Three beach cities--Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach--blend from one to the other without any noticeable break. If you did't see a sign, you wouldn't know when you leave one city and enter the other. And yet, the three beach cities are different from one another too. The main street which runs by the beach in Hermosa is flat--even with the beach and ocean. In Manhattan Beach, the roadway rises onto a bluff. Eventually, you must look down long, steep streets to see the ocean. To me, the geography seems reminiscent of San Francisco. The steep streets don't make getting around in Manhattan Beach an easy thing to do. Actually, I don't spend time in Manhattan Beach--other than to drive through it--because of the terrain.
But the beach itself in Manhattan is just as fine a beach as any in the metro area. It has a wide swath of clean, white sand. Many permanent volleyball nets are set up, and beach volleyball is VERY big in Manhattan Beach. It hosts various pro tournaments. The pier is an attractive, modern concrete pier, which features a restaurant at the end. A bike/jogging/skating path runs the entire length of the beach in this city. As in Hermosa Beach, the recreational path is much-loved by the city's residents, and can get crowded during the popular morning before-work and the evening after-work exercise times. The city's business district runs parallel to the beach, although several blocks away from it. You will find a variety of shops and restaurants along the business district's street, but because of the terrain, you'll have to walk up steep hills from the beach in order to get to them.