Itinerary: In the House

You can’t always just invite yourself over. And if you go to too many open houses, the real estate agents start to talk.

But poking around in houses other than your own is a widespread pastime. Witness the popularity of home tours, from Modernist masterpieces to ornate Victorians to Craftsman classics.

Here are ways to look at some interesting houses this weekend, where you don’t need an invitation.

Thursday

The Gamble House (4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena. $8. $5, students and seniors. [626] 793-3334 and [213] 681-6427) in Pasadena is a mecca for Craftsman lovers, and its Greene and Greene design truly does set the standard for that brand of simple elegance.

Another Craftsman worth touring is the Lanterman House (4420 Encinas Drive, La Canada-Flintridge. $3. $1, ages 12-18. [818] 790-1421). It was designed by architect A.L. Haley and built in 1915 for the Lantermans, La Canada’s founding family. The house, with more than 11,000 square feet, still has all the original furniture and interiors--which are much more elaborate than those at the Gamble House. The entire second floor is a grand ballroom. It’s open for tours Tuesdays, Thursdays and the third Sunday of each month from 1 to 4 p.m.

Friday

The Lummis Home (200 E. Ave. 43, L.A., [323] 222-0546) looks completely unlike Victorian or Craftsman homes from the same period. Charles Fletcher Lummis--some years after walking to Los Angeles from Ohio--decided to build a house along the Arroyo Seco. With some help, he crafted El Alisal--Spanish for “place among the Sycamores”--from stones from the arroyo.

The house and grounds are open Fridays to Sundays, noon to 4 p.m., and inside is a museum about Lummis, who was an early city editor of the Los Angeles Times, the city librarian and founder of the nearby Southwest Museum.

Up the 110 a few miles in South Pasadena is the charming BookHouse (1026 Fair Oaks, South Pasadena. Open daily. [626] 799-0756), which occupies half the ground floor of a 95-year-old house that looks like a mansion. It was more likely a four-plex, and the space that holds the bookstore was once a two-bedroom apartment. Now the living room, bedrooms and even the kitchen pantry hold 10,000 used books.

Saturday

For dinner at home--someone else’s home, that is--there’s always Off Vine (6263 Leland Way, Hollywood. [323] 962-1900). The living room and dining room of a California bungalow have been converted into an intimate restaurant that serves well-prepared American food. It’s like eating at the house of a friend--one who makes really good chocolate souffle.

Sunday

In the 1920s, residential architects brought a little piece of Europe to California. The revival trend left Jacobean manors, English cottages and French Norman petites maisons scattered throughout Pasadena--the focus of Pasadena Heritage’s Spring Home Tour. The Medieval Manor Houses of Pasadena, complete with Renaissance music, will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. The drive-yourself tour takes about four hours, and docents at each stop will point out the interior and exterior features of each house. The $30 tickets and directions are available from Pasadena Heritage (651 S. Saint John Ave., Pasadena, [626] 441-6333 or https://www.pasadenaheritage.org) until Friday at 5 p.m., Will call opens Sunday at 9 a.m. at 787 S. Euclid Ave., Pasadena.