Greetings! I'll be in Long Beach late July for a conference, and would like to spend 5 or so days before hand just enjoying the locale ... seems that the shuttle is the best way to go from LAX, but once there what are the 'must sees/must dos'?

I enjoy museums, galleries, walking, eating general sight-seeing ... hope that's enough to go on? I'm hoping to hire a car and risk life and limb (and that of the local population!) whilst I attempt to drive on the 'right' side of the road ...

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

Many thanks Grunion! This looks great ... my feet are already starting to itch ...

also, downtown long beach is served by the blue line, which can take you to downtown LA.

Very touristy (and a bit "musty" in parts) but I enjoyed visiting the Queen Mary.... old Navy man that I am....

Head down to Seal Beach. Very fun seaside village.

I really hadn't realised there was so much to see/do - and I can 'go with' the musty for the pleasure of seeing the QM! Seal Beach sounds a must ... and that's great info about the Blue Line - thank you all so much ... now roll on July ...

If you're truly into beaches, I think Laguna Beach is the most geographically pleasing beach in all of California. It's about 45 minutes south of Long Beach, but unfortunately there is no public transportation to get there AFAIK.

Agreed! Laguna Beach is beautiful, and has good restaurants and bars too. One of the highlights of Orange County (and there aren't too many ).

LOL, so true though.

^^^^ And in July the ocean water is warm as your bathtub.

Maybe. Some people love a nice, COLD bath.

Well, in my (now very distant) youth I most certainly was into beaches - and a blast from the past is certainly enticing ... bathtub water warmth notwithstanding

Hi Pooch - to really see the sights you do need a car in So. Cal. As long as you're not in rush hour there really isn't that much drama driving here...no roundabouts and the only time you look like a drongo is when you hit the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal . A rented GPS is also worth it's weight in gold.

A couple of places I'd highly recommend are the Getty Museum (not the Getty Villa) a bit north of LAX. They have a world class art collection, some of the best views of LA and the beach, free admission and only $7 parking. The other would be Venice Beach which has every stereotypical Cali nutjob you've ever heard of - a lot of fun.

July will be warm here, but the scenery is wonderful!

OK Zarf4 - what's the Oz connection? I can't imagine anyone else reading this having a clue what you're on about

Thanks for the ideas - and yes, with my sense of direction a GPS is an absolute must ... don't want anyone thinking I've got 'roos loose in the top paddock