Probably most famous for its Rose Bowl football games and Rose Parade, Pasadena is the cultural center of Los Angeles’ San Gabriel Valley, and heavy with Los Angeles history.

Home to southern California’s first freeway - the 110 Pasadena Freeway - Pasadena was early a resort town for wealthy Easterners. This Pasadena past melts into its present as you tour the city: the arts and crafts Gamble House, home of David Gamble of Proctor & Gamble, is a now a tourist attraction; the railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington’s estate (actually adjacent to Pasadena, in San Marino) is open as the Huntington Library and gardens; and the Wrigley mansion - home of William Wrigley Jr. of Wrigley chewing gum - houses Rose Parade headquarters.

The Tournament of Roses’ Rose Bowl is also a historic landmark, and aside from hosting football games, once a month it plays home to a large fleamarket famed in Los Angeles. Those less interested in vintage Pucci and more into current Gucci can shop Old Town Pasadena and Paseo Colorado, two popular shopping and dining districts on Colorado Blvd.

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