Introducing Santa Monica

The quintessential California beach town, Santa Monica has a refreshingly folksy vibe and trades well in high and low culture, not to mention year round outdoor activities and events. Unlike the image conscious neighborhoods to the north and South (Venice and Malibu), Santa Monica’s beauty is skin deep. The town’s free-thinking denizens focus their gaze on the artworks at L&M Arts (an outpost of the venerable New York gallery),Bergamot Station, an erstwhile streetcar depot that is now an exhibition space for 40 galleries, and dozens of top-end restaurants where an organic, farm-to-table ethos is practically implicit.

The traditional hub of retail activity is Third Street Promenade, a pedestrian-only outdoor mall lined with shops and restaurants, while the visionary Santa Monica Place, the brainchild of Frank Gehry, is a sleek open-air complex featuring over 500,000 square feet of shopping and innovative dining. Santa Monica’s white sand beach stretches for close to four miles and offers sunbathing, swimming, a beach volley-ball court, and even a chess table at Chess Park. It’s an Angelenos rite of passage to contemplate life beneath the palm trees of Palisades Park at Ocean Avenue/Santa Monica Boulevard. A popular culture icon and symbol of the halcyon days of 19th-century seaside vacations, the vintage Santa Monica Pier lies just south of the beach. Built in 1908, the rickety wharf is a perfect marriage of old school charm and kitschy romance, sprinkled with just the right amount of tack. Along with a cluster of seafood restaurants and cantinas, there’s an indoor, wooden carousel, a small amusement area, and Pacific Ocean Park with its Ferris wheel and roller coaster.

Airports within a 50-mile radius of Santa Monica:

  • Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO)
    • Bob Hope Airport (BUR)
    • Los Angeles Airport (LAX)
    • Van Nuys Airport (VNY)
    • Jack Northrop Fieldhawthorne Muni Airport (HHR)
    • Santa Ana Airport (SNA)
    • Camarillo Airport (CMA)
    • Long Beach Airport (LGB)

Popular aircraft charters* in the Santa Monica area include:

*This is just a sample. Zephyr provides access to aircraft at every end of the spectrum, from luxurious VIP airliners, to ultra long range business jet, helicopters, and economical turboprops.