Venice Beach has been featured in numerous movies, so I wanted to check it out for myself. This beach is a bit edgier than most, but also more interesting. You'll find tattoo parlors, tarot card readers, the Muscle Beach outdoor weight lifting, outdoor basketball (think White Men Can't Jump), lots of beach food, T-shirt shops, paddle tennis (a game I hadn't seen before), lots of roller-blading, surfing, and everything else you would expect from a beach.
But the most interesting aspect of this beach is the people. Just walk up and down the strip and you will see a little bit of everything from beautiful girls in bikinis to starving artists. A couple of examples included a roller-blading Jimi Hendrix look-alike and a man with tattoos from head to toe. Everyone seemed to get along and we just strolled up and down for a couple of hours and took it all in.
I've heard it gets a bit dicey at night, so I would plan a day trip.