The Long Beach Grand Prix is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach every April. The single largest event in the city of Long Beach, attendance for the weekend regularly reaches or exceeds 200,000 people.

In 2008, Time magazine included the Queen Mary among its "Top 10 Haunted Places", and the hotel promotes suite room B-340, a former third class cabin, as "notoriously haunted."

Long Beach is home to Rosie's Dog Beach--the only legal off-leash beach area for dogs in Los Angeles County. The Dog Zone is in effect from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. What's not to like? Dogs. Beach. Dog beach. There is no better pairing, except maybe wine and cheese.

Since the arrival of Europeans, many alien species have become naturalized in the area. Introduced plants include yellow mustard, eucalyptus, wild radish, and tumbleweed. Such plants now far outnumber the indigenous plants and spread rapidly in the city's vacant lots and oil fields.