Watch the Floats Roll Down Colorado Boulevard
By eight in the morning on Friday, January 1, 2027, Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena is already lined deep with spectators, and the smell of coffee and kettle corn drifts over the crowd. This is the Tournament of Roses Parade, held every New Year's Day since 1890, and it remains the defining ritual of the Los Angeles New Year: floral floats built petal by petal, marching bands, and equestrian units moving through the streets of Pasadena. Grandstand seating is available if you want a seat rather than a curb, and Floatfest lets you walk among the floats after the parade has passed, close enough to see how the flowers were applied.
Plan your morning around the route. Arrive early, dress in layers for a cool winter dawn, and treat the parade as the anchor of the day rather than a stop on the way to something else.
Take in the Rose Bowl, the Granddaddy of Them All
At 2:00 PM on January 1, 2027, the Rose Bowl Game kicks off at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena — this year a College Football Playoff Semifinal, played for the Leishman Trophy. The game is the oldest postseason football game in the country, organized under the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association's banner of "America's New Year Celebration." Before kickoff, tailgates fill the lots around the stadium, and the Rose Queen and her Royal Court make an appearance.
- Parade: Tournament of Roses Parade, Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, 8:00 AM PST.
- Game: Rose Bowl Game, Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, 2:00 PM.
- After: Floatfest, for post-parade viewing of the floats.
Spend the Afternoon Shopping or on the Water
New Year's Day is a good day to walk a city that is quieter than usual but still open. In Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive strings together more than a hundred luxury brands, a retail strip whose history runs back to the 1961 opening of Giorgio Beverly Hills; Fred Hayman is remembered as the "Godfather of Rodeo Drive." Westfield Century City spreads across roughly 1.3 million square feet with more than 200 shops and restaurants, including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Macy's, an Equinox fitness club and spa, and the West Coast's first Eataly. The Grove, at 189 The Grove Drive in the Beverly–Fairfax area, pairs upscale retail with dining, while The Americana at Brand in Glendale offers shops, restaurants, a cinema and a two-acre park.
If you would rather be outdoors, head west. Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica gives you three car-free blocks, with Santa Monica Place and its 80-plus retailers nearby and the Santa Monica Pier a short walk away; the Metro E Line connects the area to Downtown LA. Mild winter weather makes the pier and a Venice Beach stroll genuinely pleasant on January 1, and hikes to Griffith Observatory or the Runyon Canyon trails are another way to spend the daylight hours. For culture instead of crowds, the Getty Center, LACMA, the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, and Descanso Gardens are all options.
Keep the Holiday Going with the Kids
Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park runs its Knott's Merry Farm season from November 22, 2025 through January 5, 2027, so New Year's Day falls inside it: holiday décor and lights, shows including "Home for the Holidays," an ice show with the Peanuts characters, the Christmas Crafts Village in Calico, Snow and Glow, Santa's Christmas Cabin, and a nightly tree lighting. At Long Beach Arena on January 1, 2027, Disney On Ice presents "Jump In," a family ice show built around Disney characters. Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland often keep their holiday decorations up through early January, so a visit in the first days of the year still carries the season.
Eat Well, Then Plan the Year Ahead
New Year's Day in Los Angeles is a brunch day, and the city's spread of neighborhood cuisines means you can as easily sit down to a long morning meal as graze your way through a market or a shopping district's restaurant row — Westfield Century City, The Grove and The Americana at Brand all pair retail with dining under one roof. If you are weighing a first trip, note that January 1, 2027 falls on a Friday, which makes for a long holiday weekend: parade and game in Pasadena in the morning and afternoon, then shopping, a beach walk, or a theme park in the days that follow. Check parade and game times and theme-park schedules against official sources before you build your itinerary, book grandstand seating or game tickets early, and let the first morning of 2027 find you on Colorado Boulevard.