And what about the parent question now? Does anything on Abbot Kinney work with children?
Partly. Yes. This is an adult street for browsing, dining, sipping wine in Victorian houses and pretending otherwise is to set oneself for a hard day. However, there are certain ways to have fun with kids on Abbot Kinney Blvd and there is one monthly event which turns the whole boulevard into a family-oriented place. And here is the whole picture including where to park.
Abbot Kinney Blvd and the Street's True Nature
Abbot kinney blvd extends for a mile in the city of Venice, starting from Westminster Avenue and going all the way down to Venice Boulevard. The street was called West Washington Boulevard until 1990, when it was renamed after the tobacco millionaire who came up with "Venice of America" with its canals and imported gondolas. Some of those canals still exist several blocks away making the neighborhood a unique part of Los Angeles.
The current composition of the mile includes various boutique stores, fashion boutiques, home goods shops, galleries, coffee bars which really have reputation in this field, and restaurants which represent the best places for food in Los Angeles area. Gjelina restaurant with its famous wood-fired pizzas and communal tables, Felix for handmade pasta, Butcher's Daughter for brunch. Intelligentsia and Blue Bottle and Tom's for coffee, Salt & Straw for ice cream, Blue Star for donuts, Kreation for cold-pressed juice.
That list contains a family strategy in case one knows how to use it properly. The food offered is appealing to kids. Ice cream, donuts, pizza, juice - a child can enjoy himself or herself on this street as long as the tour will not include visits to six consecutive boutiques for clothing.
The busiest time of the day starts from late morning until early evening hours. Weekday mornings from 10 AM to noon is the calm period when shops are open and crowds haven't arrived yet. This is the most important tip to remember for people planning family tours.
Abbot Kinney Blvd Venice and How the Neighborhood Is Organized
Abbot kinney blvd Venice lies almost a mile from the Pacific shore and understanding the relation of this neighborhood to the rest of Venice helps a lot when planning such a tour.
The Venice Boardwalk is the noisy and chaotic version of LA beach life. Abbot Kinney is a quiet, refined and sophisticated one. These two are half a mile from each other and absolutely different from each other. Many families think that these two are interchangeable. They aren't. The Boardwalk is for kids who love spectacular shows and have plenty of room to run around. The boulevard is for slow walks with pauses for food.
Venice Canals are a few blocks to the south from abbot kinney blvd Venice - walkable, free of charge, quiet and unique experience for children who like ducks and footbridges. Combination of a walk in canals and visiting some store on Abbot Kinney is one of the best inexpensive family activities in the area.
Bikes are a crucial factor here because it is one of the few neighborhoods of LA where bicycles are important. One can ride from Venice to Santa Monica along the beach path in about 20 minutes. Those families who feel comfortable with riding bicycles can forget about the parking problem altogether and ride in from the north. Scooters rental is similar to that idea but for slightly older children.
The Abbot Kinney Marketplace takes place on the second and third Saturday of every month from 11 AM to 5 PM in 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd - a more modest and organized event which gives some structure to the family tour.
Abbot Kinney Blvd Los Angeles and the First Friday That Changes Everything
For families the abbot kinney blvd Los Angeles schedule has one date which is more important than any other - the first Friday of every month.
First Fridays are turning the boulevard upside down. About forty invited food trucks occupy the street, galleries open for visitors, shops extend their working hours, and the whole mile becomes a walking festival of food lasting till evening. New streetlights have made the night version brighter than it used to be before. This event is free to visit, the atmosphere is truly festive, and forty food trucks mean that even the most demanding child can find something.
This is the most child-friendly version of Abbot Kinney. People don't expect quiet browsing anymore. Everyone is eating outside, the energy level is high and social rather than quiet.
The main caveat of this event is the amount of people and lack of parking. One should arrive early - before the dinner rush begins - and consider the tour as an early evening activity rather than a late one if the children have their bedtime hours.
Other than First Fridays the abbot kinney blvd Los Angeles fame is based on the street being consistently rated as one of the best in the city for dining and shopping. This rating is true. It also means that weekend afternoons on this street are packed with visitors, which means that dense crowd + strollers + narrow sidewalks = a special kind of stress.
Abbot Kinney Blvd Parking - The Element Which Spoils the Visit
Let's be clear. abbot kinney blvd parking is the primary factor which makes family visits unpleasant, and the parking rules in this area are infamous.
Parking along the street is two-hour metered and strictly enforced. Local reviewers and guides always warn - one parking ticket can spoil the whole visit, and meters operate during the busiest hours. The side streets also have their own restrictions and permit zones, so reading the signs is a must.
Better options. Pay lots lie on the east side of the street and this area's merchant association recommends them to visitors. The lot located at Venice Blvd and Electric Avenue is popular in this area with its evening flat rates beating parking meters. Some merchants offer validated parking, and one should ask in case one buys something.
The best abbot kinney blvd parking strategy is to avoid parking at all costs. Bicycle ride from the beach path. Rent scooters. Parking somewhere further from the boulevard and walking the rest of the distance. People living in Venice or southern parts of Santa Monica can easily reach the street in 15-20 minutes of walking or riding bikes, which alone will remove the main source of friction from the visit.
In case of driving: avoid the street completely from 11 AM to 5 PM on weekends. These are the times of strictest enforcement and least availability of parking spaces.
Abbot Kinney Blvd Los Angeles CA and the Honest Age Assessment
It's time for the honest part. Abbot kinney blvd Los Angeles CA is a wonderful street but not one which was intended for children, and knowing this fact beforehand makes the visit work.
Children under five years old: challenging visit outside of First Fridays. The sidewalks are narrow in places, shops are full of breakable products displayed at the reaching height and there is no playground, no lawn and no open space anywhere on the mile. The stroller walk with an ice cream stop can work for an hour. Any longer and one is struggling rather than having fun.
Kids from ages of six to twelve: better. They can walk the mile, they will like murals and street art, ice cream and donuts give the walk waypoints and the Venice Canals a few blocks to the south provide the adventure part. Two hours are the limit for them.
Teenagers: this street is made for them. Shopping, coffee, photographs, people-watching. Teenager will have fun there for hours.
Another note is the price. Abbot kinney blvd Los Angeles CA is an expensive place - the restaurants have destination prices, the boutiques sell expensive designer products. One can easily visit this street for the price of a coffee and an ice cream, but it will try to make one spend more money.
Abbot Kinney Blvd Santa Monica Access and the Westside Day Around It
Those people who live in abbot kinney blvd Santa Monica area have the best access to this street of all Los Angeles - and that's exactly why it can be used as half-day place rather than as the whole day place.
Beach path goes from Santa Monica to Venice in 20 minutes of riding bikes, one of the rare LA routes where that actually works, and the drive via Main Street or Ocean Avenue will take 10-15 minutes depending on the traffic situation. The proximity is the key to the best formula of family visit - treating Abbot Kinney as the cultural and food part of the day when the physical activity happens elsewhere.
Here is the structural truth about the boulevard. This is a browsing street. Kids walk, observe, eat and walk again. They don't run, climb and have nowhere to move around. And a child who spends two hours on a narrow sidewalk and is forbidden from touching anything at the end of the day has every bit of his physical energy left.
The abbot kinney blvd Santa Monica region solves this problem perfectly. Our play space is located at 828 Pico Blvd and is fifteen minutes to the north from the boulevard - walk-in Open Play is available on weekdays from 10 AM and on Sundays from 9 AM, with multi-level climbing structures, zoned floors, soft surface and comfortable seats for parents. The first child costs $35 for two hours, $25 for the second child, $20 for the third one, and two adults included in this price. Our second Los Angeles play space is located at 10672 West Pico Blvd for families who head back inland. $200 monthly membership is for the regulars.
Here is the combination that local families use. Morning play session while everyone is fresh, lunch, and Abbot Kinney in the early afternoon with kids who have already burned their energy and can enjoy the visit. Or the other way round for First Friday - the visit in the evening and the play floor the next morning.
Birthdays follow the same pattern. An afternoon visit on Abbot Kinney for teenagers is a great idea. Birthday parties for 20 mixed-age kids require the play floor for 20 mixed-age kids. Our packages cost $1,800 Basic, $2,300 Adventure, $2,700 Ultimate, and $5,700 VIP with food and dedicated staff, private party room, setup through breakdown, 18% service fee on all events, 40% deposit to hold the date, balance due five days before the event.
What Makes the Boulevard Worth Visiting With Kids
In spite of all the caveats there is a reason to bring kids here which is not related to shopping at all.
Abbot Kinney is one of the few places in Los Angeles where a kid can see how an independent commercial street looks like - small businesses, owner-operators, art on the walls, food cooked by people who care deeply about it. Kids who were born and raised among strip malls and delivery applications do not know about the existence of streets like this one automatically. Walking the mile, eating an ice cream, looking at a mural which somebody painted on the wall of bungalow - it makes impression.
Limit the visit to 90 minutes, make it food-based, visit it on a weekday morning or on First Friday, park somewhere reasonably and let the kids run somewhere else after that. Done this way, the coolest block in America becomes a nice family visit.
