Guide to Pasadena: how to get there and where to stay, what to see and where to go in the evening. Highlights of Pasadena: latest reviews and photos, places to see, branded entertainment and shopping.
One of the oldest cities attached to Los Angeles, Pasadena stands at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, 18 km from the center of El. It’s called the City of Roses, and Pasadena is famous for its New Year’s Rose Parade. It is also a real paradise for lovers of gastronomic travel and the most fun nightlife center in the San Gabriel Valley. Finally, in Pasadena is the famous California Technological Institute, and next to it is the Jet Engine Laboratory. See citypopulationreview for state facts, symbols and history of Kansas.
The Pink Parade is an event for which people go to Pasadena on purpose. Tickets for the best seats (in the stands in the direction of travel) begin to be sold in February, 11 months before the holiday.
How to get to Pasadena
The nearest and most convenient airport is Burbank/Bob Hope, 25 km from the city. Others nearby are located in Los Angeles and Ontario. There are shuttle buses from three different companies from Bob Hope Airport to Pasadena, and from LAX there are Fly Away buses and Metro Gold Line trains (the latter will take you to Pasadena from downtown Los Angeles in 20 minutes).
Attractions and attractions in Pasadena
Old Pasadena is a 22 block Historic District with about 200 unique boutiques, shops, galleries, restaurants and clubs. It’s one of the hottest shopping and entertainment areas in Southern California, and it’s packed with people on the weekends – young people in particular. To get here, just get off the Gold Line at Memorial Park and walk south to Colorado Boulevard, the main artery of Old Pasadena.
The Norton Simon Museum has a collection that reflects 7 centuries of European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century, including masterpieces by Van Gogh, Picasso, Rembrandt, Fragonard, Goya and many other geniuses. The museum also has a large collection of South African sculpture, as well as a separate sculpture garden with works by Rodin.
The Pasadena City Hall is a fine example of the California-Mediterranean style of architecture. It was built in 1927 according to the best European architectural examples, including the Church of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The building is crowned with a dome with several tiers, the highest point of which is more than 60 meters from the ground. The building’s stairs are clad in Alaskan marble, and the roof is covered with red clay tiles from Cordova.
The Huntington Library, with an art gallery and botanical garden, occupies the former 200-acre property of railroad tycoon Henry Huntington. The library contains 9 million historical volumes, including the original Gutenberg Bible and the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The art gallery contains works by British and French artists of the 18th and 19th centuries, including the famous “Pinky” and “Blue Boy” (by Lawrence and Gainsborough, respectively). 16 lush gardens are distributed around the buildings on an area of 150 acres.
The building of the Gamble House mansion looks interesting. Built in 1908, it is listed as a National Historic Landmark as an architectural masterpiece of the arts and crafts style. Near the Gamble House is the Pasadena History Museum, which includes the Museum of Finnish Folk Art, historical galleries, and the Fenies Mansion, built in 1905. This 18-room mansion has original furnishings and can be visited on a guided tour.
2 things to do in Pasadena:
- See one of the most unique buildings in the city – Castle Green. The grand annex to the Green Hotel was built in 1898 in the Spanish-Moorish style with domes, arches, columns, balconies and verandas.
- See inside and out the old mill built in 1816 for the San Gabriel mission, on the Old Mill Road.
Even those who are not particularly passionate about engineering and science should visit the Caltech campus. This famous university has produced 32 Nobel laureates, and Einstein himself attended classes here as a volunteer in the early 1930s. In addition, on campus you can admire buildings and evergreens that are interesting from an architectural point of view. And the Jet Propulsion Lab is only open to the public on one weekend in May: it still conducts tests for NASA today, and recently most of the lab’s resources have been devoted to the Mars exploration program. During the tour, you can see how space technology works in vacuum chambers.
Opposite the city administration building there is an almost three-meter monument to two Robinsons. Both brothers grew up in Pasadena: Jackie Robinson became the first African-American professional baseball player, and McOlympian won a silver medal in the sprint at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
The Asia Pacific Museum houses a collection of works from Asia and the Pacific Islands spanning over 5,000 years. And the Pasadena Museum of California Art is the only one in Southern California dedicated exclusively to the work of the authors of this state: artists, architects, designers.
The Rose Bowl flea market near the legendary stadium of the same name is one of the most famous in the world. About 2,500 merchants and 20,000 buyers gather here daily. This place has been nicknamed “America’s curiosity market”: here you can get vintage jewelry, handmade items, antiques, plants, collectibles and even kilts. The market has been held on the second Sunday of every month since 1967.
Julia Child, American celebrity chef and food show host, was born in Pasadena. So or not, there are more than 500 restaurants in the city, one better than the other.
Bungalow Haven is named after the more than 800 small bungalows built here between 1900 and 1930. Much of the area has been declared a tourist attraction and there are regular tours of the houses.
Pasadena Events
The Pink Parade is an event for which people go to Pasadena on purpose. It takes place on January 1, starting at Orange Grove Boulevard, then stretches for about 8 km, along Colorado Boulevard and to Sierra Madre Boulevard. Tickets for the best seats (in the stands in the direction of travel) begin to be sold in February, 11 months before the holiday. It is allowed to come here with your sleeping bags, folding chairs and barbecues: the festive atmosphere reigns on Colorado Boulevard the night before, as everyone tries to come early and stake out a good spot. The parade starts at 8 am, lasts 2 hours and gathers only about 700 thousand spectators. And for two more days after the end of the parade, the decorated floats are parked along the Sierra Madre and Washington boulevards. And crowds of people come to see them.
The Pasadena Crayon Festival takes place on Colorado Paseo on the third weekend of June, and hundreds of crayon paintings adorn the area during this time. Craftsmen’s Weekend is an annual event in October and is the largest event celebrating the American arts and culture style of architecture. And on the third Saturday of June, the downtown hosts a free music festival called Make Music Pasadena, where musicians from all genres known to science perform.
Neighborhood Pasadena
Eaton Canyon is located just outside the city limits, northeast of Pasadena. You can take the easier route along the river and reach a beautiful waterfall in half an hour, or take the more difficult route and climb the hiking trail up in a couple of hours for a great view of the city and Los Angeles.