Malibu, at the top of the bay twenty miles north of Santa Monica, is a whole other world, its beach-colony houses owned by those famous enough to need privacy and rich enough to afford it. 

It’s not all that impressive on arrival, however, with ramshackle surf shops, fast-food stands and real-estate agents scattered along PCH around the graceful Malibu Pier. Surfrider Beach here was the surfing capital of the world in the Fifties and early Sixties, as seen in the Beach Blanket Bingo movies of Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon (the surf is at its best in late summer). 

Just beyond is Malibu Lagoon State Park, a nature reserve and bird refuge, and nearby is the Adamson House, a stunning Spanish Colonial home with opulent decor and colorful tilework.

Most Malibu residences are tucked away in an insular community in the narrow canyons on the fringes of town. There’s very little to see; if you must, you can enter on foot or cycle a mile or so along PCH, on the other side of the hill. You’d do better, though, to visit Malibu Colony Plaza, near the gated entrance to the colony – good both for star-spotting and stocking up on food and drink before a day on the sands.

Much of Malibu Creek State Park, at the crest of Malibu Canyon Road, well to the north along Mulholland Drive, used to belong to 20th Century Fox, who filmed many Tarzan pictures here, as well as the TV show M.A.S.H. The 4000-acre park includes a large lake, some waterfalls and nearly fifteen miles of hiking trails.

Five miles along the coast from Malibu Pier, Zuma Beach is the largest and most crowded of the Los Angeles County beaches. Adjacent Point Dume State Beach, below the bluffs, is a lot more relaxed, and the rocks at its southern tip, Pirate’s Cove, are a good place to look out for seals and migrating gray whales in winter.

See also information on the Getty Center.