Palos Verdes is the part of Los Angeles that many people see from a distance, from the Redondo Beach Pier or from Hermosa Beach, and never actually get to know: a mass of green hills jutting into the Pacific at the southern tip of the South Bay. In the episode of Cadê Brazil · Brasileiros em South Bay LA dedicated to the peninsula, realtor Dina Silveira, a South Bay market specialist, walks Jason Lanzarini through the area city by city. She starts with a memory from when she first arrived in California and worked delivering food.

"The cell signal up there is bad, and I used to get upset because I was going to miss my next delivery. But the moment I got there, I would apologize to God and say: thank you so much for sending me here." — Dina Silveira, on the episode

Where the peninsula is

The Palos Verdes Peninsula sits at the southwest corner of Los Angeles County. To the north are Redondo Beach and Torrance; to the east, the San Pedro neighborhood and the Port of Los Angeles; to the south and west, nothing but ocean. Because it is surrounded by water on three sides, it is called a peninsula. From many spots you can see the Downtown LA skyline on clear days, Santa Catalina Island on the horizon and, on very clear days, the Malibu coast across Santa Monica Bay.

As Dina explains, "Palos Verdes" is not the name of just one city. The peninsula is divided into four independent cities, each with its own city hall and its own rules: Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates. Together they have just over 65,000 residents, according to the 2020 Census.

Palos Verdes Estates: the upscale side, facing the ocean

Palos Verdes Estates (about 13,000 residents) sits at the northwest tip, right on the water, and is the area Dina describes as the most upscale and most sought-after on the peninsula. It was born in the 1920s as a planned community, with landscape design by the Olmsted Brothers (the firm associated with New York's Central Park), and became a city in 1939. Neighborhoods such as Malaga Cove, Lunada Bay and Valmonte are there.

The city has a strong visual identity: Mediterranean-style homes with light-colored walls and clay tile roofs. The peninsula's own name comes from the Rancho de los Palos Verdes, a land grant from the Spanish and Mexican era, and the city works to preserve that look. Dina points out that building something different is not forbidden, but every project goes through approval, including the height of the house. In Palos Verdes Estates, remodels and new construction are reviewed by an architecture committee (the Art Jury), a rule that catches many people by surprise.

Rancho Palos Verdes: the largest, from west to east

Rancho Palos Verdes is the largest of the four (about 42,000 residents) and, in Dina's words, the city that "connects the west side to the east side." It covers the entire southern coast of the peninsula. It is home to the Point Vicente lighthouse, the Terranea resort, built where the old Marineland park used to be, the Trump National golf course and much of the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve trail network.

It is also the city with the widest variety of housing: large view homes, but also condos and townhomes. That makes it the entry point for people who want to live on the peninsula without paying the price of the most exclusive homes. The east side of Rancho Palos Verdes, overlooking the port, is closer to the 110 freeway, a detail that weighs a lot in daily life (see this paper's story on traffic and schools on the peninsula).

Rolling Hills: the city that is a gated community

Rolling Hills is the peninsula's curiosity. It is a real city, with its own city hall, but it is entirely enclosed, with access controlled by gates. Dina explains that there are only three entrances and just over 600 properties. With about 1,700 residents, it is one of the smallest cities in California. Inside, lots are large, homes are spread out and the feel is rural. Since almost nobody leaves, homes rarely come up for sale.

Rolling Hills Estates: horses, trails and the link to Torrance

Not to be confused with its neighbor: Rolling Hills Estates (about 8,000 residents) is an open city that runs from the foot of the hill to roughly the middle of the peninsula and connects to Torrance. Even though Rancho Palos Verdes has "rancho" in its name, Dina explains that horse culture is strongest in Rolling Hills Estates: many homes are set up to keep your own horse, and there are stables and a network of riding trails. It is also where much of the peninsula's shopping is.

Nature, peacocks and the beach you have to hike to

What charms Dina most is the nature. On many streets in Palos Verdes Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes, residents live alongside free-roaming peacocks, descendants of birds brought to the peninsula in the early 20th century. They wander through backyards and down the middle of the street. There are golf clubs, clifftop trails and spots where, as she tells it, you can even pick strawberries.

One thing that surprises people picturing a "beach house": Palos Verdes is up high. Many homes have ocean views but no direct access to the sand. To get to the beach, you almost always have to hike down a trail. Dina mentions only three or four spots where you can actually lie on the sand and sunbathe, such as the cove next to Terranea. Abalone Cove, one of the best-known access points, is closed because of the Portuguese Bend landslide, the subject of another story in this paper.

Away from the bustle, but not isolated

Even though it is far from the center, the peninsula is well served. Dina mentions big-chain supermarkets such as Sprouts and Target, plus a movie theater and a mall. In her words, it is a place where "you are not isolated." That, the privacy, the large lots and its reputation as one of the quietest areas in the region explain why so many artists and athletes choose to live there.

For anyone who has never been, Dina's advice is simple: photos and videos do not do it justice. "I don't know a single person who doesn't fall in love with Palos Verdes."

Sources and verification

• Episode of the Cadê Brazil · Brasileiros em South Bay LA podcast on Palos Verdes, with Dina Silveira and Jason Lanzarini (November 2026).
• U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census: population of Rancho Palos Verdes (42,287), Palos Verdes Estates (13,347), Rolling Hills Estates (8,280) and Rolling Hills (1,739).
• City of Palos Verdes Estates: history of the planned city (1923), incorporation in 1939 and the Palos Verdes Art Jury.
• City of Rolling Hills: gated-access city.
• City of Rancho Palos Verdes: Point Vicente Interpretive Center and Abalone Cove Shoreline Park.
• Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy: Palos Verdes Nature Preserve.