Tired of the city? Do you long for peace and beauty and clean air? You will find all of this in Sierra Madre, a quaint little town, just a few miles east from Pasadena, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains.

As soon as you enter Sierra Madre you will feel welcome. The atmosphere is so friendly and relaxed. Imagine, there are no traffic lights! Downtown is hard to miss; it is where Baldwin Avenue crosses Sierra Madre Boulevard. Park your car (free parking everywhere), walk around and enjoy the smaller scale of everything, the slower pace. Downtown offers unique little gift shops, toy stores, several coffee shops and restaurants-from Thai to Italian, from simple to exclusive.

Sit outside with a smoothie or a cappuccino-especially nice in the evening-and watch whole families walking by with their dogs. (Everybody seems to own a dog in Sierra Madre.) I don’t know why, but it makes you smile.

If you visit Sierra Madre in the month of May, don’t miss out on their wonderful Art Fair in the park. Christmastime is great to pay a visit too; you will feel like strolling through a Dickens-story. Come and see!