Districts: Long Beach And Palos Verdes

Naples

In 1903, developer Arthur Parson began creating his own version of the city of Naples in Italy, complete with winding streets and waterways spanned by small bridges (even though the real Naples does not have canals and gondolas).

Taking heed of the mistakes made by Abbot Kinney in Venice, Arthur Parson designed his canals so that the Pacific Ocean’s tidal flows would keep them clean.

Finished in the late 1920s, this most charming of Long Beach neighborhoods is actually three islands in the middle of Alamitos Bay. An eclectic architectural mix of shingled, Mission Revival, Victorian, and Arts and Crafts houses line the Italian-named streets. The Rivo Alto Canal, the largest in the network, surrounds the Colonnade Park, which is in the center of Naples. You can explore by meandering the streets on foot, or book a Gondola Getaway two weeks in advance for a cruise on an authentic Venetian gondola.

Ports O’Call Village

Ports O’Call Village is a pastiche of many different seaports from all around the world. Building styles range from a 19th-century New England fishing village, to a Mediterranean harbor, to a Mexican town.
The village’s 75 shops and 15 restaurants are linked by cobblestone walkways. Street entertainers frequent this popular area during the summer.
A number of fisheries supply freshly caught fish, which can be cooked and served to you on the premises. From the dockside boardwalk visitors can watch the huge cargo ships and cruise liners sail by.
Daily harbor cruises tour the inner harbor, coastguard station, marina, freighter operations, and scrap yards. Tours to Catalina Island and winter whale-watching tours are also available.

San Pedro

Famous for the Worldport LA, blue-collar pride, and a tradition of family fishermen, San Pedro (“San Peedro” to the locals) has a strong Eastern European and Mediterranean flavor. The harbor is the nation’s busiest import-export site and an important link with the Pacific Rim. The houses are tiny compared to those in Palos Verdes, but this is a very important center of industry.

In Angels Gate Park, at the end of Gaffey Street, there is a Korean Friendship Bell, given to the United States in 1976 by South Korea.