Battleship Iowa

Top choice in Long Beach & San Pedro


This WWII to Cold War–era battleship is now permanently moored in San Pedro Bay and open to visitors as a museum. It's massive – 887ft long (that's 5ft longer than Titanic) and about as tall as an 18-story building. Step onto the gangway and download the free app to take a self-guided audio tour of everything from the stateroom, where FDR stayed, to missile turrets and the enlisted men's galley, which churned out 8000 hot meals a day during WWII.

The app-based tour is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Chinese. An 'extended experience' ($10 extra) includes a newly opened deck with additional facilities and the Lost at Sea exhibit, dedicated to shipwreck explorer Robert Ballard, most famous for discovering Titanic.

Parking is free for the first hour and $2 per hour thereafter.


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