Where to meet up in Santa Monica

Santa Monica is its own city on the coast, at the western end of the Los Angeles area. It suits a beach day, a walk along the bluff in Palisades Park, or dinner and shopping on the Third Street Promenade. Friends coming from Downtown LA, the San Gabriel Valley or farther east face the longest trips here, so check how long the drive or the E Line takes them before you pick it.

Places that are easy to name in a plan:

• the Third Street Promenade, the walking street between Broadway and Wilshire Boulevard
• Palisades Park on Ocean Avenue, along the bluff above the beach
• the entrance to the Santa Monica Pier, at Ocean Avenue and Colorado Avenue
• the Downtown Santa Monica station, at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue

Getting around

• The E Line ends at Downtown Santa Monica. It runs east through Culver City and Exposition Park to 7th St/Metro Center in Downtown LA, about 45 minutes away on the timetable.
• Park and ride. Metro's E Line timetable lists parking at 17th St/SMC, Expo/Bundy and Expo/Sepulveda, but not at Downtown Santa Monica. A driver can park at 17th St/SMC and ride one stop to the end of the line.
• Buses. Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus routes, including the 1, 3 and 7, stop at the Downtown Santa Monica station, as the same timetable lists.

At night:

• Late at night, E Line trains come every 20 minutes.
• The last E Line train toward Downtown LA leaves Downtown Santa Monica at 11:56 p.m., every day.
• The last train from 7th St/Metro Center leaves at 12:40 a.m. and reaches Downtown Santa Monica at 1:25 a.m.
• Line 20 runs all night between 5th Street and Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica and Downtown LA, along Wilshire Boulevard. After midnight it comes about every 30 minutes, every night, as its timetable shows.