San Jose

Where fruit orchards once blanketed the "Valley of Heart's Delight," the headquarters of global corporations now stand – San Jose is considered the capital of Silicon Valley. But a trip to San Jose leads not only to tech museums, but also to a puzzling haunted house, Spanish roots, and some of the best Vietnamese food outside Vietnam. For a city break with side trips to San Francisco and the Pacific coast, this sunny city makes a pleasant home base.

From Pueblo to Tech Metropolis

In 1777, the Spanish founded San Jose as the first civilian settlement in Alta California, named after Saint Joseph. In 1850, the city briefly served as the first capital of the new state of California. For over a century, plum, apricot, and cherry orchards shaped the Santa Clara Valley, and canneries shipped fruit around the world. Starting in the 1950s, semiconductor companies, Stanford graduates, and venture capital transformed the region into Silicon Valley. Today, companies such as Adobe, Cisco, and Zoom have offices in San Jose, while Apple, Google, and Nvidia are based in neighboring cities. Thanks to immigration from Vietnam, Mexico, India, and China, the city is one of the most diverse in the U.S.

Sights in San Jose

The Winchester Mystery House is the city's best-known attraction: Sarah Winchester, widow of the rifle manufacturer, had her Victorian mansion continuously remodeled for almost four decades – with staircases that lead nowhere and doors that open onto walls. Downtown is home to Plaza de César Chávez, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, and San Pedro Square with its restaurants. Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, in operation since 1888, offers evening tours in summer with views through historic telescopes. The Japanese Friendship Garden in Kelley Park and the Municipal Rose Garden, with thousands of roses, in the Rose Garden neighborhood are inviting spots for a quiet hour or two. Hockey fans can catch a San Jose Sharks game at the SAP Center.

Museums and Neighborhoods

The Tech Interactive in Downtown explains robotics, biotechnology, and space exploration through hands-on exhibits, and the San Jose Museum of Art, close by, shows contemporary art. The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum holds the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts in the western U.S., housed in a temple-style building. If you love tech history, head to the Computer History Museum in nearby Mountain View. Willow Glen is a charming neighborhood with a small-town Lincoln Avenue, boutiques, and cafés. Horace Mann on the edge of Downtown and the adjacent SoFA District are good for an evening stroll with bars and live music. Japantown, one of the last three historic Japantowns in the U.S., preserves temples, shops, and a farmers market on Sundays.

Eating in San Jose

San Jose's restaurants reflect its immigrant communities. The large Vietnamese community, one of the biggest outside Vietnam, serves excellent pho, banh mi, and bun bo Hue, especially around Story Road and Tully Road. Mexican taquerías define East San Jose, ramen and mochi are a must in Japantown, and neighboring Santa Clara and Sunnyvale offer a wide selection of Indian cuisine. Santana Row is an elegant shopping and dining strip in a European style. The Santa Cruz Mountains are also home to wineries producing top-notch Cabernet and Chardonnay.

Going Out and Leisure

In the evening, people gather in Downtown around the San Pedro Square Market, in the bars of the SoFA strip, or on Santana Row. The California Theatre, a restored 1920s movie palace, hosts opera and a film festival. In the hills around the city, parks such as Alum Rock and Almaden Quicksilver County Park, with its old mercury mines, invite you to go hiking, and on clear days the view from Mount Hamilton stretches all the way to the Sierra Nevada.

Getting Around, When to Go, and Day Trips

San Jose Mineta Airport is just a few minutes north of the city center. The VTA light rail connects Downtown with the tech campuses, Caltrain takes about an hour and a half to San Francisco, and BART has now reached the north of the city. A car is handy for day trips. The climate is mild, with around 300 sunny days a year; summers are warmer and drier than in San Francisco. Worthwhile destinations include Santa Cruz with its beach boardwalk and redwoods, Monterey with its famous aquarium, the Stanford University campus, and Highway 1 along the coast to Big Sur.