Hermosa Beach is a friendly town in the South Bay of Los Angeles County in . If you're looking for the "typical" Southern California beach town experience, towns like Hermosa Beach and Seal Beach provide a unique cultural experience.

By day, locals can be found playing volleyball on the beach, riding/cycling/rollerblading along the Strand, or congregating around the Pier Avenue shopping area. By night, the bars and restaurants along Pier Avenue become crowded with young people, while the patios and decks of the tightly packed residences buzz with the chatter and bustle of private parties.

Get in

Get around

See

Do

Buy

Eat

• Good Stuff, 1286 The Strand (at 13th Street) 374-2334. A South Bay landmark, Good Stuff has good lunch/brunch food at affordable prices. There's a large outdoor patio facing the beach with great opportunities for people watching as they bike or skate down The Strand. Fills up fast on weekend mornings. $10-15. http://www.eatgoodstuff.com/hermosa.html

• The Spot, 110 Second St. 310-376-2355. Another South Bay landmark, The Spot is a vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant is off of the Strand and as with most beach cities parking is strictly enforced, read the signs. If you are vegetarian, this is one of the best veggie restaurants in LA.

Drink

• Lighthouse Cafe, 30 Pier Avenue, 376-9833. M-Th 6PM-2AM, Fr 4PM-2AM, Sa-Su 11AM-2AM. A venerable jazz institution in Los Angeles County, the Lighthouse has also seen the best of the LA area's rock music get its first start. http://www.thelighthousecafe.net/

Pier Avenue is the hot spot for singles and the young.

Sharkeez: Atmosphere: Jocks and trailer trash. Don't try to pick a fight in here!

Sangria: Atmosphere: Hip-hop and ghetto

Patrick Malloy's: Atmosphere: Suburbanites letting off steam for the weekend

Sleep

• Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, 125 Pacific Coast Highway, (310) 798-9898, [1].

• Quality Inn and Suites, 901 Aviation Blvd, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254, +1 310 374-2666, [2]. 68 rooms and suites just fifteen minutes from LAX and close to the beaches of Hermosa, Redondo & Manhattan.

Get out