Redondo Beach, CA

Redondo Beach is the South Bay beach town with a harbor at its center, a Los Angeles County city running from the Palos Verdes cliffs north toward the airport side of the bay. King Harbor's marinas, yacht clubs and horseshoe-shaped pier give the waterfront the feel of a small port, with boats and restaurant patios sharing the view. Locals split the city into North and South Redondo, and the halves live differently. North of the harbor, Golden Hills climbs in tall, narrow rebuilds chasing an ocean view, Villas North mixes townhomes with older ranch houses, and El Nido spreads inland on fuller lots with yards and pools. The beach runs south from the pier to the Torrance line, with volleyball nets below and a walkway along the bluff above. Inland, Hopkins Wilderness Park turned a Cold War missile site into ponds, meadows and a campground you can book, and Dominguez Park keeps two historic house museums. Captain Kidd's Fish Market has sold seafood on Harbor Drive since 1976, and the fish you point to in the case is the fish that gets cooked. Phanny's hands breakfast burritos out a walk-up window on PCH. For coffee, The Boy and The Bear runs the flagship cafe of its local roastery near the harbor. Pacific Coast Highway ties the south half together, while North Redondo shops along Artesia Boulevard and around the South Bay Galleria. The last K Line station sits just past the northern city limit, with an extension planned toward the Galleria, and the 405 is close to the north side. Summer weekends send visitors down Torrance Boulevard and PCH to the pier, and the bluff streets fill with their cars. Which half of Redondo Beach you choose shapes the week, with the south trading yard space for a walk to the sand and the north trading that walk for room and a quicker run to the freeway.