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San Jose

No reviews yetCity California, United States
San Jose, California, United StatesSan Pedro Square Market is a lively food hall downtown, San Jose, CaliforniaThe Tech Interactive is a hands on science museum, San Jose, CaliforniaThe Winchester Mystery House is famous for its odd design, San Jose, CaliforniaThe Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum holds ancient artifacts, San Jose, California

About San Jose

San Jose is the largest city in Northern California's Bay Area and the self-styled capital of Silicon Valley. Founded in 1777 as a Spanish pueblo, it was California's first civilian settlement and briefly served as the state capital. Orchards once covered the valley, but the technology industry transformed it into a large, diverse city with major corporate campuses and a wide range of cultural communities.

Downtown, San Pedro Square Market gathers food stalls and bars, and The Tech Interactive offers hands-on science exhibits. Plaza de Cesar Chavez, a central park, hosts festivals and holiday events. The Winchester Mystery House, the sprawling mansion of Sarah Winchester with its staircases to nowhere, draws curious visitors. The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum holds a notable collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts in a building styled after a temple, and the Municipal Rose Garden blooms in spring and summer.

Japantown, one of the few historic Japantowns remaining in the United States, offers restaurants and shops, while Santana Row is a polished shopping and dining district. Little Saigon reflects the city's large Vietnamese community. Alum Rock Park, in the eastern foothills, has trails along a creek. San Jose suits business travelers and those exploring Silicon Valley. The mild climate makes almost any season pleasant.

Best seasonSpring and fall are ideal, with mild temperatures; summers are warm and dry.
Ideal stayTwo days covers downtown, museums and neighborhoods; add more for the wider Bay Area.
ArrivingSan José Mineta International Airport is close to downtown, and Caltrain links the city to San Francisco.
San Jose California Winchester Mystery House and JapantownWiserMap travel guideSan Jose California Winchester Mystery House and JapantownPlan a San Jose trip: the Winchester Mystery House, Japantown, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, Santana Row, the Rose Garden and the best Vietnamese food in Sil...Read the guide

12 Reasons to Visit San Jose

Food and Drink 1

San Pedro Square Market, San Jose, California, United States

San Pedro Square Market

San Pedro Square Market is a lively food hall and gathering place in downtown San Jose, set in a cluster of historic buildings aro...

Museums 3

The Tech Interactive, San Jose, California, United States

The Tech Interactive

The Tech Interactive is a hands-on science and technology museum in downtown San Jose, the heart of Silicon Valley, housed in a st...
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, San Jose, California, United States

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Inside an Egyptian-style building in Rosicrucian Park, this museum houses the largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts on...
San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California, United States

San Jose Museum of Art

The San Jose Museum of Art occupies a handsome Romanesque building that was the city's post office in the 1890s, joined to a moder...

Landmarks 3

Plaza de Cesar Chavez, San Jose, California, United States

Plaza de Cesar Chavez

This oval park in the centre of downtown San Jose sits close to the site of the city's original Spanish pueblo plaza, and it remai...
Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, California, United States

Winchester Mystery House

Sarah Winchester, widow of the heir to the Winchester rifle fortune, kept builders working on this sprawling Victorian mansion for...
Lick Observatory, San Jose, California, United States

Lick Observatory

Perched on the summit of Mount Hamilton east of San Jose, Lick Observatory was the world's first permanently occupied mountaintop...

Parks 2

San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, San Jose, California, United States

San Jose Municipal Rose Garden

Set in the leafy Rose Garden neighbourhood, this municipal rose garden covers several acres with thousands of rose bushes arranged...
Alum Rock Park, San Jose, California, United States

Alum Rock Park

Established in 1872, Alum Rock Park is California's oldest municipal park, tucked into a steep canyon in the foothills on the east...

Neighborhoods 2

Japantown San Jose, San Jose, California, United States

Japantown San Jose

San Jose's Japantown is one of only three historic Japantowns remaining in the United States, and its history stretches back to th...
Little Saigon San Jose, San Jose, California, United States

Little Saigon San Jose

San Jose has one of the largest Vietnamese communities outside Vietnam, and the area around Story Road and Tully Road forms its co...

Shopping 1

Santana Row, San Jose, California, United States

Santana Row

Santana Row is an upscale open-air shopping and dining district on Stevens Creek Boulevard, built in the style of a European villa...

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Photo: Michael Gray from Wantagh NY, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Cristiano Tomás, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: GualdimG, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: The wub, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: The wub, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: The wub, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Photo: GualdimG, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: GualdimG, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: GualdimG, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: GualdimG, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: The wub, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Photo: Oren Rozen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: The wub, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Photo: Daderot, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Photo: Daderot, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

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Photo: Don DeBold from San Jose, CA, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Don DeBold from San Jose, CA, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

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Photo: Steffen Schmitz (more photos), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: The wub, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Photo: Michael from San Jose, California, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

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Photo: The wub, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: The wub, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: The wub, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: The wub, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Don DeBold, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

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Photo: Cristiano Tomás, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Cristiano Tomás, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Cristiano Tomás, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Cristiano Tomás, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Cristiano Tomás, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Cristiano Tomás, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Cristiano Tomás, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Cristiano Tomás, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Cristiano Tomás, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Steffen Schmitz (more photos), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Steffen Schmitz (more photos), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Steffen Schmitz (more photos), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Payton Chung, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0