There's two floors so much amazing collections to see. The garden area is a work of art. I really…read moreenjoyed it. It's easy to get lost wondering thru each art piece. Can't believe the museum is here in our area. We watched the history of Norton Simon in the theater. Great job narrating his work. I would go again so much to see and be inspire. The Staffs were very professional and courteous.

I've been to this museum twice already since I was amazed at what this location has to offer. It's…read morea smaller museum compared to the Huntington library. If you're a student or have EBT you can access this museum for free. Parking is free as well. You reserve your tickets online & just present your proof of ID for student or EBT. There are 2 floors to this museum & an outdoor garden as well. A mix of European art , modern pieces , sculptures , & Southeast asian art as well. I was here for a good 2 hours for my last visit since I was taking it all in. Once done, I love to grab some kettle chips & a signature drink from their cafe by the garden. I sit & journal for a bit then walk around the gardens. The small souvenir store is delightful in where you can purchase small or large prints of your favorite pieces. Books , trinkets, & museum merchandise is also available. I will come back for their next exhibit to see what other pieces will be displayed.

Parking: very narrow lot entrance in the back…read more You have to enter thru the back where the parking is and not thru the front. There is a small desk with an iPad when you walk in and descend to the lower level. When there is no field trips this place is a great place to bring your kids. It is very quiet and not a lot of high stimulation toys. It is no pretend city but it has some interesting toys such as a beach and surfing installation and a camper van.

Best for toddlers. I brought my kindergarten aged kids and there wasn't a lot to do for them. They…read morestill enjoyed the imaginative play but for the price of the kids plus an adult ticket, it was too pricey for the experience. I wish parents had a lower price than the kids or better yet free especially since there isn't anything for adults. Great place for toddlers and families since it feels safe, has clean facilities, small communal snack break area with a handwashing sink and water fountain nearby.

I spent the day there with my sister who just turned 86. I hadn't been there since I was a young…read moregirl and didn't remember the challenging hills, probably because they weren't challenging to me then. Pushing my sister in a wheel chair was good exercise for me but thank goodness for the golf cart people who were so kind and gave us rides to wherever we wanted to go. We got to see much more than we would have without them. Our lunch was so tasty at the 1919 Cafe, and even enjoyed a glass of wine on the patio. It was a wonderful day. The Museum and gardens where beautiful and inspiring!

I'm a sustaining member, if you come here several times a year it makes sense to buy that level of…read morea membership. The staff are unfailingly helpful. The tea room is an experience in its own right. The various gardens are a community treasure. Come here, buy a ticket, stay a while, we need to support this community resource.

I love that the USC Pacific Asia Museum offers free admission. There is also plenty of free parking…read moreon Union St. Fyi~they are only open Wednesday to Sundays from 11am-5pm. It's pretty tiny, so you'll likely finish browsing within an hour. Unfortunately, only the Crossroads Silk Road and Collection Highlight galleries were open when I visited, but I still enjoyed learning about the pieces. Outside of the galleries was the Garden Waves installation. It felt so peaceful, and I felt like I could sit there the whole day listening to it. I would love to go back one day when the other galleries open back up.

We went today (free in May 2026) and saw "Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry." Very…read moreinteresting and eclectic mix of old and new, a variety of art forms. I liked the 9-tail fox depicted in a couple pieces. Take time to read the descriptions of pieces which interest you. They are usually not too long. You can take time to relax in the central patio with running water and lily pond. Oh, and free parking on the north side of the building with a remarkable bird mural on the wall. Go!

Tried something new thanks to the Los Angeles Adventure Bucket List Scratch-Off Cards and ended up…read moreat Neon Retro Arcade. Came here last night for a date night. Such a fun/ cute experience. Definitely brought out my inner kid. The arcade had a good amount of games, good energy, and was perfect for a spontaneous night out. I have passed by this place many times and honestly wouldn't have gone if it wasn't on the card, so I'm glad it pushed me to try something different. Play for adults I believe was $15 for an hour. Located on Raymond Ave in between Colorado Blvd & Green St. You can find meter parking if you're lucky or park at the structure nearby.

Came here with a decently sized group as the activity for a birthday celebration before dinner at a…read morenearby restaurant on a Sunday evening. Unsure how they handled making sure they weren't overcrowded or people were waiting too long to get a chance at the games but they did a great job and I never felt like I had to wait (or wait too long) for a machine to be available. They have a large variety of games from more modern ones like Switchs in the back, older versions of Mario Kart, older games in general like Pac-Man and my personal favorite Burger Time. Loads of pinball machines too. The entire facility (and bathroom) were very clean and the ambient noise was never too loud and I never had to yell to talk to someone next to me. Some games will have slightly sticky or unresponsive switches but it's just what happens with the amount of people that use these machines. We had an issue with a pinball machine and they were very quick to come help fix it and immediately get us back to playing. Overall a solid experience, not what I'd actively look for myself, but would gladly go again if someone else wanted to.

I would recommend you verify what the installations are before you go along with doing it on a day…read morewhere you can tour the house so it's worth the fee. $9 per person to just see two small installations is too expensive. I believe if you tour the home it's $20 per person and you get into the museum as well. The stag was lovely and polite as well as the property being beautiful.

An opulent, historic mansion on Millionaire's Row, the hoverboard from Back to the Future II, and…read morethe first Finnish consulate in SoCal - these are just some of the things we saw at the Pasadena Museum of History! It was really fun playing tourist so close to home - a true hidden gem, I never knew this museum was here even having lived here all these years lol! We did the Fényes Mansion tour which includes admission to the main museum and is the best way to experience the museum imo. The main museum is currently running an exhibit featuring films made around Pasadena and it was so fun to explore and see things like the BTTF hoverboard and Eddie Murphy's outfit in Beverly Hills Cop, and so many more interesting items and info tidbits. But it's small so it's best to pair it with the mansion tour - which is a fascinating glimpse into the area's past and the prominent family that owned the mansion. It even holds the original office of the first Finnish consul, Y.A. Paloheimo, still intact as it was all those years ago, complete with the consul emblem and his photo with Eleanor Roosevelt. The mansion is one of two remaining fully intact mansions on what used to be "Millionaire's Row" - the other is the Gamble House which is a craftsman - but Fényes Mansion is over the top grandeur! There used to be 52 mansions and these are all that's left :-o And here's a fun little fact we learned - did you know Tiffany & Co made elaborately carved wooden chairs?? You can see them in the dining room of the mansion and they're absolutely beautiful! We learned SO many interesting bits of history about Pasadena and the surrounding area - I won't share it all here - you gotta take the tour - it's totally worth it! But I will leave you with one other fun fact I learned that answered a burning question I had every time I would drive the 210 - this is for the locals - do you know how Michillinda Ave got its name? It came from some of the earlier settlers of the area in the 1870s: Michigan + Illinois + Indiana = Michillinda!! The tour is a great experience for local history and I highly recommend it - they're infrequent so if you can get in on a tour, DO IT!! They're around $20 and you can get them in advance via Eventbrite which I recommend bc they sell out (especially on weekends). You can also buy them onsite but the tours are likely to be full. The museum admission is included and they have bathrooms and a small private parking lot available. Shout out to our awesome tour guides Andrea & Paul - tysm for a great afternoon!!

Background On Visit: Last Sunday (4/12/26), the venue hosted the Pasadena Festival Of Tea. We were…read moreone of the participants for this event. Hours Of Operation: They welcome visitors to the garden on many Friday and Saturday evenings and during the day on Sundays. You can check out their schedule of events and admission cost on their website: https://japanesegardenpasadena.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/japanesegardenpasadena/event.jsp?;=&event=1612& Admission Cost: Mostly, $15 on Friday and Saturday. Sunday, it's $12. For other events, they post the cost on their website. Location/Parking: Located across from the Arlington Gardens (Free). It's kinda hidden, but just use the gps on your phone to guide you. Parking can be found along Arlington. For special events, they encourage you to park at Westridge School (Orange Grove and W. State St.) and walk up to Storrier Stearns. Ambiance/Decor: The Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden is a beautiful and charming retreat with a quiet and tranquil elegance. The place is small which contains many of the much admired design features found in the most lavish of Japanese-style gardens of its era. As Kendall Brown states in his book, California Japanese-style Gardens, "this is the genius of Kinzuchi Fujii: this was once a flat area of two tennis courts; now it is a masterwork. 1) Classic Niko-an Teahouse, the garden landscape offers a variety of other beautiful details. 2) Numerous gathering points, seating areas & vistas 3) Four original bridges plus the original cedar log Japanese Waiting Bench 4) Two large interconnected, irregularly shaped koi ponds 5) The sounds of two waterfalls, one cascading down a 25-foot hill 6) An artful dry riverbed for rain overflow winding through the garden 7) Cooling shade everywhere from spreading sycamores & old oaks 8) Many tons of boulders & stones 9) Granite statuary & stone lanterns Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden For Thought: Wouldn't mind coming back to re-center myself. I did a have nice time.

This is the most difficult Botanical Garden to get in touch with…read more The hours they have posted on their website are wrong, no one picks up the phone after calling several times and leaving several messages. I went in person last weekend, and it was closed despite their online hours posted. The lack of clarity even upon walking up to the venue is not clear. They have no signs stating they are closed and it's clear they do not care to return voicemails. Please do not waste your time going there.

Back in April 2026, I participated in the Ronald McDonald Walk for Kids that was held at Brookside…read morePark in Pasadena. As a participant, I received a free entrance to the Kidspace Children's Museum that happens to be within the park's vicinity. Very cool! Kidspace is a nonprofit museum designed to "delight and engage children emotionally, intellectually, and physically through joyful, kid-driven experiences." It is a place for play, discovery, creation, and exploration. It offers a world of curiosity and intrigue. It features 40 hands-on exhibits for small children from ages 1-10. Outdoor spaces include an opportunity to climb into a giant hawk's nest, splash and play in naturalistic water features, bring out inner musicians, and get physical with rockets and giant levers. Indoor space consists of galleries, active beehive, imagination workshop, ant tunnel, climbing towers, etc. Bookstore with books and merchandise for purchase. Deli with food, drinks, and refreshments for sale. Tables and chairs are outside in the patio. Restrooms are available throughout the museum. I was so happy to have gotten the opportunity to visit. I enjoyed it very much. It is a place for all ages for sure. Come see it for yourself! Enjoy and have fun.

The good: I cannot believe I didn't know about this place…read moresooner! This place was amazing for my two kids (age almost 3, and almost 5). I loved how most of it was outdoors with natural elements. The physics area had tanbark. There were yurt-type tents for private birthday parties. There's a theater area where people played guitar and performed songs like "you got a friend in me." Parking was free! The parking lot was massive and easy to find a spot. The stream was fun for kids to get wet in without the dangers of sharp real rocks. I also loved the stream and sand area with soft rocks. My kids could've stayed in that area forever. There were also climbable areas with well-thought out side spaces for parents to follow their kids without parents having to get into the play structure itself. We enjoyed tie-dyeing cloths and bicycle riding. I liked how there were different size bikes and even a 2 person bike. My older toddler drove my little toddler but adults can also ride in the bike and peddle for little ones sitting in the front. The neighborhood around the museum was also beautiful with mature canopy trees and natural canyon-looking areas. The price is also really affordable at $15-16 pp. There's senior discounts as well. In the craft room my kids made adventure books. We spent 3 hours there but could've easily spent more if it weren't for kids being too tired. The bad: We didn't fully get to explore the indoor area because it was really crowded. We didn't see the foam blue blocks that Blippi played with in his episode. There was a long wait for the bike rides but it was because each kid gets to go 4-5 laps. $6 dip-n-dots in a tiny bag are a rip off. I wish they had better ice cream options there. The interesting: At the entrance they had two folks on guitar to welcome you. I liked the colorful mosaic tunnel. They sold Pocky for $3 and other snacks.

If I just say "Gamble," that may not mean much. But if I say "Procter & Gamble," now you have a…read morebetter idea who these people were and how much money they had. I can almost guarantee the company makes many of the products you buy all the time. The Gamble House in Pasadena is an architectural (Craftsman) gem. If you want to go inside, you need to book a guided tour. Book your tour well in advance or you will likely get shut out. We saw it happen. There are multiple tour choices but the basic option is a one hour docent-led one. I highly recommend it. The docents are passionate about this property and it shows. By the way, if you don't want to spring for a tour (or you get shut out), you can still walk around the porch and/or the grounds for free. You don't have to be an architect or a design junkie to appreciate the tour. If you like style, or even history, you will enjoy the experience. (Or maybe you are a "Back to the Future" fan; yes, the exterior was shown in the movie.) And it is only a one hour tour, after all. The exterior is gorgeous but the interior is beautiful, too. The lighting, furniture, materials, and just the colors are lovely. For a home that was built about 115 years ago, it is in remarkable condition. It is well worth visiting.

Came to check out this very historic house which also serves as doc browns house in back to the…read morefuture! It's always cool to be walking through places that seem like a time capsule especially when everything is original and in mint condition Lovely tour and lots of great details and things to see!

The Norton Simon is an absolute treasure…read more The variety of art is staggering. The modern work is terrific. Degas speaks for itself. The renaissance art is masterful. The collection downstairs is phenomenal. The rotating exhibits are always terrific, and feature well known names. The cafe offers some light bites and some drinks, but the real star is the patio and the grounds. I always see artists painting or drawing in the garden - and for good reason! It's beautiful. So serene. The gift shop is charming. I always manage to find a little something. Don't skip it! It's easy to miss in a tucked away corner, but seek it out. The museum offers free admission on the first Friday nights of the month. Beware, though, if you're heading over then that parking can be limited and the small lot fills quickly! Arrive early to beat the rush and avoid hassles. Note that, despite full parking lots, the museum never feels crowded. It's kind of amazing like that.

The art there is very good and if this review was based just on that I would give it four or five…read morestars. The people who work there are the snootiest people I have ever met in my whole freaking life. They are not nice, they are condescending, and I just didn't like them.