Compared with much of Orange County, Laguna Beach (pop. 23,727) is a relaxed and enjoyable place. Bookstores, cafés, and galleries reflect the town’s beginnings as an artists’ colony, but while the beach and downtown area are still very attractive, the surrounding hills have been covered by some of the world’s ugliest tracts of “executive homes.”
During the annual Pageant of the Masters, Laguna Beach residents re-create scenes from classical and modern art by forming living tableaux, standing still as statues in front of painted backdrops. Held every summer, it’s a popular event and proceeds go to good causes, so get tickets ($15–80; 949/497-6582 or 800/487-3378) well in advance.
Right across Hwy-1 from the downtown shopping district, which is full of pleasant cafés and a wide range of art galleries, Laguna’s main beach (called simply Main Beach) is still the town’s main draw, with a boardwalk, some volleyball courts where the standard of play is very high, and a guarded swimming beach with showers.
Many other fine but usually less crowded and quieter beaches are reachable from Cliff Drive, which winds north of downtown Laguna past cove after untouched cove; follow the signs reading Beach Access.
Adjacent to the beach, right on Hwy-1, is Greeter’s Corner Cafe (949/494-0361), locally famous thanks to an elderly gentleman named Eiler Larsen, now deceased, who used to stand out front and wave at the passing traffic. The food is fine, and you can eat outside on the broad deck overlooking the beach. Another place worth searching out is the small Taco Loco (949/497-1635), 640 S. Hwy-1 at the south end of the downtown strip, where the ultra-fresh Mexican food includes your choice of three or four different seafood tacos, from shark to swordfish, in daily-changing specials from about $1.50 each.
Places to stay are expensive, starting at around $100 a night, and include the centrally located, somewhat older Hotel Laguna (949/494-1151) at 425 S. Hwy-1, and the beachfront Laguna Riviera Hotel and Spa (949/494-1196), 825 S. Hwy-1. At the top end of the scale, the newish Montage Resort (866/271-6953), at 30801 S. Hwy-1, is California’s only Mobil five star–rated spa and resort, with everything you could want from a hotel—all yours for $750 a day.
South of Laguna Beach, Hwy-1 follows the coast for a final few miles before joining up with the I-5 freeway for the 40-mile drive into San Diego.
