By plane
The closest and most convenient airport is in Burbank. Other nearby airports are in Los Angeles, Ontario, and Orange County.
There are a couple of ways to get to Pasadena from the LAX airport, other than a taxi, which costs around $80.
Supershuttle and Primetime are shared-ride vans which serve the Pasadena area from LAX. Stand under the orange "shared ride vans" sign in the center concrete island outside the airport. Tell a customer service representative that you need a ride to Pasadena. They are easy to identify by their blue jackets (Supershuttle) or red jackets (Primetime). If no representative is available, then flag down a blue van (Supershuttle) or red van (Primetime) with a "Pasadena" placard in the windshield. Approximate cost is $25 per person. Approximate time to Pasadena is 1 hour.
 

By train
Pasadena is approximately30 min from Downtown L.A. via the light rail Metro Gold Line. Three of the stops (Fillmore, Del Mar, Memorial Park) are along the Arroyo Seco Parkway, and the other three (Lake, Allen, Sierra Madre Villa) are in the median of Interstate 210.
Please note that traveling by light rail between Pasadena and LAX will take approximately two hours and requires getting on a FlyAway bus between LAX and Union Station, then traveling on the Gold line.

By bus
Greyhound Lines serves Pasadena at 645 E. Walnut Street.

By car
From Downtown L.A. or other southern cities take the 110 freeway north until it ends. The 110 freeway ends at the south end of Pasadena. From the east and west Pasadena can be reached via Interstate 210. California Highway 134 East is the most direct way from Glendale and Burbank.