The Manhattan Beach Pier stretches 922 feet into the Pacific and serves as the town's visual centerpiece and social anchor. It sits over some of the best surf breaks in the South Bay — surf culture runs deep here, and you can watch skilled riders work the beach break from the pier's vantage point.
At the end of the pier stands the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium, a free public aquarium operated by the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation. The tanks hold local marine life: leopard sharks, moray eels, bat rays, and various fish native to the Santa Monica Bay. It is a small aquarium but an excellent one, staffed by knowledgeable volunteers and genuinely interesting for both adults and children. The pier itself is free to walk, open at all hours, and busy at sunset.