Santa Monica is a coastal city located in Los Angeles County, California, within the United States. It sits along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast, characterized by a mostly flat slope that angles down toward Ocean Avenue and southward. High bluffs separate the northern part of the city from its beaches. The municipality is completely surrounded by the City of Los Angeles, bordering Pacific Palisades to the north, Venice to the south, and the communities of West Los Angeles and Brentwood to the east.

The area's history traces back to Rancho San Vicente y Santa Mónica, granted in 1839 to Francisco Sepúlveda II of the Sepúlveda family. The rancho was later sold to John P. Jones and Robert Baker, who, along with Baker's wife Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker, founded the settlement in 1875. Santa Monica officially incorporated as a city in 1886. Prior to European contact, the Tongva people inhabited the region, establishing the village of Comicranga where Victoria Reid, daughter of the chief, once lived.

The city developed into a seaside resort during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, creating tourist attractions such as Palisades Park, Ocean Park, and the Hotel Casa del Mar. Anchoring the Westside of Los Angeles County, it is famous for its expansive beach and the Santa Monica Pier, which was once the western end of historic Route 66. The downtown area serves as the tourist center, featuring urban shopping districts and nightlife. The city also hosts significant industrial history, including the Douglas Aircraft Company plant built in 1922 at Clover Field.

Santa Monica is a popular resort town known for its climate, beaches, and hospitality industry. It offers visitors a mixture of affluent neighborhoods, renters, surfers, and students drawn by its accessibility and progressiveness. The city provides numerous hotel, restaurant, and entertainment options, alongside close proximity to major sights like Venice Beach, Malibu, and Beverly Hills. Three Visitor Information Centers offer travel counseling and tickets to area attractions, catering to tourists seeking a comfortable base in the Los Angeles region.

As of the 2020 census, Santa Monica had a population of 93,076. It hosts a diverse economy with headquarters for companies such as Hulu, Activision Blizzard, Universal Music Group, Snap Inc., and the RAND Corporation. The city is situated at the western terminus of the 10 Freeway, approximately 20 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. Santa Monica enjoys a coastal Mediterranean climate with an average of 310 days of sunshine annually, though morning fog is common in late spring and early summer.