DESTINATION

Long Beach

California State University, Long Beach, is home to 37,000 students. Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center at Ocean and Long Beach boulevards includes the Long Beach Arena, Terrace Theater and Beverly O'Neill Theater; concerts, plays, trade shows and sporting events are held here; phone (562) 436-3636. The roar of Grand Prix race cars echoes through the city streets in early April during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Boat cruises to Catalina Island aboard Catalina Express depart from downtown Long Beach (along the waterfront next to the Aquarium of the Pacific); for reservations phone (800) 613-1212. The Long Beach AquaBus ($1 one-way fare) and The AquaLink ($5 one-way fare) provide regularly scheduled service to Long Beach's major attractions such as the Queen Mary and the Aquarium of the Pacific daily from late May to mid-September. Exact fare is required; phone (562) 591-2301.

Visitor Centers

Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau 301 E. Ocean Blvd. Suite 1900 Long Beach, CA 90802. Phone:(562)436-3645 or (800)452-7829

Shopping

Specialty shops abound along the waterfront. Shoreline Village, on Shoreline Village Drive at the foot of Pine Street, is a harborside shopping center with specialty stores, restaurants, a restored Looff carousel and occasional live boardwalk entertainment. Free concerts are offered Saturdays and Sundays Memorial Day through Labor Day. The Pike at Rainbow Harbor , on the downtown waterfront between the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and the Aquarium of the Pacific, is a dining and retail complex that also has a movie theater multiplex.