Manhattan Beach, CA

Manhattan Beach is the northernmost of the South Bay's three beach cities, a small Los Angeles County town squeezed between the El Segundo refinery and Hermosa Beach. People here talk in sections rather than neighborhoods, and Sepulveda Boulevard splits those sections into a beach side and an east side. West of Sepulveda, the Sand Section runs down to the Strand on small lots, many on walk streets where a center sidewalk replaces the roadway. East of Sepulveda the ground flattens into 1950s tracts, and Manhattan Village adds a gated community of townhomes and estate houses on an old Chevron tank farm. The beach runs more than two miles, with the Strand path along the sand and El Porto pulling surfers for its larger waves. Inland, Veterans Parkway follows an old rail line through the middle of town, Sand Dune Park keeps a steep slope of sand for workouts by reservation, and Polliwog Park hosts free summer concerts. Uncle Bill's Pancake House has served breakfast in an old house on Highland since 1961, and MB Post earned a MICHELIN Guide listing for its shared plates. For coffee, Two Guns Espresso, started by a pair of New Zealanders, pours flat whites at two shops in town, one of them in the North End. City Hall, the library and the Tuesday farmers market sit together on Highland. Vons covers groceries near the beach, while Gelson's, Trader Joe's and the Manhattan Village mall line Sepulveda and Rosecrans. There is no rail station in town, though K Line stops sit just past the edges, and Rosecrans leads east to the 405. Parking is the tradeoff. Still, most days in Manhattan Beach come down to short trips, a walk to the sand or a ride down the parkway, with a drive across Sepulveda for everything else.