Long Beach, CA

Just half an hour from Los Angeles, Long Beach is an oceanfront gem you’ll want to add to your California itinerary. The city offers beautiful beaches and marinas along with a busy dining and shopping scene that perfectly blends urban sophistication with beach-town fun.

Things to Do in Long Beach

Visit the Aquarium of the Pacific, Southern California’s largest aquarium and home to playful sea otters, Magellanic penguins, and a 350,000-gallon tropical reef habitat, which holds thousands of colorful fish, coral, sea turtles, and sharks. Fans of fine art should pay a visit to the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA); don’t miss the sculpture garden and be sure to check their website beforehand to see what events are happening (admission is free on Sundays).

With 11 miles of sandy shoreline, waterfront adventure is central to the city’s charm. Visitors can enjoy the waves from dry land at one of the family-friendly beaches like Alamitos Beach and Marine Park, or rent stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, Duffy electric boats, and other watercraft in Rainbow Marina. Try your hand at kitesurfing on Long Beach’s Belmont Shore, one of the best places in the state for beginners to learn the sport. 

Long Beach’s Rainbow Harbor is also the home port of several companies that offer cruises. Harbor Breeze Cruises offers a range of casual, short-format excursions focused on sightseeing and marine life; their most popular trips are whale- and dolphin-watching cruises, which head into the open Pacific during migration seasons to spot gray whales, blue whales, and other sea life, often with onboard narration or naturalist insight. Or hop aboard a dinner or brunch cruise with City Experiences, a sailboat through Sunglow Charters, a point-to-point ride on the high-speed water taxis, or a romantic excursion on a Venetian gondola.

Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival

The city celebrates its Chinese heritage each July during the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival, the state’s biggest dragon boat competition. A tradition originating in southern China, dragon boat racing is a sight to behold: Teams of 20 paddle brightly colored, dragon-headed longboats that race toward a finish line marked by buoys in the middle of Marine Stadium. The festivities also include traditional Chinese art demonstrations, Chinese acrobats, traditional dance, hip-hop, music, and martial arts performances, and can draw up to 20,000 people over the entire weekend.

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach 

Each spring, downtown Long Beach transforms into a high-octane playground during the legendary Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the longest-running major street race in North America. Since 1975, the event has brought world-class racing to a scenic 1.968-mile waterfront street circuit that winds past the convention center, Shoreline Drive, and the city’s palm-lined harbor. In addition to headliner IndyCar races, the weekend features sports cars, drifting exhibitions, concerts, food vendors, and family-friendly entertainment, giving the event a festive atmosphere that feels equal parts beach party and motorsports spectacle.

Shopping in Long Beach

If you’re in the mood for retail therapy, you can find stores ranging from Restoration Hardware to H&M at The Pike Outlets, or head to 4th Street’s Retro Row for purveyors of all things vintage, from furniture to clothes to knick-knacks. Shoreline Village on the waterfront has several specialty shops, like The Village Hat Shop, Dog Haus Biergarten Long Beach, and Istanbul Home, selling Turkish ceramics, towels, and lamps. 

Other popular shopping areas include 2nd Street in Belmont Shore, and nearby malls include the open-air Marina Pacifica Shopping Center and 2nd & PCH; at the malls you’ll find boutiques like Blue Windows and LB Swag, plus movie theaters (at Marina Pacifica) and common outdoor areas where you can often hear live music (at 2nd & PCH).  

Further north, the Bixby Knolls neighborhood is home to many small businesses along Atlantic Avenue, including The Better Half Boutique, where the selection of handbags, cards, and home accessories is impressive.

For a self-guided city tour that will take you on a shopping, dining, and cocktail-sipping odyssey with a vintage-vibe twist, check out this one-day Long Beach itinerary.