Newport Beach

© Visit Newport Beach


Nearby the Balboa Fun Zone, the landmark 1906 Balboa Pavilion is beautifully illuminated at night. You can get boat rentals and catch ferries to Catalina Island from here.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Balboa Fun Zone

0.07 MILES

On the harbor side of Balboa Peninsula, the Fun Zone has delighted locals and visitors since 1936. There’s a small Ferris wheel (where Ryan and Marissa…

2. Discovery Cube's Ocean Quest

0.09 MILES

In the Balboa Fun Zone, this newly refurbished museum was recently taken over by Santa Ana's Discovery Cube and runs educational programs for local…

3. Balboa Peninsula

0.52 MILES

Four miles long but less than a half-mile wide, the Balboa Peninsula has a white-sand beach on its ocean side and countless stylish homes, including the…

4. Balboa Island

0.58 MILES

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 …

5. Lovell Beach House

1.1 MILES

For a striking architectural specimen, stroll past the 1926 Lovell House, designed by seminal modernist architect Rudolf Schindler, a student of Frank…

6. The Wedge

1.16 MILES

At the end of the Balboa Peninsula, the Wedge is famous for its perfectly hollow waves that can swell up to 30ft high. The waves are shore-breakers that…

7. Lookout Point

1.32 MILES

Locals enjoy impromptu, though not quite legal, cocktail parties at Lookout Point, perched above the beach with views of Pirate's Cove and the Balboa…

8. Pirate's Cove

1.33 MILES

Take the stairs off the north end of the Main Beach parking lot down to hideaway Pirate's Cove, a waveless beach that’s great for families. Scenes from…