The first suggestion is not to post your question in the LONG BEACH Forum,

Go to the LOS ANGELES FORUM and look at the FAQs (at the top of the TOPIC LIST in the LOS ANGELES FORUM).

The FAQs will answer your questions.

If you have more questions afterward, post a new posting and specify your dates of travel, general interests (museums, natural beauty, shopping, adventure, etc), whether you will have a car and how much you'd like to spend for a hotel. (Please don't say: "an inexpensive hotel" since we do not know how much that is).

Cheers!

Los Angeles is HUGE, so it really depends on what sort of interests you have. You could easily spend 1-2 days in Long Beach and the surrounding beach cities if you want casual sight-seeing. For more "cultural" type excursions, you'll want to go further into LA proper for museums, theater, etc.

If you decide to make Long Beach your base, let us know and we'll be happy to help. Since you are picking up a cruise in San Pedro/Long Beach, you may want to consider that and rent a car to get around. The LA Metro public transportation is pathetic.

Are unfortunately only going to be in L.A. for a few days. So it will be just casual sightseeing. My friend would like to do a spot of "star" spotting as well. Don't know what else we could fit in?

Most visitors to L.A. spend only 3 or 4 days and manage to see at least one amusement park, a museum, historical sites (the Chinese Theater, walk of fame), sample an ethnic neighborhood's food, window shop along Rodeo Drive, etc, etc.

Take a look at the FAQs (look under Itinerary Ideas -- here's a quick link) to get some ideas:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g32655-i61-k179701…

You can also look here for ideas about sites to see in L.A.:

www.latourist.com/index.php…

Long Beach is about an hour from downtown L.A. by public transit. If you plan to "see L.A." (especially if you won't have a car) then you should stay somewhere in L.A. (Long Beach is not in L.A.). Without a car, Hollywood is the most convenient as it has decent public transit.

As mentioned previously, unless you post your question in the LOS ANGELES FORUM and provide relevant info about your holiday, (dates, hotel budget, whether you will have a car), we can't assist you to any great extent.

Cheers!

The Hollywood area is fun... lots of things to do and see and fairly central if you want to go to Disneyland or Universal Studios (and decent hotel rates if you want to stay economical). You can attend a taping of a show or drive up to the Griffith observatory, take a guided tour and/or just walk around. I would decide what you want to do with your time and then choose a hotel/area.