Les meilleurs hôtels à Long Beach

Long Beach may be a Los Angeles County harbortown just down the fabled freeway from the big(ger) city. But please don't write it off as an industrial stepsister to LA-LA-land. Okay, okay: It is one of the country's largest ports, and a corporate home to shipbuilders, aviators and oil wells. (And fast on its way to becoming the center of Pacific Rim trade.) Still, it's the palm trees and the sunny beaches for which this turf is most deservedly remembered. Typical of Southern California, it's a steady balance of work and play that keeps Long Beach afloat. The city's flourishing Pacific beachfront and revitalized downtown keeps things hopping with SoCal's trademark brand of bohemian nightlife. California State University at Long Beach ensures a yearly load of 35,000 bright minds; naturally, bookstores, coffee houses and trendy nightclubs abound. Plenty of tourist attractions make the scene, as well. Long Beach is host to a Grand Prix auto race, a renowned blues festival, and the stately Queen Mary (her longtime companion, the Spruce Goose, having flown the coop). Escape to L.A.? Why bother? With Long Island serving as the gateway to lovely Catalina Island, a virtual Avalon is always a hedonistic tempation.