Pasadena is more than the suburban, northeast neighbor of downtown Los Angeles. It’s one of the handful of places where you can actually feel the history of Southern California. Among the art deco and Victorian buildings, you’ll also find excellent restaurants, unparalleled vintage shopping, lush gardens and more. See below for everything you need to know about Pasadena.
Bone Kettle
67 N Raymond Ave 91103/ Website
Delight in Southeast Asian cuisine right in Old Town. With a menu revolving around its family recipe for slow-cooked bone broth, highlights include Kokoda, noodle soup, fried oxtail tips, bone marrow and lumpia.
Osawa
77 N Raymond Ave 91101/ Website
For Japanese small plates, head to Osawa where the sushi is always fresh and the shabu shabu is even better.
Perle Restaurant
43 Union St 91103/ Website
Bringing a little bit of France to Pasadena, Perle Restaurant is a family-owned and operated eatery by Michelin-trained chef Dean Yahsairan. The menu features classic, sustainability-focus French dishes with modern, seasonal California influences.
Union Restaurant
37 Union St 91103/ Website
Union is the spot to be for a lively dinner when you just want to feel like you’re part of the neighborhood. Meeting at the intersection of California and Northern Italy, owner Marie Petulla and executive chef Chris promise a rustic, yet elegant menu.
Bissell House Bed & Breakfast
201 Orange Grove Ave 91030/ Website
One of the benefits about Pasadena is that it feels like a mini escape from the city. Take it a step further with this historic South Pasadena B&B. Ensuring relaxing and private accomodations with modernized comfort, the Victorian home sitz in the former Orange Grove Mansion District and features eight bedrooms and ten bathrooms across the three floors.
The Langham Huntington
1401 S Oak Knoll Ave 91106/ Website
Opt for a five-star hotel during your Pasadena visit. At The Langham Huntington, you’re just moments away from the Rose Bowl and The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens. Guests have the privilege of enjoying the fitness center, pool, tennis and the Chuan Spa, which is inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Pasadena Hotel & Pool
928 E Colorado Blvd 91106/ Website
Steps from downtown Pasadena, this hotel wants you to enjoy Southern California’s infamous eternal sunshine. The Pasadena Hotel & Pool was first built in 1926 by local businesswoman Constance G.L. Perry and it recently underwent a renovation that elevated the lobby, now embodying 1920s charm and elegance.
See also: The 25 Best Things To Do In Los Angeles
Just Float
76 N Hudson Ave #120 91101/ Website
Just Float promises that in just 60 minutes at its facility, you’ll leave feeling relaxed, repaired and restored. At a float session, you relax in your own private room and pool of mineral-rich epsom salt water, of which the salt helps you float.
The Salt Studio
1380 E Walnut St 91106/ Website
This holistic wellness spa believes salt is everything. Book a visit and choose from a range of massages, spa treatments, holistic healing experiences and visits to the tranquil salt relaxation room.
Shiatsu of Pasadena
1043 E Green St 91106/ Website
Practicing Eastern spa techniques, Shiatsu of Pasadena was selected by the Langham Hotel as a spa to visit. Offerings include hot stone massages, invigorating essential oils, reflexology, couples treatments in private rooms and tea ceremonies. What’s more, the signature spa treatments combines Tuina and Shiatsu methods— two ancient bodywork techniques that relax muscles and provide a therapeutic effect for pain relief.
Yoga House
11 W State 91105/ Website
For relaxation meets exercise, sign up for Vinyasa, Ashtanga or another yoga class at this laidback, intimate Pasadena studio. Opened in 1997, Yoga House has become one of Los Angeles’ most vetted studios and offers a wide range of classes, with specialties like therapeutic yoga for people with Multiple Sclerosis or cancer to high-intensity Ashtanga.
Pasadena Antique Center and Annex
408 S Fair Oaks 91105/ Website
You’ll want to take your time here. At Pasadena Antique Center and Annex, you have 40,000-square-feet’s worth of furniture, antiques and vintage items to wade through. Since 1976, it has become a trade secret among designers, filmmakers and antique dealers around the world. In fact, it is one of the pioneers of the antique mall concept.
The Paseo
280 E Colorado Blvd 91101/ Website
For a more modern shopping experience, head to The Paseo. The upscale outdoor mall spans three blocks and features shops, restaurants, living spaces and a movie theater.
Rose Bowl Flea Market
1001 Rose Bowl Dr 91103/ Website
You’ll never know what you’ll leave with at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. The overwhelmingly big, but definitely worth it shopping experience brings together the best in fashion, furniture, refreshments and more. Here, you’ll find witty pop culture-inspired art, vintage glasses, trending apparel and probably everything else you never knew you needed.
Granville
270 S Lake Ave 91101/ Website
There are a number of Granvilles across Los Angeles, but the Pasadena location boats a welcoming rooftop bar perfect for happy hour, sunset drinks and taking in city views.
Magnolia House
492 S Lake Ave 91101/ Website
This small craftsman home has a long history. In its 100-years-plus history, it has been a post-Prohibition liquor store, a family home and a number of other businesses. Now, Magnolia House is a place for warm hospitality and excellent craft cocktails.
1886 Bar At The Raymond
1250 S Fair Oaks Ave 91105/ Website
This establishment runs on the timeless charm and spirit of the foundational Craftsman home it occupies. With a hearty selection of wines and beers, you’ll also be impressed by the “Beyond the Stars” lineup of craft cocktails.
The Tap Room
1401 S Oak Knoll Ave 91106/ Website
Located at the Langham Pasadena, The Tap Room is an upscale bar, but one that is inviting by way of excellent bites, a wide drink selection and live jazz music.
The Cellar: A Wine Library
26 E Colorado Blvd 91105/ Website
This one is for the true vino lover. Enter through a hidden entrance and enter into a world all about a good glass of wine and the intimacy of a library.
Der Wolf
72 N Fair Oaks Ave 91103/ Website
For a more lively evening, head to Old Pasadena’s German beer hall that features 20 beers of German or German-inspired lagers. Keep the party going downstairs at The Dungeon, open until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Rose Bowl Concert
1001 Rose Bowl Dr 91103/ Website
Few experiences are as impressive as attending a concert with a 90,000-person audience. When UCLA isn’t taking over for football games, you can see your favorite pop stars and arena rock bands here.
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
1151 Oxford Rd 91108/ Website
There’s a reason Pasadena native and Grammy-nominated singer Phoebe Bridgers makes note of this place. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington. More importantly, it is arguably the city’s most gorgeous green space. In addition to being an impressive research library and museum, the dozens of gardens spread across 130 acres and feature about 83,000 plants, including rare and endangered species.
Pasadena Playhouse
39 S El Molino Ave 91101/ Website
The historic performing arts venue can welcome up to 686 audience members for its range of shows, community engagements and cultural events. With a history of more than 100 years, the Pasadena Playhouse is a prolific part of American theater history.
USC Pacific Asia Museum
46 Los Robles Ave 91101/ Website
Established in 1971, the USC PAcific Asia Museum is one of the few institutions in the country dedicated to Asia and the Pacific Islands arts and culture. It houses a number of revolving exhibitions and a permanent collection that includes significant Japanese folk paintings and 225 rare works by Hiroshige, Hokusai, Utamaro and other artists from the Edo and Meiji periods.
See also: Where To Eat Before Going To The Rose Bowl
Coffee Gallery Backstage
2027 Lake Ave 91001/ Website
Catch a show at this special acoustic venue that welcomes up to 49 guests for an intimate music experience inside a space that looks like a Guatemalan coffee warehouse.
Descanso Gardens
1418 Descanso Dr 91011/ Website
The 150-acre botanical garden puts rare natural beauty front and center, like California native plants, the rose garden and one of the Western Hemisphere's largest collections of camellias. Keep your eye for the opportunity to see Carved and Enchanted Forest of Light, special events that light up the gardens.
Mount Wilson Observatory
Pasadena, CA 91109/ Website
Take a break from the Griffith Observatory! Mount Wilson offers special tours, lectures, concerts, arts, public observing nights and more. Just recently, it was home to the Hubble Traveling Exhibit. You can also peer through the 100-inch hooker telescope, which reigned as the world’s largest telescope from 1917 to 1949.
Even though Pasadena is nearly in San Gabriel Valley territory, it is not a place to miss during your travels to Los Angeles. But for exploring other parts of the city, check out our guides to downtown, Malibu, Hollywood and Beverly Hills
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