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Veronica Hill explores the attractions of
Long Beach in this episode of "
California Travel Tips." Located 20 miles south of downtown
Los Angeles, on the border of
Orange County, Long Beach makes a great day trip or long weekend.
It's LA's second largest city — home to the historic
Queen Mary, dozens of hip art galleries, and one of
California's best aquariums,
Aquarium of the Pacific.
Most Long Beach restaurants and shops are found at Shoreline
Village. You can check out Wyland's famous
Planet Ocean mural at
Long Beach Sports Arena, or head to
The Pike for a spin on the
Ferris wheel. The 3-mile
Long Beach Bike Path travels along the waterfront from Shoreline Village to
Belmont Shore.
Several fun Long Beach events are held throughout the year, including the popular
Long Beach Grand Prix (http://www.lbgp.com) in April, and Comic and
Horror Con, held twice yearly at
Long Beach Convention Center.
One of the city's signature attractions is the
RMS Queen Mary ship, which has been docked here since 1967.
Sailing the
Atlantic between 1936 and 1967, it was one of the most luxurious ocean liners of its time. Roughly twice the size of
Titanic, the Queen Mary weighs over 81,
000 tons and stretches more than 1,000 feet.
Check out the
Upper Deck, which offers great views of
Downtown Long Beach, then enjoy a cocktail in the
Observation Bar, which was once the
First Class Lounge. For a fun evening on ship, enjoy dinner in
Sir Winston's, followed by a ghost tour with paranormal expert
Erika Frost.
The Aquarium of the
Pacific is another good bet — filled with one of California's most impressive collections of
Pacific Ocean sea life. More than a million gallons of sea water were barged in from
Catalina Island to create this underwater sanctuary, which is divided into three major regions.
The Southern California/
Baja Gallery is home to playful seals, skates and rays, while the
Northern Pacific Gallery showcases sub-arctic critters like horned puffins, sea otters and
Japanese spider crabs. One of the most impressive galleries is the
Tropical Pacific region, where a three-story tall predator tank provides a glimpse of barracudas, giant black sea bass and leopard sharks. In
Shark Lagoon, you can pet bamboo, zebra and epaulette sharks in a shallow pool, then feed the birds in
Lorikeet Forest.
Dozens of Long Beach cruises and whale watching trips are offered throughout the day, along with daily jaunts to Catalina Island.
Around sunset, head south to
Naples, where you can enjoy a romantic gondola ride through the canals with Long Beach
Gondola Getaway.
Credit: Long Beach Grand Prix footage courtesy of
Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. http://gplb.com/
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- published: 10 Jan 2014
- views: 17414