Long Beach, California, things to do: Overlooked gem an escape from Los Angeles

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Long Beach, California, things to do: Overlooked gem an escape from Los Angeles

By Steve Meacham
Long Beach, California, offers vibrant beach culture, excellent museums and galleries, abundant eateries and pulsating nightlife.

Long Beach, California, offers vibrant beach culture, excellent museums and galleries, abundant eateries and pulsating nightlife.

Here's a free travel tip. If you're coming to Long Beach, California, for a couple of days to escape the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, check beforehand to ensure it's not the weekend when the Indy racing car circus hits town.

Maybe I should have realised something was amiss when every hotel I tried to book online was full. Even so, I'm happy with my choice. The Varden, a boutique hotel on Pacific Avenue, is conveniently located next to one of LA's Metro rail stations, and a five-minute walk from Long Beach's Pine Street, the city's celebrated "eat street".

After stepping off the train from Downtown LA, I'm greeted in the foyer. The receptionist invites me to have a glass of champagne in the hotel's small breakfast room/happy-hour lounge while she checks if my room is ready. I'm stunned. The lounge is packed with so many men and women wearing leather, I wonder if I've wandered into a bondage convention. And they're all talking a foreign language: "frontal head restraints", "weight jackers" and "contact patches".

The beach is indeed long (35 kilometres) and there are the usual beach activities.

The beach is indeed long (35 kilometres) and there are the usual beach activities.Credit: Shutterstock

When the receptionist returns to refill my glass, I'm struck with panic. Did I misread the sign and check in to the Eagles' Hotel California ("you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave")? No, explains the receptionist. "You actually booked for next weekend, and we're trying to sort it out. Someone hasn't shown up, so enjoy the free champagne and get ready for the big race."

Suddenly, I realise my mistake. Everyone else in Long Beach is here for the Indy car racing – hence the leather overload.

After the Indianapolis 500 – held each Memorial Day weekend in May – the Long Beach Grand Prix is the most celebrated date on the Indy Car circuit (held each April).

Paddling the waterways of Long Beach.

Paddling the waterways of Long Beach.Credit: Shutterstock

Many of my fellow guests are involved in the event. One of the leather-clad women owns an Indy car racetrack in the eastern states. Her equally leathered friend is the publicity director for one of the major teams. The men in the room include motor sport journalists, TV cameramen, hardcore fans.

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They return to the Varden each year, not because they can't afford more luxurious hotels, but because (as one says) "it's family".

Of course, I haven't come to Long Beach for the Indy. Like most foreign tourists I'm just here to enjoy one of California's oft-overlooked gems, with its vibrant beach culture, excellent museums and galleries, abundant eateries and pulsating nightlife – just 40 kilometres south of Los Angeles Union Station.

The Varden Hotel is a boutique site on Pacific Avenue.

The Varden Hotel is a boutique site on Pacific Avenue.

Long Beach was the movie capital of California before Hollywood. Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbunkle and other silent movie stars filmed at Balboa Studios. Even when the studios established themselves around Hollywood Boulevard, the stars – including John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart and Errol Flynn – were often seen in Long Beach, letting their hair down. More recently, the city has been used as a location for La La Land, Anchorman and many TV series.

But enough of this reminiscing. Why visit Long Beach today?

Santa Monica or Venice Beach are the usual beachside refuges from the lunacy of LA, but Long Beach is just a $US5 all-day Metro ticket away (and it's probably going to be quicker than taking a cab). The beach is indeed long (35 kilometres) and there are the usual beach activities, cycle and skate hire, impromptu fashion parades along the promenade, whale and dolphin watching cruises, sunset bars. Santa Catalina Island, with its art deco architecture, nature trails and Wrigley botanical garden, is just an hour away by fast ferry.

Until 1850, California was a part of Mexico. Even now, Long Beach is only 200 kilometres from the Mexican border. So if you visit one museum while you're here make it the Museum of Latin American Art converted from the former Balboa film studio. The Frida Kahlo exhibition in 2014 boosted its profile, but its permanent collection features more than 1500 paintings, sculptures, drawings and contemporary multi-media works. See molaa.org

Alternatively, enjoy a movie at one of the world's oldest continuously operating, single screen cinemas, now known as the Art Theatre. Originally unveiled in 1925 as the Carter Theatre (636 seats, pipe organ and oriental decor), it was remodelled in 1934 in art deco style and renamed the Art Theatre in 1947. See arttheatrelongbeach.org

The Aquarium of the Pacific at Rainbow Harbor. boasts 11,000 creatures in 50 exhibits that explore the entire Pacific from the colourful reefs of the tropics to the icy waters of the arctic circle. See aquariumofpacific.org

There's also some great food to be had. Long Beach has some of the best Cambodian and Korean restaurants in the country but for south-western US cuisine, try Panxa Cocina with its ceviche, Mexican prawn dumplings and braised short rib with polenta, salsa verde and shishito peppers stuffed with blue cheese. See panxacocina.com Joe Jost's, self-described as a dive bar, began serving customers in 1924. The menu hasn't changed much. The signature dish is Joe's Special, first served in 1934 – "a freshly steamed, family recipe all-beef sausage on rye bread … topped off with Swiss cheese, dill pickle, and mustard". See joejosts.com Then there's Bo Beau Kitchen and Roof Tap. The ornate downstairs bar and restaurant looks like a film set for Hotel California. Where else can you get "Shrimps + Grits" (shrimp bisque, grilled prawns and Charleston grits)? Or Crab Mac n'Cheese (crab with white cheddar, smoked gouda and that bell-like pasta known as campanelle)? See cohnrestaurants.com If you're stuck, there's always one of the finest Peruvian restaurants outside Lima. If you're desperate for a classic causas (chilled mashed potato topped with anything from crab and avocado to octopus and black olive aioli), look no further than Aji Peruvian Cuisine. See ajiperuviancuisine

Long Beach is on the verge of Orange County and Napa Valley, so there are plenty of wine bars, but don't discount the craft breweries. I can vouch for Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, especially if you find yourself in Long Beach on the Indy race weekend (second free tip: you can see all of the action on the multiple TVs and still hear the roar of the cars). See rockbottom.com/locations/long-beach

When Long Beach bought the retirement-age Cunard liner Queen Mary in 1967, we cynics assumed it would all end in tears. At that stage, Long Beach was almost as rusted and redundant as a transatlantic liner that had survived World War II but succumbed to Concord and the jet age. Yet the Queen Mary has since become the symbol of Long Beach's reincarnation. Venture aboard and I defy you not to be captivated and enriched. Part living liner, part nautical museum, part exhibition space (there were Princess Diana fashions and Churchill at war shows when I visited in early 2018), the Queen Mary is also a floating hotel and fine dining venue. See queenmary.com

TRIP NOTES

MORE

traveller.com.au/usa

visitlongbeach.com

STAY

The Varden Hotel, 335 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach, California. Rooms start from about $US129 per night. See thevardenhotel.com

Steve Meacham was a guest of The Queen Mary, Long Beach, but otherwise travelled at his own expense.

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