News Details (Posted: January 8, 2009):

Downtown / Waterfront

Full Description:

Not surprising for a beach city, water plays an important role in Long Beach's lifestyle and work style. Mother Nature bestowed upon our city a miles-long strand of Pacific Ocean coastline, and she further blessed the locale with a wonderful climate and clean air. Today, Long Beach is the quintessential Southern California beach community, plus a premier center for tourism, and the nation's primary gateway for international trade, thanks largely to our city's best natural asset, it's waterfront.

The Pike at Rainbow Harbor
The Pike at Rainbow Harbor is a vibrant dining, retail and entertainment destination ideally located on the waterfront in the heart of downtown Long Beach. A popular selection of restaurants with harbor views can be found next door to world-class entertainment. Have fun at GameWorks with the whole family, ride the antique carousel or catch the latest movie release at the state of the art, all-stadium seating Cinemark Theatre complex. Dine on delicious dishes from exotic to All-American faire or simply enjoy the cool ocean breezes. Whatever your pleasure, you're sure to find it at Southern California's newest hot spot, The Pike at Rainbow Harbor!

Making a Mark on the California Convention Market
The Wall Street Journal recently has taken note of Long Beach's tightening grasp on the highly competitive, mid-sized convention market in California. Long Beach's healthy convention business and growing hotel occupancy rate caught the Journal's eye. Quoting industry observers, the newspaper cited reasonable hotel room rates and proximity to Southern California attractions, including Long Beach's own transformed downtown and waterfront, as the keys to the city's growing popularity. All these qualities make Long beach a very good value for meeting planners, analysts said.

A cornerstone of Long Beach's tourism industry is the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center. With a 224,000 square-foot exhibit hall, 83,000 square feet of meeting room space, and a ballroom comfortably able to seat 1,600, the complex also includes a 13,600-seat arena and the elegant Long Beach Performing Arts Center.

You can get more information about conventions or other tourist information at the Long Beach Convention & Visitor's Bureau website - http://www.visitlongbeach.com/.

Long Beach Marina
With over 3,800 slips, the City of Long Beach operates the largest municipal marina system in the nation. Boats are protected by a series of offshore breakwaters and a natural bay. Sailors appreciate the rapid access to open water, prevailing winds and close proximity to Catalina Island. Sailing conditions in Long Beach are practically perfect year round. That's why Long Beach has been and continues to be the home of the Congressional Cup, Transpac and Olympic trial races.

Downtown Shoreline Marina was opened in the early 80s and is located in the heart of the downtown redevelopment area. The downtown shoreline of Long Beach is rapidly becoming a showcase and is attracting more and more major corporations to our City. A focal point of the downtown revitalization is the sparkling Downtown Shoreline Marina and Village. Alamitos Bay Marina was opened in the late 50s and is located in the heart of Naples and Belmont Shore.