Hotels in Redondo Beach

Redondo Beach is a South Bay beach town built around its pier and harbor, a working waterfront with seafood shacks and sportfishing boats rather than a resort strip. The Esplanade walking and biking path runs the length of the beach and is the main draw, along with the pier's fresh-fish restaurants and the volleyball and surfing scene at the south end.

It's quieter and more residential than Santa Monica or Venice, which suits people who want a real beach town over a boardwalk circus, but it also means less nightlife and fewer big-name attractions within walking distance. Be honest: this is a base for the beach itself, not for LA sightseeing — the Natural History Museum and California Science Center are a proper drive away downtown, and traffic can eat your evening. It's a reasonable distance from LAX, closer than most beach towns on this coast.