
Added bonus: the beach is pretty nice, too. This is America at its most overt, and whatever time of day or night you swing by, the passing show will have you enthralled. The strip extends in either direction to Santa Monica and south to Marina Del Ray, but most of the action is concentrated on Ocean Front Walk, a 2.5-mile promenade lined with eateries, surf shops and one-of-a-kind vendors. This place is a magnet for crazy, attracting jugglers, bronzed bodies, musicians, fortune tellers, snake charmers, and everyone else in between.

Famous examples include The Beach at Sainte-Adresse, by Claude Monet, On the Beach, by Edouard Manet, and Pablo Picassos, Mediterranean Landscape.

Beach landscapes were prominent in Impressionist painters works. The boardwalk beachfront at Los Angeles’s Westside beach is named for its canals, and though it's a name that might evoke old-world elegance, the beach strip is anything but. You can dot your home with beach scenes or focus the artwork in one particular room, depending on your style. Let Your Freak Flag Fly: Venice Beach, Los Angeles Whatever you decide, all you need is your towel, hat and sunglasses. And if you crave peace and tranquility, read our top 10 of the most secluded gems on the planet, where you can escape civilisation altogether. So, if whiling away the hours gazing at passersby is your thing, here’s our run-down of the world’s best beaches for people watching. But if you dream of dozing in the sun, supine on a beach towel, with no distractions but the relaxing sound of lapping waves, then we’ve got you covered, too. Of course, not everyone relishes the idea of sharing their perfect strip of sand with thousands of others. It’s nothing short of performance art, and best of all, it's free.

You’ll have to fight to find your place but once seated on the sand, you’ll be amazed by who and what you’ll see at these seaside shows. Ipanema, Bondi, Venice Beach - these iconic destinations are some of the world’s most crowded stretches of sand. In fact, it’s hard to top a beach when it comes to people watching, and on a busy day, it can be more fun to watch than any movie, with a real-life cast of rich and diverse characters. From muscle heads to yogis, metal detectorists to surfers, the world’s most popular beaches attract swarms of people from all walks of life.
