Alamitos Bay, Long Beach California

Long Beach, California--Alamitos Bay shown in the photo is one of several Long Beach, California harbors where the municipal docks are located. Long Beach has the largest municipal marina system in the U.S. with around 4,000 slips, and there are several separate regions and several harbors that comprise the sum of the space available for boating. Alamitos Landing Marina is one, and Shoreline Marina to the north, next to the Port of Long Beach, is the other.

The large, open bay shown in the photo is surrounded by manmade islands created as residential communities developed and sold to buyers beginning in the early 20th century.

Initially launched as a vacation destination with hotels along the waterways, gondola rides, and a train ride to Long Beach from downtown Los Angeles, the developers of this bay, islands and peninsula envisioned an Italian style mecca in California, and believe it or not, there's very much an Italian charm to Naples Island especially. As residents living along the canals sit and sip wine in the afternoon and evening as the sun goes down, they watch the gondoliers pass by with romantic couples and happy families enjoying the scenic charm of this Italian-style community.