Long Beach

No reviews yetCity California, United States

Write a review Things to do Businesses Add photos

Japanese garden moon bridge, Long Beach, California

Belmont Heights Long Beach California, California

About Long Beach

Long Beach grew up on the old Spanish and Mexican ranchos of Los Cerritos and Los Alamitos, whose adobe ranch houses still stand as museums. In the 1880s the seaside town of Willmore City was renamed Long Beach for its wide sandy shore, and it became a popular beach resort. The discovery of oil on Signal Hill in 1921 brought a boom, and the harbor grew into the Port of Long Beach, one of the busiest container ports in the country.

Today Long Beach is one of California's largest cities, with a lively waterfront downtown. The ocean liner Queen Mary has been docked here since 1967, the Aquarium of the Pacific showcases Pacific sea life, and Shoreline Village and Rainbow Harbor are lined with restaurants and boats. In the Naples neighborhood, homes line canals where gondolas glide past.

Culture runs deep, from the Museum of Latin American Art to the Japanese garden at Cal State Long Beach. Miles of beach and a bike path follow the shore, El Dorado Nature Center offers quiet trails, and every April the streets roar with the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Best seasonApril to October for beach weather; spring brings the Grand Prix, and fall is warm with fewer crowds.

Ideal stayTwo to three days for the Queen Mary, the aquarium, Naples and the beach, plus a day trip into Los Angeles.

ArrivingLong Beach Airport serves the city, Los Angeles International is about 30 minutes away, and the Metro A Line runs to downtown Los Angeles.

12 Things You Shouldn't Miss in Long Beach

Landmarks 1

Queen Mary

The Cunard liner that crossed the Atlantic from 1936 to 1967 has been moored in Long Beach ever since, and it remains one of the l...

Family 1

Aquarium of the Pacific

Set on Rainbow Harbor, this large aquarium is devoted entirely to the Pacific Ocean, with galleries for Southern California and Ba...

Shopping 1

Shoreline Village and Rainbow Harbor

Clustered around a small marina on the downtown waterfront, Shoreline Village is a low-key collection of shops, seafood spots and...

Neighborhoods 2

Naples Canals

Naples was laid out in the early 1900s on islands in Alamitos Bay, and its narrow canals were planned with Venice, Italy, in mind....

Belmont Shore

Second Street is the spine of Belmont Shore, a beach neighborhood of 1920s bungalows and apartments whose main drag is packed with...

Beaches 1

Long Beach Beach and Bike Path

A wide ribbon of sand runs east from downtown toward Belmont Shore and Alamitos Bay, and a separate paved bike and pedestrian path...

Museums 1

Museum of Latin American Art

MOLAA, founded in 1996, is the only museum in the United States dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American and Latino art...

History 2

Rancho Los Alamitos

This historic ranch on Bixby Hill preserves an adobe whose oldest rooms date to around 1800, making it one of the oldest surviving...

Rancho Los Cerritos

Built in 1844 for Jonathan Temple, this two-story Monterey Colonial adobe is one of the finest of its kind in California and is no...

Parks 1

Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden

Hidden on the campus of California State University, Long Beach, this 1.3-acre garden opened in 1981 as a gift from Loraine Miller...

Nature 1

El Dorado Nature Center

Tucked into El Dorado East Regional Park, this preserve of roughly 100 acres turns a former flood-plain site into a mosaic of lake...

Events 1

Grand Prix of Long Beach

Every April the streets of downtown are turned into a temporary circuit along Shoreline Drive for the Grand Prix of Long Beach, wh...

Businesses in Long Beach

See all businesses →

Top-rated local businesses in Long Beach, with real reviews on WiserMap.

Flooring Contractor

Carter Wood Floors, Inc.

5.0(5)

5325 Cherry Ave, Long Beach

View profile Website ↗

Flooring Contractor

Family Floors Inc.

4.2(5)

6447 E Spring St, Long Beach

View profile Website ↗

Musical Instrument Repair Shop

Long Beach Guitar Repair

2930 E 7th St, Long Beach

View profile Website ↗

Reviews

No reviews yet. Been to Long Beach? Be the first to share your experience.

Write a review

Share what you loved, what to skip and tips for other travelers.

Share your photos

Been to Long Beach? Add your best shots to the gallery.

More places in California

Yosemite National Park

California, United States

San Diego

California, United States

Napa Valley

California, United States

San Jose

California, United States

Big Sur

California, United States

Carmel-by-the-Sea

California, United States

Joshua Tree National Park

California, United States

San Francisco

California, United States

See all places in United States →

Photo credits

Photo: Christophe.Finot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5

Photo: Alan Ray, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: John Murphy, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Chris Valle, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Darkest tree, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Summum, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5

Photo: Darkest tree, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Jakesoriano23, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Vmenkov, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Terry Lucas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: Demi Lucas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: RMS_Queen_Mary_Long_Beach_January_2011.jpg: David Jones from Isle of Wight, Unit, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Photo: Mquach, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Clinton Steeds, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Photo: Eric Kilby, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Eric Kilby from Somerville, MA, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Benoît Prieur, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Photo: Terry Lucas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Darkest tree, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: peter boy12qq12, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: Darkest tree, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: MrBill3, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: nsputnik, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Monacat, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 us

Photo: David Wakely, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5

Photo: Terry Lucas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Alan Ray, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Terry Lucas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: Chris Sansenbach from Huntington Beach, upload by Herrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Photo: Chris Valle, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Chris Valle, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Motohide Miwa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Photo: Jerome N Klempfner, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0