Saturday

5. ­­­On the Go, 8 a.m.

Worth the drive to East Pasadena, Copenhagen Pastry is a simple storefront (no seating) selling Danish classics (from $1.95) like Kringle topped with shaved almonds or Nougat Crown dotted with almond paste, custard and hazelnut cream, each with so many air-filled layers of pastry they seem as if they could float. Then, head for the Lower Arroyo Park, where the Pasadena Roving Archers have been “dedicated to the art of the bow and arrow” since 1935. Their free class for first-timers (8:30 to 10 a.m.) is for all ages.

6. ­­­Jonathan Gold Tip, 11:30 a.m.

Take a tip from the celebrated chronicler of Los Angeles’s food culture, Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer Prize winner and Pasadena resident. Try Gold-recommended Seed Bakery, which got its start at the South Pasadena Farmers’ Market but has recently opened a cafe, where you can buy organic, Old World breads made from whole grains like farro, durum and kamut. There’s also a small menu of offerings like short rib melt with manchego, Gorgonzola, caramelized onion and Dijon ($12). Around the corner, La Caravana serves Salvadoran “comida tipica” (typical dishes), including immaculately fried pupusas, corn masa disks stuffed with everything from chicharrón (pork) to cheese with loroco flower ($2.75 each).

7. ­Take a Hike, 1 p.m.

Pasadena’s position at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains is one of its greatest assets. Head to Altadena, an unincorporated area just north of Pasadena that has long fought annexation by its southern neighbor, for a hike at either Eaton Canyon or Echo Mountain via the Sam Merrill Trail. Both have intriguing histories, including a famed resort, now in ruins, once accessible by the scenic Mount Lowe Railway. Air quality allowing, both options offer views of the Los Angeles basin and trails through cactuses and live oaks. Reward yourself with gelato in flavors like pistachio or pear at Bulgarini Gelato Artigianale, which also features foreign films or live jazz in the summer.

8. ­Midday Indulgence, 3 p.m.

Or, if you must, head straight for the divey pleasures of Rancho Bar, where cheap beers, shots and Bloody Marys come with a side of Echo Mountain history. The original owner was a collector of Mount Lowe memorabilia. Stop into Everson Royce in Old Town, which has a daytime drinking schedule from 2 to 6 p.m., pouring four wines that revolve around one cohesive theme ($15). Hidden away at the Del Mar Metro Station, the Stone Brewery Company Store serves not just Stone’s year-round releases, but limited-edition beers like an 11 percent barley wine dry-hopped with Pekko, from the Yakima Valley in Washington.

9. ­Retro Shopping, 4 p.m.

Along with its popular flea markets, Pasadena is home to excellent shops appealing to the retro-inclined. Near Caltech, High Low Vintage has a sexy, stylishly laid out collection of women’s clothing (sequins, paisley and gold lamé, oh my!) and funky, modish housewares befitting a midcentury Angeleno aesthetic. Next to one of the city’s well-worn, well-loved dives (the Colorado, where the jukebox plays nonstop nostalgia, from Otis Redding to the Jackson Five), Poo-Bah Records is legendary among hip-hop heads, D.J.s and anyone intimate with underground and avant-garde music scenes in Los Angeles.

10. ­San Gabriel Valley North, 8 p.m.

Many of Pasadena’s most appealing restaurants, from the addictive Armenian fast food at Zankou Chicken to the second location of San Gabriel’s organic Pan-Asian restaurant Green Zone, are actually outposts of local and regional chains. Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, meanwhile, is international, with restaurants in Asian and Asian-American communities far and wide. The menu focuses on steaming bowls of simmering broth (either spicy or an oddly appealing milky white aromatic base, starting at $3.75 per person), in which anything from lotus root to wood ear mushrooms, Kobe beef to goose intestine can be added. For an outstanding omakase in a strip mall setting, Sushi Ichi is an alternative to the better known (and pricier) Sushi Kimagure, near Central Park.