broadcasts the...

There are eight Perry’s Café and Rentals sprinkled across Santa Monica and Venice. What began as a single hot dog stand has grown into a business providing bike and roller blade rentals, beach butler service, and café cooking that goes beyond the limits of the hot dog. You can also snag a boxed lunch for the beach. But go for the...

Think and buy local – a guiding principle of Santa Monica Farmers’ Markets is to accommodate as many California farmers as possible. Here you’ll find vegetables, baskets of freshly cut flowers, breads, and cheeses. Park in the lot or at the meters along Pico. There’s also a parking lot on the northeast corner of Pico and Cloverfield. Downtown Farmer’s Market...

Santa Monica Beach is a more relaxing spot just down the coast from the hectic, fast-paced Venice Beach, a haven for counterculture hippies and traveling wanderers. Santa Monica beach couldn’t be more opposite, featuring a walkway that meanders down from street level to the sandy shore, where tourists are free to play a little volleyball, catch some sun, or just...

You’ve seen the Santa Monica Pier in a hundred movies, but now you have a chance to experience it with all your senses, the smell of the sea, the taste of cotton candy, the touch of a hand on a carousel horse. The pier offers all-day fun at its arcade, restaurants, aquarium and Pacific Park amusement park.The 1922 Looff Hippodrome...

Bring the kids to the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, located right at beach level under the Santa Monica Pier historic Carousel. Exhibits include interactive displays, touch tanks filled with animals found in tide pools and several large tanks featuring animals and habitats found in the Santa Monica Bay. The Aquarium is a part of Santa Monica’s Heal the Bay program,...