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A woman in a straw hat beside a convertible car overlooking the Pacific
The Pacific Coast Highway, the road that makes the trip

Americas · United States

Southern California

Skinny palms against a big sky, surf towns from Malibu to San Diego and a road worth the flight.

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Southern California is the original palm fantasy, sold to the world by Hollywood: sunsets over the Pacific, palms on Venice Beach, a road along the cliffs. It still delivers, with a caveat: the sea is cold. Come for the light, the road trip from Malibu to San Diego, the tacos and the sense that everyone here is on holiday even when they are working.

The palm: Mexican fan palm

The tall thin palms of Los Angeles are Washingtonia robusta, planted by the thousand before the 1932 Olympics to make the city look like a paradise. They are not native; the only palm that belongs in California is the desert fan palm of the oases near Palm Springs. Many of the originals are now reaching the end of their hundred-year lives.

When to go

°Crainsea January: 19°C by day, 6 rainy days, sea 15°C19°February: 19°C by day, 6 rainy days, sea 15°C19°March: 20°C by day, 5 rainy days, sea 15°C20°April: 21°C by day, 3 rainy days, sea 16°C21°May: 22°C by day, 1 rainy days, sea 17°C22°June: 24°C by day, 0 rainy days, sea 19°C24°July: 27°C by day, 0 rainy days, sea 20°C27°August: 28°C by day, 0 rainy days, sea 21°C28°September: 27°C by day, 1 rainy days, sea 20°C27°October: 25°C by day, 2 rainy days, sea 19°C25°November: 22°C by day, 3 rainy days, sea 17°C22°December: 19°C by day, 5 rainy days, sea 16°C19°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Typical daytime highs, rainy days per month (one drop is about four days) and sea temperature. Green bars are comfortable months, amber bars are hot or wet or cool, and the darker bars mark the best time to go.

Sights

Pacific Coast Highway

Malibu to Santa Barbara, or south through Laguna to San Diego: the road is the sight.

Griffith Observatory

Free telescopes and the best view over the city, with the Hollywood sign next door.

Balboa Park, San Diego

Museums, Spanish colonial buildings and the zoo in one park.

Palm Springs

Two hours inland: mid-century houses, palm oases in the canyons and a cable car to the snow.

Beaches

  • Venice and Santa Monica

    The boardwalk, the pier, skateboarders and palms along Ocean Front Walk.

  • Laguna Beach

    Coves, tide pools and an art colony halfway to San Diego.

  • Coronado

    The wide, gentle beach in front of the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego bay.

Events

  • Apr

    Coachella

    Two April weekends of music in the desert near Palm Springs.

  • Jul

    Comic-Con

    San Diego’s pop culture convention takes over downtown in late July.

  • Jan

    Rose Parade

    Pasadena’s New Year’s Day parade of flower-covered floats.

For remote workers

Internet5/5

A comfortable month: about €3,600

Los Angeles and San Diego are expensive but built for remote work: coworkings everywhere, cafés with power sockets and a culture that assumes you work from wherever. Visa rules are the limit for foreigners on a waiver. San Diego is the more relaxed and cheaper of the two, with the same weather.

Compare as a base

For families

Calm water2/5
Shade2/5
Medical care5/5

The Pacific is cold and has waves, so this is a beach coast for building, walking and surfing lessons rather than long swims; La Jolla Shores and Coronado are the calmest. Theme parks, the San Diego Zoo and the Santa Monica pier take care of the rest.

Rank for your family

Three things to know

  1. You need a car, and you need patience: Los Angeles traffic is a schedule, not a surprise.
  2. May and June bring the marine layer, a grey morning cloud that burns off by noon; September and October are the warmest, clearest months.
  3. Fish tacos in San Diego, Korean barbecue in Los Angeles and In-N-Out on the road.