Top Landmarks in Long Beach

Long Beach, NY is a barrier-island city on Long Island's South Shore, and its landmarks are shaped by that geography. Most points of interest sit along a narrow east-west band between the Atlantic Ocean and Reynolds Channel, which means a first-time visitor can see a meaningful cross-section of the city without needing a car. This guide walks through the landmarks most commonly associated with Long Beach, how they relate to one another on the map, and how to string them together into a single outing. For a broader rundown of activities beyond these sights, see the Best Things To Do in Long Beach page, and for the full overview of the destination, start with the Long Beach Travel Guide.

The Boardwalk

The Long Beach Boardwalk is the city's defining feature and the natural spine for any landmark walk. It runs the length of the city along the ocean, rebuilt with reinforced materials after Hurricane Sandy damaged the original structure. Because it stretches nearly the full length of the city, the boardwalk isn't a single stop so much as a connector — most other landmarks sit just a block or two inland from it, or are accessible directly from a boardwalk entrance. Early morning and early evening tend to be quieter times to walk it, though conditions and crowd levels vary by season, so it's worth checking current conditions before planning a visit. Bikes are common on the boardwalk during certain hours, so pedestrians should stay alert to shared-path traffic, an ordinary urban-awareness habit rather than a sign of particular risk.

The Beach Itself

Flanking the boardwalk is the beach that gives the city its name and its identity as a longstanding surf and swim destination on Long Island's South Shore. The shoreline is organized around numbered street entrances, which makes it straightforward to orient yourself: if you know the cross street, you know roughly where you are relative to downtown or the West End. The beach and boardwalk pairing is the centerpiece of most visits, and it's the natural starting or ending point for the walking route described below.

Kennedy Plaza and the Civic Core

A few blocks inland from the central boardwalk area, Kennedy Plaza functions as the city's civic and commercial hub. It's where City Hall, the public library, and a cluster of municipal buildings sit together around a public square, giving visitors a sense of the city beyond its beachfront identity. This area is worth a short detour if you're interested in how a small coastal city organizes its downtown, and it connects easily on foot to both the boardwalk to the south and the Long Island Rail Road station to the north.

The Long Beach Train Station

The Long Beach LIRR station is a practical landmark as much as a historic one: it's an endpoint of the branch line from Manhattan and the arrival point for many day-trippers. The station building and the plaza around it mark a clear transition point between the residential and commercial streets to the north and the beach-oriented blocks to the south. If you're arriving by train, this is your natural starting point for a landmark walk; if you're arriving by car, it's still a useful orientation marker on the map. Riders connecting from New York City subway or bus lines into the regional rail network should have a contactless payment method or fare card ready, since policies and available options can change — check the current MTA or LIRR guidance directly rather than relying on older information. The details above reflect information available at the time of publication and should be confirmed against current MTA/LIRR sources before you travel.

The West End

At the western tip of the island, the West End is a distinct commercial and residential district with its own beach access points, small businesses, and a noticeably different pace from the central boardwalk stretch. It's commonly visited by people looking for a quieter alternative to the busier central beach area, and it pairs naturally with a bike ride or a longer boardwalk walk rather than a quick stop. The West End is far enough from the train station that most visitors either drive, bike, or treat it as the far end of a longer walk.

The Chapel by the Sea

Near the central boardwalk sits a small, nondenominational chapel positioned right along the ocean side of the city. It's modest in scale, open to visitors of any faith tradition, and makes for a quick stop rather than a lengthy visit as you move along this stretch of the boardwalk.

Putting It Together: A Walking Route

Because Long Beach is a narrow island city, its landmarks line up well for a single walking route. A logical sequence starts at the LIRR station, heads south through Kennedy Plaza to get a sense of the civic core, and then continues to the boardwalk. From there, most people walk east or west along the boardwalk and beach, taking in the Chapel by the Sea along the way, before deciding whether to extend the walk into the West End or turn back toward downtown. The full distance from the train station to the West End is substantial enough that many visitors treat it as an afternoon activity rather than a quick errand, and biking is a common way to cover more ground.

This same route works well as the backbone of a longer stay. If you're planning a single day, the Long Beach 1-Day Itinerary builds around this core loop, while the Long Beach 3-Day Itinerary has room to add the West End and civic core as separate outings rather than combining everything into one walk. Since beach conditions and comfort levels shift a lot by season on a barrier island like this one, it's worth reviewing the Best Time to Visit Long Beach page before finalizing dates.

Planning Around the Landmarks

Long Beach's small footprint — it's a compact city of roughly 34,700 residents (2024 ACS 5-year estimate) — means landmark-hopping rarely requires long transfers, but it also means many practical details (parking availability, seasonal boardwalk rules, chapel visiting policies) are subject to change and are best confirmed close to your visit date rather than assumed from general guides. This guidance reflects conditions known at the time of publication and may not capture recent changes. Pair a landmark walk with a stop for a meal; the Where to Eat in Long Beach page covers the range of options near both the downtown core and the boardwalk without ranking them against each other. And if you still have logistical questions after reading this far, the Long Beach FAQ page addresses many of the common ones about getting around and what to expect.