Redondo Beach just minutes form L.A. tourist sights

Redondo Beach just minutes form L.A. tourist sights
Tucked along the shoreline just seven miles south of Los
Angeles International Airport, the Redondo Beach area is an
ideal place to soak up some Southern California beach
culture while never going too far from the many tourist
attractions that Los Angeles and Orange County have to
offer.

Want to visit Hollywood ore Beverly Hills or the Universal
Studios? Less than a half hour to the north from Redondo.
Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm? Just a tad bit further to
the south. Beaches, shopping and fun restaurants? Just look
outside your hotel room if you're staying in Redondo.

After years of passing Redondo right by -- it's a little
bit off the freeway and does take a short drive on surface
streets to get there -- we made a point to book a hotel
room with an oceanfront view of the beach at Redondo. In
this case it was the Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach and Marina
Hotel which is located just across the street from the
epicenter of Redondo -- the marinas and piers that were
bustling the weekend we visited.

The view out of our fifth floor room was like you might see
on the French Riviera -- well, okay, the buildings are more
modern here and it is, after all, L.A. But looking toward
the sunlit hillsides and seaside homes of Palos Verdes and
gazing at the calm, clear and vibrant blue sea stretching
all the way to Catalina Island does have a way of making
you forget you are in the Big City.

If you're going to experience L.A. beach luxury, the Crowne
Plaza in Redondo Beach fills the bill. Today's luxury
hotels pile on the amenities to entice people to stay
longer and to help them get more out of their "downtime."
This hotel is not only in a perfect location across from
the marinas, but it boasts a complete spa facility, an
expansive swimming pool, a tennis court, a deck area with
magnificent views and -- get this -- full privileges for
guests at Gold's Gym next door. But remember to ask for an
ocean-view room -- the view from the fifth (top) floor is
the best amenity of all.

Just up the hill from the pier and marina are numerous
condo developments, most of them no doubt offering their
occupants a spectacular view of the coastline. It's fairly
obvious that Redondo is where you find the L.A. people who
thrive on living near the beach and consider the traffic
and congestion of the Los Angeles basin worth it if only
they can come home to these postcard views of the Pacific.
But make no mistake -- most of them must be earning decent
money someplace with the median home price in Redondo now
about $750,000.

A trip to Redondo Beach is all about the waterfront --
take your pick between the four local marinas, the Redondo
Beach Pier, the funky shops and restaurants along the
bustling boardwalk or unique shopping opportunities that
pop up in places like South Bay Galleria and Riviera
Village.

As you might expect, the marinas are jam-packed with luxury
yachts of all sizes. It's easy to go down and get close-up
views of the boats and marvel at how expensive it must be
to buy and maintain many of these vessels. On this
particular sunny Sunday a steady parade of sailboats, power
boats and fishing boats were making their way inside the
breakwater offering shore-walkers the chance to dream about
what it must be like to put to sea in such opulent craft.

Like other L.A. beach cities, Redondo Beach offers a bike
and walking path along its entire waterfront -- in fact,
you can take this path the entire 27 miles to Malibu. Both
young and old take full advantage of this path anytime the
sun is out -- which is most of the time. We took advantage
of it to walk just south of the marinas to the Boardwalk
and Redondo Pier areas.

On this weekend, the Boardwalk was a beehive. The many
restaurants in this shopping area -- which is built around
three sides of a small boat basin where both pleasure craft
and fishing boats are tied up -- were doing a brisk
business. Rock and roll music pulsated out of Naja's Place
while a throng of receptive listeners crowded around the
stage and whooped and hollered their approval at the end of
each song. Down the boardwalk, the sights and smells
changed every few feet as we passed storefronts serving up
warm churros, hot dogs, pizza, pastries, Mexican, food,
Asian food and -- in about 70 percent of the restaurants --
seafood that's prepared just hours after it's hauled in
from the boat. In fact, sometimes it's not even cooked --
Quality Seafoods is a busy fish market that offers you more
species of live crabs than we thought were in the ocean.

The restaurant choices around Redondo are many, but
sometimes the simplest and easiest is best. We enjoyed
grilled sandwiches at Polly's on the Pier where it's still
possible to get a $7 sandwich with a waterfront view. This
is one of those small neighborhood cafes that just happens
to be on the water. If you listen to the conversation
carefully, it soon becomes clear the wait staff and cooks
know many of the customers they are serving.

As you walk along the Redondo Beach Pier, it's interesting
to note that Redondo once was the site of three commercial
fishing piers. Eventually tourism began to take over the
area and some say George Freeth had a lot to do with that.
He was the Redondo resident they called the "Man who can
walk on water" and is said to have brought surfing to the
mainland U.S.

If the beach and pier aren't enough to keep you occupied,
Redondo Beach also features a couple of popular shopping
areas: the South Bay Galleria, a shopping center built on
three levels with a variety of stores, shops and boutiques;
and the Riviera Village area, a small town within a small
town that reminds us of trendy shopping districts near
Hollywood and Beverly Hills. The latter is the place to go
if you love sidewalk cafes.

And Redondo Beach is the place to go if you want great
ocean views, a festive yet relaxed atmosphere and nearly
all of L.A.'s famous tourist sites within a short drive.

AT A GLANCE

WHERE: Redondo Beach is just seven miles south of Los
Angeles International Airport and would be an excellent
base of operations for visitors who want to see the tourist
sights both in Los Angeles and in Orange County.

WHAT: Redondo Beach is a historic beach and pier that has
been developed over the years to include a fascinating
combination of beaches, boardwalk, shops, restaurants,
major hotels, marinas and, of course, gorgeous year-round
weather.

WHEN: The sun shines year around in Redondo Beach. Even in
the hottest summer months, its location near the water
moderates the temperatures to keep it comfortable.

WHY: With all of L.A.'s tourist attractions it's easy to
overlook a gem like Redondo that's just a little bit off
the major freeways. But it's well worth a few miles of
surface streets to see what Redondo has to offer.

HOW: For more information on Redondo Beach, contact the
Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau at
310-376-6911 or visit www.redondochamber.org. For more
information on the Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach and Marina
Hotel, phone 800-368-9760 or visit
www.redondobeach.crowneplaza.com.

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Cary Ordway is a syndicated travel writer specializing in
California and the Pacific Northwest. He maintains two
websites, http://www.californiaweekend.com and
http://www.northwesttraveladvisor.com .