Los Angeles' Own Mini Venice

Some areas of the Venice Canal District look idyllic

After visiting Getty Villa we made our way to Venice Beach, but first to the Venice Canal District near the area.

In 1905 a developer by the name of Abbot Kinney wanted to recreate the canals in Venice, Italy and went about creating manmade wetland canals. He also named them Aldebaren Canal, Altair Canal, Cabrillo Canal, Coral Canal, Grand Canal, Lion Canal and Venus Canal.

More canals were added later by other developers, and they came complete with gondolas and gondoliers in a bid to create more interest in the properties there.

We enjoyed admiring the gardens along the way

However, by the 1920s when cars became more popular, interest in the canal area waned and some canals were even filled in to make way for paved roads from 13 to six. By the 1940s the canals fell into disrepair and it wasn't until 1992 when then canals were renovated and drained, and new sidewalks were built. The canals were opened a year later. 

We were hoping to have a boat tour of the canals, but when we got there, no one in the area seemed to know about them. But one look at the canals gave a big clue -- the water was extremely shallow and full of algae.

So we wandered around the neighbourhood a bit, walking in front of people's houses and admiring their gardens along the canals. Each home owned a kayak, canoe or boat of some sort, and they are probably very useful when it's high tide. 

The view of Venice Beach from the pier

Some grew roses, but many grew succulents that were as big as cabbages, others had lavender or cacti. Some of the bungalows were well looked after, while others looked rented out and rundown.

It was a short walk to Venice Beach, which has very fine sand. We walked along Venice Pier that juts out into the ocean, where some people were trying their luck fishing. One guy somehow managed to catch three fish at once, but all of them were small. It reminded me of people in Hong Kong along Victoria Harbour dipping their rods in and only catching palm-sized fish, while the odd person did catch a decent-sized one.

While the views are great and the apartments along the boardwalk seem to have million-dollar views, the area does attract sketchy people, as we encountered some homeless people, or doing some weed.

Pointers in Chinese of what not to fish!

Nevertheless, it's a nice place to visit, watching the waves crash onto the shore and breathing in the fresh sea air.