There is a sandy three-mile beach here, but that is not what attracts visitors. You go to Venice to shop and gawk. During the summer season and on weekends, there is street entertainment at every intersection along Ocean Front Walk. Street performers include instrumental musicians, singers, jugglers, acrobats, mimes, comics, magicians, prophets, fortune tellers, and other assorted entertainers. You will see people with tricolor hairdos, painted faces, weird tattoos, and outlandish clothing--or lack of it. The Boardwalk is a virtual sidewalk circus, a walk 'n' rolling skin show. This is also the home of muscle beach, an outdoor gym where men pump iron in their speedos. There are lots of funky shops, too, if you want to eat out of the ordinary or buy an unusual souvenir or T-shirt.