Although Long Beach is just across the bridge from San Pedro, and Long Beach Harbour is practically a Siamese twin to eh adjacent Los Angeles Harbour, this thriving city is a distinctly separate entity, with its 5.5 miles of sandy seashore beckoning thousands of Angelenos every year.

During the early twentieth century, Long Beach became a favourite relocation spot for Midwesterners, and home-state-get-togethers were common-place events. Far from common was aviator and eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes’s 1947 takeoff in his spruce Goose, the world’s largest airplane. Levelled by a 1933 earthquake, the city was rebuilt with diversity and character.

Since the late 1990s, a major redevelopment program has pumped millions of dollars into a gleaming new waterfront, convention centre, the World Trade Centre, and key attractions such as the Aquarium of the Pacific.