Pasadena

A former winter resort for wealthy East Coast visitors and the home of California's Craftsman architectural style, the culture-filled city of Pasadena is known for its Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl, legendary performing and visual arts, and an important collection of museums. An autonomous city with its own gems (the Norton Simon Museum, the stately Tournament House, the Rose Bowl Flea Market), it feels worlds away from Los Angeles, even though it's only 11 miles northeast of Downtown L.A. Old Town Pasadena has flourished with the addition of the modern urban village of Paseo Colorado.