"The week before Christmas" Top 5 Page for this destination Long Beach by kyoub

Long Beach Travel Guide: 481 reviews and 1,215 photos

Sunrise on the bay

December is a great month to visit Southern California. While many parts of the country has snow and cold temps, you can expect warm days and cool nights in Long Beach. Long Beach is a big, urban city but it is also a city by the sea, with a laid back atmosphere like a beach resort. BEWARE, it is habit forming. This was my second Christmas there.

Long Beach

Long Beach is the 5th largest city in California with all of the excitement and amenities a big city can offer. World class attractions such as The Queen Mary, the Aquarium of the Pacific, art museums, and more than 5 miles of beach.
Take a stroll along Belmont Shore's 2nd Street, a fun place to shop and dine while sitting outside people watching. This was one of my favorite passtimes.
I also like to walk along the bay and look at the beautiful houses and boats.

Birdwatching on the bay

There were many birds enjoying the bay and the nice sunshine also. I saw a lot of pelicans grabbing their breakfast from the sea. There were also many shorebirds walking along the beach. I always saw seagulls flying about and many coots out in the water.

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:Lovely area
  • Cons:How can you afford to own a house here?
  • In a nutshell:A great place to visit.
  • Last visit to Long Beach: Dec 2006
  • Intro Updated Dec 30, 2006
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Reviews (24)

Comments (13)

  • Yaqui's Profile Photo
    Apr 8, 2011 at 7:07 PM

    Awesome page Kay! Long Beach has so much to offer. The Queen Mary is one way to spend a wonderful day. We stayed there once for one of our anniversaries. It was a wonderful experience.

  • darryl.wilson's Profile Photo
    Apr 23, 2008 at 1:01 AM

    Could you provide me with the name of the company that rents the boats pictured in your tip?

  • scottishvisitor's Profile Photo
    Dec 12, 2007 at 1:00 PM

    Fine place to spend the week before Christmas = must bring back happy memories for you

  • VeronicaG's Profile Photo
    Apr 4, 2007 at 3:22 PM

    The Queen Mary looks so elegant! This would be a prime destination for us if we were to visit Long Beach---thanks for the wonderful description of your visit!

  • matcrazy1's Profile Photo
    Feb 12, 2007 at 6:27 AM

    Very warm Christmas you had there :-) Nice page! My foundest memory from LB was surely Quenn Mary byt feeding sea gulls, watching people on a beach and quite good meal in Long Beach Cafe.

  • starship's Profile Photo
    Jan 11, 2007 at 5:58 AM

    I'd love to visit this area of California and seeing the Queen Mary would be tops on my list!

  • Ken_Weaver's Profile Photo
    Mar 27, 2006 at 2:22 PM

    Somehow I have missed the Queen Mary on previous trips to Long Beach. I must make a point of visiting that great ship!

  • aussiejen's Profile Photo
    Jan 12, 2006 at 4:34 AM

    I loved the sea jellies too, but they were at the Melbourne Aquarium.

  • JudyinPA's Profile Photo
    Jan 4, 2006 at 7:43 AM

    It's very special to spend Christmas elsewhere and eat in a most unique place. We do that almost yearly. Kay, hope your 2006 contains many travels and good and healthy times.

  • sachara's Profile Photo
    Jan 3, 2006 at 7:52 AM

    Lovely place to spend this time of the year. Happy New Year, Kay ! I love to 'green' wishes at your HP.

kyoub

“I choose the path of kindness.”

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