Where to Stay in Pasadena, California

What is Pasadena known for?

Pasadena is known as the cultural centre of the San Gabriel Valley. Its museums lead the reputation: the Norton Simon Museum holds a celebrated European collection, and The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens spreads galleries and gardens across the southern edge of the city. The Pacific Asia Museum keeps its Chinese-style courtyard, and the Pasadena Museum of History records the town's past.

Old Pasadena preserves the original commercial streets in brick and tile. Craftsman architecture completes the picture.

What are the main landmarks in Pasadena?

Pasadena's landmarks run from grand museums to garden estates. The Norton Simon Museum shows its European masters near the western gateway, while The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens draws visitors to galleries and grounds on the southern edge. The Pacific Asia Museum keeps an ornate courtyard, and the Pasadena Museum of California Art shows regional work.

Old Pasadena holds the historic commercial blocks. Families gather at Kidspace Children's Museum, and swimmers train at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center by the arena.

What is the history of Pasadena?

Pasadena was incorporated in 1886, a town settled by newcomers who laid out orchards and avenues on the sunny floor of the San Gabriel Valley. The mild climate and citrus land drew winter visitors from colder states, and the settlement grew as a resort and residential town rather than an industrial one. Grand hotels and garden estates rose along its streets.

Wealth from those early decades built the great collections that still define the place. Henry Huntington assembled the library, art, and gardens that became The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens on the southern edge of the city. The commercial heart took shape in the brick blocks now preserved as Old Pasadena.

Craftsman architects raised the bungalows that spread across the residential streets, and civic buildings followed in a burst of construction. The Pasadena Museum of History keeps the record of those founding years. Institutions of art and science clustered here as the town matured.

The orchards receded. The gardens and galleries remained.

Where is Pasadena?

Pasadena lies in Los Angeles County, California, just northeast of Los Angeles on the floor of the San Gabriel Valley. The mountains loom close. The city sits on a gently sloping plain where the valley runs up against the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, which form the backdrop to almost every street.

Canyons cut down from the range toward the built-up plain, and Old Pasadena marks the historic core near the western side. Residential avenues of bungalows and gardens fill the rest of the valley floor.

What is the climate of Pasadena?

Pasadena has a warm Mediterranean climate, shaped by its sheltered spot below the San Gabriel Mountains. Summers are long, dry, and hot. The sun beats down on the San Gabriel Valley floor for months on end, and the foothills brown until the winter rains arrive to green them once more.

Snow falls only on the high peaks above the city. The gardens of Pasadena stay in leaf and bloom across much of the year.

How do you get to Pasadena?

Pasadena is easy to reach from across the region. A light-rail line runs from downtown Los Angeles up into the city, calling at stations near Old Pasadena and the civic core. Freeways ring the San Gabriel Valley and feed the streets from every direction, linking the town to the wider Los Angeles County road network.

Buses climb toward the foothills. The region's major airports lie a short drive away, putting long-haul flights within reach of the centre.