Manhattan Beach Pier

First time to this beach over the weekend and it was really awesome. Not too crowded for a Sunday and the sun was shining so bright. There were a few surfers catching waves and lots of sunbathers. We walked to the end of the pier and visited the little aquarium which was cool.
I wish we had walked around the shops a bit but the beach was awesome and I would definitely visit again!

I LOVE the Manhattan Beach Pier! My BF and I like to run and ride our bikes along the Strand, and we always take a break to walk down the pier, and enjoy its beauty-​especially during sunset. Also, the pier is beautiful when gazing at it from along the Strand. I like that there isn’t much commercial activity along the pier allowing it to be tranquil and you can really enjoy the beauty of the ocean. If you walk up the street, you can find tons of eateries-​some of my faves being Manhattan Beach Post, The Strandhouse, and Manhattan Beach Creamery.
They have the most beautiful Christmas decoration set up with tons of trees (I’d say 40 – 50 trees) all lit up along the pier.

Best time to enjoy the pier is during Manhattan Beach Henge underneath the pier.

Having grown up in the South Bay, this is one of my favorite piers, and surrounding areas. The pier itself is simple, it has an elegant, yet simple appearance, and makes for a great platform at sunset. At the end of the pier they have a little food/​coffee type shop, and a marine exhibit, which is great for kids.
Parking in the area is easy enough, although it gets crowded on ‘beach days’ and holidays. One of my favorite aspects of the pier and beach is that it’s super clean!
As for the surrounding shops, restaurants, and bars, EVERYTHYING is an easy walk, granted there is a steep grade when walking to the shops from the pier. Manhattan is a pretty little beach town with plenty to see and do — not to be missed.

Such a lovely walk out over the water!
After visiting Santa Monica Pier, I have a hard time determining what makes a pier awesome… so much goes on there. But this is about Manhatta Beach Pier… and how there’s an insane amount of comfort and beauty in the views there. This pier walk is beautiful, as is.
On one end, you’ve got views of where the ocean meets the sky, surfers looking to catch their next wave and even a cool little aquarium to tour! On the other end there are views of all the houses with direct access to the beach… even the bouses beyond the front line structures… appearing to be situated theater style to observe the happenings of the beach.
The aquarium at the end of the pier is small but informative. With a small donation (optional, but come on… support a free educational establishment) you can pet some starfish, view some eels and see some marine animal sculls. Super cool!
I look forward to my next visit to the Manhattan Beach Pier!
*2016 Unilocal Review Challenge: 12/​100*

This is a beautiful pier with excellent views of the surfers, and of the entire coastline. There’s an aquarium at the end of the pier, and there’s also a place where you can purchase refreshments. Parking during the holidays is free at the parking meters, which is a great perk!

MBP is just so beautiful whenever I come. Been coming here forever and thank myself for having a 2^nd home here at MB… LOL. Be sure to buy an iphone and check the weather for when the sun sets. For example yesterday, iphone stated that the sunsets at 4:52pm and sure enough I got there around 4:40 and took tons of pics of the sunset and even decided to stop by FWD one more time for dinner. By 4:51 and 59 seconds, the sun disappeared into the beautiful ocean! It never misses! LOL… Stop reading reviews and waste time, JUST GO! Bye…

Xmas lighting at the pier. Hella busy and nice people watching. Kind of getting ghetto now over the past few years

By far this is my favorite pier in the greater Los Angeles. There is always a great mix of people out at any time of day. People walking their bikes enjoying the sunlight and breeze, couples having a photo shoot to celebrate their upcoming wedding or the pending arrival of their new baby, guys with their sons fishing over the side of the pier. There is a small aquarium and café at the end of the pier. You can make a small donation and observe a few aquatic wild life and then get a hot dog! There is always a good amount of people but never so many people to make you feel overwhelmed or like your walking on top of someone like at Santa Monica Pier. It’s more esthetically pleasing than Venice Pier and way cleaner than the pier in Long Beach! You can take a walks down the pier and then up the hill to find a nice bar or restaurant in downtown Manhattan Beach. It’s a great place to spend a nice morning, afternoon and evening.

My husband and I live about 9 miles north of the pier. I had been itching to get down to Manhattan Beach and check it out since we moved to LA.
Parking was a bit rough, even at 4:45 PM. We eventually found a two hour parking spot near a church. We had to walk about 1 mile to get to the main street.
The pier itself is small compared to the Santa Monica Pier and even quieter than the Venice Pier.
It’s a nice romantic place to watch a sunset. The beach itself is very pretty.

I stayed in Manahttan Beach my last trip out to LA (recently…as in, earlier this month). I’m kicking myself for not going to this area to see a California sunset, so that’s on my list for next trip. My friend and I went to downtown Manhattan Beach for brunch our last day in the area before heading to Vegas. I wish we could have spent more time here, it’s truly beautiful.
As for parking, if you want to park CLOSE to the pier… it’s based on luck. There is parking, I’m sure it gets full early, and throughout the day. We parked in a meter lot about two blocks away, it was no biggie.
The pier itself has fishing and an aquarium which the fee is based by donation. We didn’t go in there to check it out, but it looked like a cute place to bring kids.
The beach below the pier is clean, and again… just a beautiful area overall. If you are in the area, visiting this place is a MUST!!!

I’m from San Diego so I’m familiar with good beaches and this one is great. I was surprised at how hilly it was so have comfortable shoes if you’re going to walk around.
Food choices are excellent and we loved the sushi restaurant Katsu-​ya. You can’t go wrong. Melts in your mouth. The gelato place was awesome too and they weren’t shy on the serving either. This beach is famous for their volleyball tournaments and it’s definitely family friendly. Lots of space and easy waves for beginners to surf.
The pier and aquarium are nice features. I was surprised by the list of toxic fish «not to eat» at the end of the pier. What’s going on in the water? Besides that it looks like a perfect place to spend a day at the beach.

Beautiful beach and surrounding area with so much to do!
It’s nice to grab a seat on the pier and watch the surfers.
There’s plenty of restaurants, shopping and sightseeing in the area as well.
Just another one of California’s jewels.

L O V E the MB pier. I’m a local and I always enjoy coming to the beach here. Besides Hermosa, MB is my favorite beach in California. The pier always is clean and has an assortment of fun activities going on at any time. Even if there isn’t a special event it’s always fun to just walk around, watch surfers, and soak up the rays.
I also love the mini aquarium at the end of the pier. Fun to go in and be able to touch sea life.
Parking is ALWAYS a hassle no matter where you go in MB. This used to be a small beach community and the infrastructure was not prepared for the growth MB has seen in the last 10 years.
My advise for people who want to park is look for parking closer into Hermosa Beach and enjoy a nice walk along the water to the MB pier. Parking is way easier in Hermosa. But don’t go telling everyone my little secret!

This pier is so busy and is right in the middle of the downtown Manhattan. There was a sand castle competition this past weekend, which was rather «anti-​climatic» because only 1 contestant had a castle that actually looked decent. The other contestants were really just having fun, rather than in it to win. haha ;)
Parking available via meters all around the various streets. I found one for 24 minutes which is all I needed to go check out the sand castles, and buy some cookies at a nearby ice cream shop. :) Worked out nicely!
Look forward to returning in the future!

Yup! …What they all said.
Clean, beautiful. This pier is a tourist destination, for sure.
I hit this pier at least twice a month. Usually to burn off food and beer to make room for more.
No smoking, no dogs.
I bring out-​of-​towners here before or after dining at one of MB’s many great restaurants.
This whole area is trouble free. Crowd isn’t super young.
At the end, there’s a dinky aquarium (free to enter) and ice cream.
I would LOVE if the building turned into a restaurant. How great would that be?

There are plenty of things to do within walking distance: Food, pubs, desserts, etc.
Great place to take a stroll either by yourself or with a date. In this case, I came here with a date at night. Although it’s not as nice as compared to Santa Monica Pier, it is still quiet and peaceful. Great place to just talk and spend time with someone you like, or even with friends and family.
If you appreciate photography, you can capture some nice views here, depending on your photography skills.
Recommended!

Beautiful… One word to describe the sunset from Manhattan Beach Pier.
I love sunsets. I’ve never been a morning person so I could care less watching the sunrise. I rarely come out to Manhattan Beach. Probably only been here twice or three times.
Came out here with friends, Coco and Cocolyn, after dinner to enjoy the Manhattan Beach strip and the pier. Great timing walking down the pier and we were able to enjoy the sun go down. For some reason, this sunset reminds me a lot of the one in Café del Mar in Ibiza. One that I’ll never forget. A great reason for me to come by again to reminisce the memories.

The Manhattan Beach Pier is a good area to visit.
The end of the pier is supposed to be a pop culture iconic location where the end scene of the film «Falling Down» with Michael Douglas was filmed.
The pier itself isn’t spectacular other than it’s a nice stroll to the end and there is (maybe was, as I’m not sure if it’s still there) an aquarium touch pool in the roundabout building which was pretty cool and exciting for kids.
The downtown Manhattan Beach area, and it’s a slight hill to walk up/​down, but if you’re able bodied it’s good exercise, has a lot of shops and restaurants nearby, which makes the Manhattan Beach Pier area a wonderful place to visit.
Parking can be challenging and you need to keep your mind on the meters, but there’s a lot of public lots and meters, n’ if you’re up to it, you can park further out in the residential area and walk into Manhattan Beach.
The South Bay Beach Cities have a few major piers and areas starting with Manhattan Beach, going to Hermosa Beach and continuing to Redondo Beach and ending at the base of Palos Verdes. It’s walkable from one end to the other if you have a few hours to spend and the stamina (it’s mainly flat level paths and the weather is generally coastal cool).

What can you say about the Manhattan Beach pier but it’s excellent. The area is a lot of fun with stores above the pier and when you’re on the pier you got a great view and aquarium at the end. The day I was here the surf was up and big swell was happening so there were a lot of surfers to watch. I always enjoy this area and bicycle riding around here is so much fun along the strand.