Hello Pooch - I assume you will be staying in downtown LB. Although having a car will be advantageous for exploring, much of downtown LB is walkable. Restaurants downtown are clustered around Pine Ave., but tend to be a bit touristy. I live in the "East Village" (just east of downtown) and can highly reccomend Utopia Restaurant on 1st Street and Linden (www.utopiarestaurant.net). Also, a new italian restaurant with all "artisan" pasta called Pate Fraiche on the corner of 1st and Elm (www.patesfraichesrestaurant.com). A short drive away is 2nd Street in Belmont Shore which has a ton of restaurants, bars and shops - and lots of foot traffic until late in the evening, particularly in the Summer (www.belmontshore.org).

Museum wise, there are 2 very good choices - the Museum of Latin American Art, located in the East Village (and with the largest collection of latin art in the western US - www.molaa.com) and the Long Beach Museum of Art, which has a very small but interesting collection + has a cafe on the bluff with a fantastic view overlooking the Pacific - beautiful for breakfast, brunch and lunch (www.lbma.org). In addition, right near the convention center downtown is the Aquarium of the Pacific - a very nice facility as aquariums go (www.aquariumofpacific.org). There are numerous galleries in the East Village (and a few in Belmont Shore) - some additional information can be found on this website - eastvillagelive.com. I'd also highly reccomend riding the high-speed catamaran that is run by the City from downtown LB to the Queen Mary and then eastern longbeach; it provides a great, short sea excursion and wonderful view of the coastline (and there is a bar on-board) - the trip time is about 30 minutes and at just $3 US, it's a great bargain: www.lbtransit.com/Services/Aqualink.aspx.

Long Beach beaches are unfortunately not that great due to a breakwater that limits the waves - good for little children, but no very ocean-like. If you want a more authentic Southern California beach experience, I would reccomend driving about 15 minutes south to Seal Beach, or about 5 minutes further south to Huntington Beach (also known as Surf City USA). Long Beach is VERY well located for exploring many other sites in Southern California (from LA, to Orange County and further afield) - just be careful how you time your driving. Traffic can be quite bad at certain times of the day if headed North to LA or South to Orange County.

For other general information about Long Beach, look to the following website - www.downtownlongbeach.org. Enjoy !! Let me know if you have any other specific questions.

Grunion