"Fortunately, the beach is open, the Pier never closed, and our focus now is on repairing the damage as soon as possible." City Manager Oliver Chi said that in a September city release. Over Labor Day weekend, Hurricane Marie stripped sand from the beach south of the Pier, and runoff from the Pico-Kenter Storm Drain cut a channel across the festival site. Between the two, the first Ocean Way Festival had no safe footprint left, and the city canceled it before load-in began.
That leaves the Swiss Winter Village as the city's first big ticketed event of the season. It opens Wednesday, November 18, and runs through January 3. It sits on the Event Deck at 200 Santa Monica Pier, the paved deck most locals know as the place they park.
That location shapes everything else about the event. Visitors drive in looking for a space that won't be there. Residents can skip that problem completely, and the deal the City Council approved includes a few things written with residents in mind.
What the council signed in June
The Santa Monica Mirror reported that the council approved a license agreement with Swiss Xmas Inc. at its June 23 meeting. The agreement turns the Pier parking deck into a Swiss-themed holiday market and covers November 2, 2026, through January 15, 2027. That window is wider than the public run, and the site has to be restored to its original condition afterward.
The money is set up so the event pays for itself. Under the agreement, the city receives a minimum guaranteed payment of $320,200 or 8% of net ticketing revenue, whichever is greater. City staff told the council the deal was structured for full cost recovery and isn't expected to need a city subsidy. Projected attendance for the whole run is 250,000 to 400,000 visitors. That figure is a projection, not a result.
According to the same Mirror report, the operator committed to these community benefits:
- 1,000 complimentary tickets for local nonprofits
- Discounted or free admission for Santa Monica residents in ZIP codes 90401 through 90405
- Senior-focused programming
- Priority for local vendors, including a rotating booth for first-time Santa Monica creators
- Coordination with existing Pier businesses
Fever, the ticketing and experiences company, is selling the tickets. Its newsroom describes the event as a collaboration among the City, Swiss Xmas Inc. and Fever, and calls it a first-time holiday market.
The resident ticket, priced out
Entry is ticketed. The Fever ticket page puts Santa Monica residents in one discounted tier with seniors 65 and over, students, military and Metro riders. Here is how entry-only tickets compare:
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult, 13 and over | $12.90 |
| Discounted: Santa Monica residents, seniors 65+, students, military and veterans, Metro riders | $10.90 |
| Child, ages 4 to 12 | $8.90 |
| Under 3 | Free |
The resident discount is $2 off the adult price. For two resident adults and two kids between 4 and 12, entry comes to $39.60. Fever notes that a valid ID is required for the military tier.
The Metro rider discount sits in the same tier. That matters because the event is set up to push people onto transit anyway, as the next section shows.
Entry tickets don't include skating. According to the organizer's Santa Monica page, the bundles are:
- Skating plus entry, from $20.90
- Family bundles, from $18.90
- Gold, from $39.90, which adds your choice of a Pacific Park ride and skip-the-line access
- Platinum, from $64.90, which adds unlimited Pacific Park rides and grab-and-go raclette
Pacific Park, the amusement park already on the Pier, is the local attraction built into the higher tiers. If a Pacific Wheel ride was on your list anyway, it makes sense to price Gold against buying separately. Apart from Platinum's raclette, food, drinks and market purchases are sold separately, and the village is cashless.
No parking deck means getting there differently
Fever's FAQ says it directly: the Pier parking deck is closed during the event. The organizer's suggested alternatives:
- Civic Center Garage or Lot 1N if you're driving
- Metro E Line, about a 10-minute walk from 4th Street and Colorado Avenue
- Rideshare drop-off at 1550 Appian Way
- Bus or bike, both listed by Fever as options
Accessible parking is at Beach Lot 1 North and Lot 1-S. The village is wheelchair accessible, has seating areas for breaks, and offers carer tickets on request.
A resident who walks, bikes or rides the E Line skips the parking hunt that visitors will run into, and still pays the discounted rate. The city's own event structure rewards the trip a local can already make in ten minutes.
Thursday, November 19: the free night after opening
The Santa Monica Pier's Locals' Night series meets every third Thursday through May 2027. This year's November date is the 19th, the day after the village opens. The theme, according to Visit Santa Monica's fall 2026 release, is "Swiss Art + Sound." December's theme is Holiday Cheer on the Pier, and January brings a Drive-In Movie.
The Pier describes Locals' Night as a free, community-focused evening with local DJs, live music, art, kids' activities and a classic car show. Visit Santa Monica says the series is curated "by and for Santa Monicans."
So if you want a free first look at the Swiss theme, opening week has one built in. Spend the evening on the Pier on the 19th, then pick a date for a paid village visit once you've seen the scale of the chalets from outside.
Planning a weeknight visit
The village keeps longer hours than most of Ocean Avenue's evening plans. Per the organizer:
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Opening night, Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. |
| Monday to Wednesday | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Thursday to Sunday | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Christmas Eve | 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| New Year's Eve | 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. |
Fever says guests stay about 90 minutes on average, and tickets are timed. Arrive at your ticket time or within 30 minutes after it. Tickets can't be refunded, but you can change the date up to 48 hours ahead and transfer tickets for free. If the marine layer rolls in, you can push the visit back as long as you decide two days out.
Inside, the organizer describes more than 60 artisan chalets and around 30 food chalets. Expect raclette, Swiss sweets, mulled wine, and vegan and gluten-free options, with vendor selections rotating weekly. The grounds also have an ocean-view ice rink, a merry-go-round, a children's corner, concerts and DJ sets. The village is mostly outdoors. The Swiss Raclette Chalet and Santa's Headquarters are indoors, and Fever suggests bringing layers because it gets cool by the ocean.
The programming calendar includes storytelling, face painting, workshops, stilt walkers, seasonal cocktail hours, cheese tastings and Hanukkah festivities. Santa portraits run November 27 through December 20, Thursday through Sunday from 1 to 7 p.m. No separate reservation is needed during your village session.
Two more details for households: the village is stroller-friendly, and well-behaved pets are allowed along with service animals. A Monday-to-Wednesday visit with the dog, on a resident ticket, after arriving on foot, is about as local as this event gets.
Why the city is staging this at all
The village is one piece of a longer plan. The City's September release lists ESPN's Super Bowl LXI coverage from Santa Monica in February 2027, the return of the Ocean Way Festival with Goldenvoice in 2027, and the LA28 Games in 2028. On October 22, the city released a public-events request for proposals. It says major events are meant to celebrate coastal culture, support local businesses and create experiences for residents and visitors, and it calls for both free and ticketed public activations.
The Pier's November calendar already has that mix. There's a ticketed market on the deck from the 18th, a free Locals' Night on the 19th, and a resident discount on every entry ticket through January 3. When we covered Ocean Way's wristband model in September, that festival was supposed to be the first test of this approach. Now the Swiss Winter Village is the first one residents can actually attend.
If you have family coming for the holidays and they're staying near the Pier, they'll need one of the parking alternatives above. The deck is closed for the whole run, and Civic Center Garage, Lot 1N and the E Line are the options to plan around.
At Bellet / Grakal / Glick, we follow what's opening around the Westside because our clients ask about it, and the Swiss Winter Village will be part of Santa Monica's season from November 18 through January 3. If you're curious how a winter like this affects what your home near the Pier is worth, start with your Instant Home Valuation and we'll follow up personally.
