Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Los Angeles — a wooden pier stretching over 1,600 feet into the Pacific Ocean, first built in 1909 and expanded in 1916. It sits at the western terminus of historic Route 66, making it arguably the most symbolic endpoint in American road-trip mythology. The pier isn't a quiet, contemplative spot — it's loud, colorful, and unapologetically touristy, with a solar-powered Ferris wheel, a vintage carousel dating to 1922, carnival games, and ocean views that stretch from Malibu to Palos Verdes on a clear day. That combination of history and spectacle is exactly what makes it worth visiting.

On the pier itself, Pacific Park is the small amusement park that anchors the experience — the West Coaster roller coaster, the Pacific Wheel (one of the world's only solar-powered Ferris wheels), and a handful of midway rides give it a genuinely festive atmosphere. The Looff Hippodrome carousel, a National Historic Landmark, is one of the oldest surviving carousels in the country and still runs daily. Beyond the rides, there's fishing off the end of the pier, street performers, a trapeze school (Trapeze School New York has a Santa Monica outpost right on the pier), seafood restaurants, and — if the timing is right — some spectacular Pacific sunsets.

Come early on weekday mornings if you want the pier without the crush of tourists, or arrive around sunset when the light turns golden and the Ferris wheel starts to glow. Parking in the city-owned structure beneath PCH fills up fast on summer weekends — consider taking the Metro Expo Line to the Downtown Santa Monica station and walking the three blocks down Colorado Avenue. The pier is technically free to visit; you pay only for rides and food. Budget at least two to three hours if you want to do more than just walk through.