Sights in Newport Beach
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Balboa I sland
In the middle of the harbor sits the island that time forgot. Its streets are still largely lined with tightly clustered cottages built in the 1920s and '30s when this was a summer getaway from LA. That said, from the promenade that circles the island (and makes a terrific car-free stroll or jog), you can see right into the marble-and-glass monsters that have gone up along the waterfront. The whole place is like a rich, conservative, Midwestern suburb, but with much better weather.
The island is connected to the Fun Zone via a tiny car and passenger ferry (car & driver around US$2, per person around US$1; h05:30-02:30). It lands at Agate Ave, about 11 blocks west of…
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Muth Interpretive Center
Inland from the harbor, where run-off from the San Bernardino Mountains meets the sea, the brackish water of the Newport Bay Ecological Reserve supports more than 200 species of birds. This is one of the few estuaries in Southern California that has been preserved, and it's an important stopover on the Pacific Flyway. The Muth Interpretive Center, near Irvine Ave, has displays and information about the 752-acre reserve; call for hours.
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Crystal Cove State Park
The 3.5 miles of open beach and 2000 acres of undeveloped woodland at this state beach let you forget you're in a crowded metropolitan area, at least once you get past the parking lots and stake out a place on the sand. Everyone thought the hilltops were part of the state park until the Irvine Company, the actual landowner, bulldozed them to make room for McMansions that are the dream of many an OC resident.
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Corona del Mar State Beach
Just south of Balboa Peninsula is Corona del Mar, a ritzy bedroom community on the privileged eastern flanks of the Newport Channel with plenty of upscale stores and restaurants. Corona del Mar State Beach lies at the foot of the cliffs. Locals enjoy impromptu, not quite legal, cocktail parties at Lookout Point, perched above the beach.
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Lovell House
For a striking architectural specimen, stroll past the 1926 Lovell House, designed by seminal modernist architect Rudolf Schindler. Restaurants and bars cluster near the two piers – Newport Pier to the west and Balboa Pier to the south-east.
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Sherman Library & Gardens
Corona del Mar’s prize attraction is the Sherman Library & Gardens, where a variety of lush gardens awaits those needing a quick dose of floral therapy.
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Orange County Museum of Art
Near Fashion Island, the Orange County Museum of Art provides a survey of California art as well as remarkably cutting-edge contemporary exhibits.
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