Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph
90 South Market St
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 283-8100
www.stjosephcathedral.org
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph actually stands on the site of the city’s first church, St. Joseph Church, an adobe structure that dates back to 1803.  The current structure dates to the 1870s and is full of beautiful stained glass.

Guadalupe River Park and Gardens
1300 Senter Rd
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 277-2757
www.grpg.org
The Park hosts thousands of varieties of roses, the Children’s Discovery Museum, miles of walking trails, art, and other things to do while you enjoy nature.

Kelley Park
1300 Senter Rd
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 277-2857
This parks covers 160 acres and has ponds, the Japanese Friendship Garden, and several lawn areas. San Jose’s Happy Hollow Park and Zoo and the San Jose Historical Museum also are located here.

Happy Hollow Park and Zoo
1300 Senter Road
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 277.3000
www.hhpz.org
The park has picnic areas, guided tours and sleepovers for kids, and a lot more to keep you busy while you look at exotic and domestic animals.

Mexican Heritage Plaza
1700 Alum Rock Ave
San Jose, CA 95103
www.mhcviva.org
Heritage Plaza has gardens, a Pavilion area, a theatre, an exhibition space, and several offices and classrooms. This facility hosts exhibits, concerts, and festivals throughout the year.

Paramount‘s Great America
Great America Pkwy
Santa Clara, CA 95054
(408) 988-1776
www.paramountparks.com/greatamerica
Paramount’s Great America is a Theme Park that has many rides based off of the studios television shows and movies.  James Bond and Survivor are just a few, along with Nickelodeon attractions.

Peralta Adobe
175 West Saint John St
San Jose, CA 95110
(408) 993-8182
www.historysanjose.org
Peralta Adobe is the only remnant of El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, one of the state’s earliest Spanish settlements. It’s furnished in a similar style to how it was when it was built in the 18th century.

San Jose Heritage Rose Garden
715 Spring St
San Jose, CA 95110
(408) 298-7657
www.heritageroses.us
A five-acre rose garden called brings color to downtown San Jose.  It’s kept up by volunteers and has more than 5,000 rose bushes.

Winchester Mystery House
525 South Winchester Blvd
San Jose, CA 95128
(408) 247-2100
www.winchestermysteryhouse.com
The heiress of the Winchester rifle fortune began building this Victorian mansion in 1884. She thought that evil spirits of those killed by the rifles would haunt her if construction was ever completed, so the house was worked on until she died in 1932. The result was this 160-room mansion with staircases that lead nowhere and lavish antiques.

Hoover Tower
550 Serra St
Stanford University
Palo Alto, CA 94305
(650) 723-2053
Hoover Tower housed one of the countries first official think tanks.  A library occupies the first 9 floors, and has over 50 million articles and volumes related to public policy.. There’s also a 250 foot high observation platform that provides views of the valley.

NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field
Mountain View, CA 94035
(650) 604-6497
www.nasa.gov/centers/ames
The Exploration Center gives visitors a look inside NASA technology and space exploration, including a curved 40 ft screen that shows video from several satellites.  There’s several hands on exhibits to add a bit of interactivity.

Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo
Rinconada Park
1451 Middlefield Rd
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 329-2111
The zoo and museum have plenty of hands on exhibits focusing on both animals and art.  You can get an expert-led tour on weekends.  The zoo has a number of popular exhibits, including a 500 gallon saltwater tank complete with sharks.   Admission is free.

HP Garage
367 Addison Ave
Palo Alto, CA
In 1939, the garage was the first location where David Packard and William Hewlett worked to develop what would become the HP conglomerate. Now the HP Corporation owns the garage.  It’s not open for the public, but it is a monument for the techno-phile.

Professorville and Downtown Palo Alto
Professorville Historic Tour
Palo Alto, CA 94302
(650) 299-8878
www.pastheritage.org
Professorville is a neighborhood of homes on the National Register as a Historic District.  Palo Alto Stanford Heritage has a walking tour brochure on the area, and guided tours can be arranged.

Stanford Linear Accelerator
2575 Sand Hill Rd
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 926 2204
www.slac.stanford.edu
A two-mile long atomic accelerator built in 1962 that has hosted several Nobel Prize winning physicists.  Tours take about two hours and can be signed up for online or arranged for in private.