Best Neighborhoods in Malibu, CA

Point Dume is the rounded headland in western Malibu that pushes into the Pacific between Zuma Beach and Paradise Cove. It feels close to rural for a coastal city, with wide lots, very few sidewalks and quiet interior roads like Cliffside Drive where walkers share the pavement with the occasional car. ... See Full Page

Zuma and Malibu Park covers the broad, gently sloping shelf above Zuma Beach in western Malibu, and it still carries the feel of the ranch country it grew out of. ... See Full Page

Escondido Beach and Latigo is the central Malibu stretch between Point Dume and Pepperdine, where canyons like Latigo and Solstice run down from the mountains to a string of narrow beaches. It feels more spread out than the Civic Center to the east, with houses tucked into ridgelines and coves instead of lined up along a commercial strip. ... See Full Page

Las Flores and Big Rock is the eastern end of Malibu, where the mountains drop almost straight into the ocean and PCH squeezes between bluffs and the surf. ... See Full Page

Trancas and Broad Beach is the far western stretch of Malibu, where the city thins out into bluffs, canyons and pocket beaches on the way toward the Ventura County line. Past Trancas Canyon, houses space out, the hills get closer to the highway and the coast turns rocky and quiet. ... See Full Page

Carbon Beach is the mile-and-a-half stretch of sand just east of the Malibu Pier, lined almost end to end with oceanfront houses and known well beyond the city as Billionaires' Beach. Unlike the canyon and bluff neighborhoods farther west, life here runs in a single line between the highway and the water. ... See Full Page

Malibu Colony and Civic Center is the closest thing Malibu has to a town center, pairing a famous gated beach enclave with the shopping, parks and city buildings around Cross Creek Road. ... See Full Page