My son is traveling to Santa Monica for business and I'm tagging along. This will be my first time in California and I will only have three days. We're staying at The Huntley Hotel and I will not have access to a vehicle, so not looking to see anything outside of that general area. I'm not opposed to taking public transportation or Uber/Lyft.

I want to go to the beach (not for swimming) but it appears the only way to access it is by crossing Ocean Avenue. Is that true or is there a walkway from Palisades Park to the beach? Is the Santa Monica Pier worth a visit? The Farmers Market looks worthwhile and I would be able to do that on Wednesday. Not into nightlife, but would enjoy a glass of wine at a unique outdoor venue if you could recommend some. As for restaurants I've jotted down a few from my research. Please comment on the following: Fig, Forma, The Misfit Restaurant, Kazunori, and Bay Cities. Other recommendations welcome!

Ocean Avenue isn't your biggest problem. There is a big cliff to get down as well as PCH and the "California Incline". There are a number of ways for pedestrians to get from the top of the Palisades to the beach. One is the path near the Incline that starts at Idaho Ave and Ocean. The closest to your hotel is the 99-step Arizona Avenue staircase. You can also walk south of the pier where it levels out and get to the beach without steps.

Wouldn't be able to comment on restaurants.

Just a warning that Santa Monica isn't immune from disturbed street people.

Bring a warm jacket for the beach.

The Huntley Hotel looks nice. Do you like it?

We have eaten several times at Coast, which is in the elegant Shutters hotel. Prices are high, food is good, view is outstanding.

Thank you mlgb and MoBro for the info. I appreciate it!

The Huntley is less than a mile from the Metro Line E (light rail) station on Colorado (betw. 4th and 5th). From there, you could reach the museums at Exposition Park and/or continue all the way to downtown L.A.

https://www.metro.net/

Also, Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus has great service coverage in West L.A.

file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/system-map.pdf

In addition to the possibility of encountering disturbed street people (mentioned by mlgb), be prepared for exposure to the homeless crisis which is really concentrated in the SM/Venice area.

We had dinner at Water Grill on Ocean Ave. last weekend. We hadn't been there since before covid, and it was nice to see it had survived. Great seafood, expensive. Reservations (esp. on weekends) highly recommended.

Thanks, Jean! Helpful information.

Things to do in Santa Monica, Places to visit:

1. Santa Monica Pier and Beach
   
2. Third Street Promenade
   
3. Pacific park
   
4. Palisades park
   
5. Tongva park
   
6. Annenberg Community Beach house
   

You can take the city bus from Santa Monica up for a tour of Malibu. Get off at Pepperdine University, then walk down the hill and cross the freeway (crosswalk) to Malibu Bluffs Park. It looks like a little-league field but if you walk around to the back of the ball field there's a pleasant little park above the cliffs of Malibu.
Or you could just take the bus from Santa Monica as far as The Getty Villa and visit the Getty for a couple of hours.

bus schedules are at trips.metro.net , just plug in Santa Monica Promenade as your starting point and Pepperdine or Getty Villa as your destination. You'll catch the bus a few blocks from your hotel, on Broadway across from The Cheescake Factory/Nordstrom, and it will say Malibu on the bus. Metro bus is currently free to ride through the end of the year. (Note that Big Blue Santa Monica buses are not free, nor is Metro rail, you'll have to purchase a tap card at the rail station in order to ride those. )

And note that the Huntley has a nice rooftop bar, that's a great place for your sunset glass of wine.

Thanks digital and clark for chiming in to this thread. Much appreciated. We arrive in LA tomorrow, so I'm trying to gather as much information as possible.

I've noted all the suggestions on using public transportation, so thank you! I would love to go to Malibu and should be able to do that on Wednesday as I'll have the entire day to myself. Can you recommend a casual restaurant for lunch?

Question about dress codes. Clark, you mentioned the rooftop bar at The Huntley. Is that The Penthouse or is the rooftop bar separate? I had read The Penthouse is upscale. How do people dress?

Has anyone eaten at Blue Plate Taco? Looking for Mexican near The Huntley. Any recommendations for sushi?

Again, thank you!

I don't know Blue Plate Taco, but it does seem to get good reviews.

The hip and trendy spots for sushi in Santa Monica are Sugarfish and Sushi Roku. Less flashy are the several sushi bars on Sawtelle Blvd. in West L.A. -- Tsujita, Hide, Hayama, others. (Sawtelle is a historic Japanese American community in L.A., about 5 miles from SM Pier.) There are notable sushi restaurants (some with Michelin stars) all over L.A., but getting to most of them would be infinitely easier with a car. If you decide to go to Malibu, I think Nobu is open for lunch.

If you want a casual restaurant for lunch in Malibu, in the Cross Creek Shopping Center, we usually go to the Marmalade Cafe. They have a counter which is nice for single diners if you don't want to wait for a table. If I remember correctly, you can order from the breakfast menu at lunch. I recommend the Paleo Power Breakfast plate. It gets pretty crowded so either go early or see if they take reservations for one person.

https://marmaladecafe.com/locations/malibu

If you want casual and the weather is nice, I'd eat at the cafe at the end of the Malibu Pier.

Cross Creek Shopping Center is good if you want to do some window shopping. Prices are insane, but looking is free.

mlgb and Jean, thank you again. Taking notes and waiting for my son to pick me up. I can't wait to see LA!

Greatly appreciate everyone's help.

I don't understand your question about the beach. You can't get to the beach without crossing Ocean Avenue, it runs the entire length of it. And you can't get to Palisades Park either without crossing it, but not sure why you are concerned about Ocean Ave in particular.

She's already there. I'm sure she'll figure it out.

Christina, before arriving in Santa Monica I was picturing Ocean Ave as a busier street without stoplights in the area I was wanting to access. As is usually the case I figured it all out once I was there.