Spend a romantic day at the beach.
In Orange County, romance is in the air. The county might be best known for Disneyland, but it's not all kid's stuff here--there are plenty of options for couples young and old, newly dating or long married, to enjoy a day or night on the town together. Whatever your interests, there are several romantic things to do in Orange County. So get inspired by these ideas, and make a date you won't soon forget.
Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach is known as Surf City USA, but there's much more to do at the beach in addition to surfing. Take a romantic walk (or bike ride, or rollerblade excursion) on the Ocean Strand beach boardwalk, which runs 8.5 miles. Take in the breathtaking view from the Huntington Beach Pier, and then choose from one of several restaurants centered around Main Street, which begins directly across from the pier at Pacific Coast Highway. Then wrap up the night snuggled under a blanket in front of a bonfire at Huntington State Beach.
Huntington State Beach
At Magnolia Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
714-536-1454
parks.ca.gov
First Thursdays Art Walk
Laguna Beach is known for its natural beauty--and the enclave of artists who are so inspired by the local landscape that they call the seaside town home. The city is famous for its summer festivals--Festival of Arts, Sawdust Art Festival and Art-A-Fair--along Laguna Canyon Road, but the numerous galleries situated downtown are a great draw year-round. The first Thursday of every month is the First Thursdays Art Walk, when galleries and the Laguna Art Museum stay open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Take your honey for a stroll and admire the art; shuttle services makes it easy to travel from one end of Coast Highway to the other. And there are plenty of restaurants along the way that are ideal for dinner or a nightcap.
First Thursdays Art Walk
Along Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949-683-6871
firstthursdaysartwalk.com
Orange County Performing Arts Center
For a romantic night on the town, Orange County's cultural center is just the ticket. In Costa Mesa, the Orange County Performing Arts Center hosts touring productions of Broadway musicals, dance, jazz and cabaret concert; classical concerts are showcased in the architecturally striking concert hall there. The concert hall also has a restaurant, Leatherby's Cafe Rouge, on the ground floor, perfect for watching concertgoers through the huge windows as they make their way across the center's plaza. And if you want to start the date off on a good note, take your sweetheart on a shopping spree across the street at the landmark South Coast Plaza shopping center.
Orange County Performing Arts Center
600 Town Center Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-556-2787
ocpac.org
Tags: Orange County, Coast Highway, Huntington Beach, Arts Center, County Performing, County Performing Arts, First Thursdays