Long Beach bezienswaardigheden

Sitting on Rainbow Harbor you’ll find one of Long Beach’s top attractions: Aquarium of the Pacific. Home to more than 11,000 aquatic animals and approximately 500 species, there is much to see throughout their 32 exhibits. In fact, many people arrive at opening time and don’t leave until closing. Get up close to playful seals and sea lions, visit a lagoon with more than 150 sharks, see ultraviolet sea animals against a black light, take in otherworldly jellyfish of all shapes and sizes and roam the numerous indoor and outdoor exhibits.

Many of the exhibits are also interactive, allowing you to pet fish, manta rays and even small sharks; feed birds in the Lorikeet Forest; and partake in tropical reef feedings. Check the schedule when you arrive to see what shows and lectures are going on for the day. If you’re traveling as a family, stop at the desk to pick up special worksheets and scavenger hunt-like tasks for kids to fill out while exploring the museum.

Located at Berth 87 in the Los Angeles Harbor in San Pedro, the Pacific Battleship Center allows visitors to explore a famous battleship, the USS Iowa. Serving the United States during WWII, Korean War and Cold War, the ship was once touted as the “World’s Greatest Naval Ship,” a nickname referencing her enormous guns, top speed, heavy armor and advanced fire control systems. Back in the late 1930’s/early 1940s the ship cost $110 million to build, which by today’s calculations would be about $1.8 billion.

Visitors to the museum can take a self-guided Tour Alpha, where you can board and explore the USS Iowa, getting to stroll around the same ship sailed by notable people like President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, President Ronald Reagan, First Lady Nancy Reagan and George H.W. Bush.