Page 20 - 2023-2024 Travel Guide to California

CITIES
BY DAVID ARMSTRONG
SURPRISING CITIES
California's smaller towns offer big attractions
PASADENA
One of Los Angeles County’s more
vibrant cities, Pasadena was a tourist
destination drawing visitors from the
eastern U.S. as far back as the 1880s.
In 1890, before there was a Rose
Bowl game, the Rose Parade had its
beginnings in Pasadena, where it is
still held. The city was celebrating its
warm weather and showing off its
flowers in a parade to welcome the
new year, while other locations were
buried in snow. 2022 marked the
133rd parade.
California’s golden cities—Los Angeles,
San Francisco, San Diego—are cele-
brated around the world, and rightly
so. But the Golden State boasts an engaging
range of things to see and do in less well-
known locales, as well. In cities ranging in
size from 3,000 inhabitants to 181,000, a
surprising eclectic menu of food and drink,
art and architecture, history and sports is
available to visitors.
PALM SPRINGS: Art, Design &
Hipster Chic
This desert resort community of 45,000 has
been a party town since Hollywood lumi-
naries discovered it in the 1940s. In recent
years, Palm Springs has added hipster
chic—think cutting-edge clothing and
design shops, rooftop hotel fire pits, craft
cocktails and zinc-topped bars and you get
the picture. The Hollywood connection is
still strong—the Palm Springs International
Film Festival organizes screenings and
throws star-studded parties every January.
The city’s signature mid-century modern
architecture, all glass and steel and angular
lines, is a major attraction. Every February,
Modernism Week features house tours and
more. The Palm Springs Art Museum show-
cases modern and contemporary art,
architectural design art as well as Native
American art. If you tire of poolside
lounging, the Agua Caliente Native Amer-
ican band oversees 60-plus miles of hiking
trails in nearby Indian Canyons. For 360-
degree views of the Coachella Valley, check
out the rotating cars of the Palm Springs
Aerial Tramway.
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18 2023-24 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA