Long Beach, California is basically one giant playground packed with fun things to do and great stuff to see. Here are a few interesting things about Long Beach which you may or may not know. Here goes:

Where is it?

Long Beach is right in the heart of glorious Southern California around 25 miles from LA along the fabulous Pacific Coastline.

How big is it?

The City of Long Beach measures around 50 square miles with more than 460,000 inhabitants. Those facts and figures all add up to it being the 7th largest in California after Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno and Sacramento . . . then there’s Long Beach followed by Oakland, Bakersfield and Anaheim – thought I might as well complete the top ten.

How long has The Queen Mary Liner been at Long Beach . . . and does it ever move?

She’s been docked . . . and might I say a major attraction . . . at Long Beach Harbor since way back when in 1967. She is floating but doesn’t actually go anywhere these days – apart from up and down along with the tide. Unfortunately it isn’t used as a passenger cruise liner any more – those days are long gone.

There are some incredible tales of ghost and haunting – they say that wet footprints can be often seen close to the location of the former swimming pool which has actually been dry for the last few decades. There have also been sightings of a worker who was crushed many years ago in one of the doors.

What’s the weather like?

Well, it is in the heart of the sunshine state so what do you think? The temperature has a year round average of 74 deg F and out of the 365 days each year you can expect sunshine on an average of 345 of them – that means there are only 20 days when the sun doesn’t shine.

Is Long Beach in the movies?

You betcha’ it is. What with 345 days of wall to wall sunshine, a delightful waterfront and pretty spectacular architecture why wouldn’t it be? Many movies and TV shows have been filmed in Long Beach including Knight and Day, the latest Star Trek, Iron Man, Transformers 2, Transformers 3. Another big advantage is the fact that the Hollywood Production Studios are only 30 miles away – no wonder Long Beach forms the back-drop of such shows as CSI Miami, Dexter, Criminal Minds and True Blood.

Does Long Beach have a beach?

It sure does. The city was originally known as “Wilmore City” but that didn’t really catch on – it was renamed in 1888 after the incredibly long beach – more than 5 miles of golden sand just perfect for lazing, lounging, running, jogging, walking, swimming, biking, blading, kayaking, jet skiing and more. Well, some of those activities need the sparkling blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and some of them are best left for the smooth, paved bicycle path with spans the entire length from Downtown all the way to Belmont Shore.

Which is the best car dealership?

Long beach fiat is certainly ranked as one of the best with a superb range of new and used vehicles perfect for cruising the waterfront at Long Beach. Check out the deals at www.ocfiat.com and see for yourself if you don’t believe me.
And here ends our first lesson about the fabulous city of Long Beach . . . a little background information can often help to get a real understanding about somewhere.