San Jose
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Overview
Though culturally diverse and historical, San Jose – awash in Silicon Valley’s suburbia – has always been in San Francisco’s shadow. Founded in 1777 as El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, San Jose is California’s oldest Spanish civilian settlement. Its downtown is small and scarcely used for a city of its size, though it does bustle with twenty-something clubgoers on weekends. Industrial parks, high-tech computer firms and look-alike housing developments are sprawled across the city’s landscape, taking over from where farms, ranches and open spaces once spread between the bay and the surrounding hills.
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Planning Tools
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Best Things to Do
From a lively art scene to trendy foodie spots and historic sites, these are the top things to do in San Jose to get to know the city in the best way.
Read articleBest Time to Visit
The heart of Silicon Valley, San Jose has the best weather in the Bay Area, blessed with blue skies from spring to fall. Here are the best times to come.
Read articleTransportation
With the third-largest population in California, and suburbs that sprawl across the South Bay, San Jose is big. Here are the best ways to get around.
Read articleFree Things to Do
Whether you’re interested in the outdoors, art, or history, you can enjoy San Jose, California on a budget with these great free things to do.
Read articleBest Neighborhoods
San Jose is an exciting Bay Area metropolis that offers a lot more to travelers than what first meets the eye.
Read articleDay Trips
From local beach towns to wildlife spotting, these are the best day trips from San Jose, all within a two-hour drive, bus, or train ride from the city.
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