Things to do in Long Beach

Neighborhood · South-east Long Beach, in Alamitos Bay

Three small islands laid out around Venetian-style canals in 1905, with houses packed onto pedestrian lanes and gondolas that genuinely operate.

Local tip: Walk the canal paths rather than driving the loop — most of Naples is only accessible on foot and that is the point. December's Naples Boat Parade is the local institution. Parking is close to impossible; take the bus to Second Street and walk in.

Food · Anaheim Street between Atlantic and Junipero

The officially designated heart of the largest Cambodian community outside Cambodia, a mile of restaurants, groceries, bakeries and jewellers along a wide working street.

Local tip: Come hungry and come at lunch. Order num pang sandwiches, kuy teav noodle soup and a Cambodian iced coffee, and go to the small family places rather than the big signposted ones. Cambodian New Year in April fills the street and is the best free day out in the city.

Nature · East Long Beach, off Spring Street

A 105-acre nature reserve of lakes, streams and cottonwood woodland inside a much larger regional park, with two miles of dirt trail and a real sense of being nowhere near a city.

Local tip: Closed on Mondays and it catches people out. Go on a weekday morning for the birdlife — this is one of the better urban birding spots in the county. The surrounding El Dorado Park has the archery range, the model-boat lake and the space to actually lose a football.

Landmark · Queensway Bay, across the water from downtown

A 1936 Cunard liner permanently moored in the harbour, owned by the city, with the oil islands, the container cranes and the Vincent Thomas Bridge behind her.

Local tip: The ship is worth an hour and the view back at the skyline is worth more. Take the free AquaLink or AquaBus water shuttle across from Rainbow Harbour or Alamitos Bay rather than driving round — it is one of the nicer things you can do here for very little money.

Nature · Ocean Boulevard between downtown and Belmont Shore

A long grass bluff above the beach with 1920s Craftsman and Spanish Colonial houses behind it, and a flat beachfront cycle path running for miles below.

Local tip: The bike path runs from Shoreline Village to the peninsula almost entirely separated from traffic — it is the single best reason to own a bicycle here. Sunset from the bluff looks across the water to Palos Verdes and the oil islands lighting up.

Culture · Bixby Hill, east Long Beach

An adobe ranch house begun around 1800 on a Tongva village site occupied for thousands of years, with four acres of 1920s gardens, working barns and free admission.

Local tip: Almost no newcomer finds this and it is the best history in the city — you drive through the gates of a private housing estate to reach it, which puts people off. Free, docent-led, and quiet. Rancho Los Cerritos on the north side is its sibling and worth pairing.