Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto, California Profile

Palo Alto's streets aren't paved in Stanford University Cardinal red, but they'd might as well be. "Town" and "gown" intertwine like branches overhanging the tree-lined streets, spawning high tech businesses such as Apple Computer and Hewlett-Packard, and setting the tone for local attractions.

7 Great Things to Do in Palo Alto, California

Stanford University Campus: Explore the campus on daily, free, guided walking tours or take in Hoover Tower's panoramic Bay Area views. Across campus, the largest August Rodin sculpture collection outside Paris' Musee Rodin highlights Cantor Art Center's exhibits.

Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC): Even people whose eyes cross when someone mentions particle physics enjoy seeing the center's two-mile-long building (the world's longest) and the giant detectors SLAC uses to observe subatomic particles. Your tour guide, a Stanford graduate student, could be the center's next Nobel Prize-winner, so pay attention even if their math- and physics-oriented jokes aren't funny.

Hanna House: A glass-fronted collection of hexagonal spaces centered on a brick chimney, this house is among architect Frank Lloyd Wright's 17 most important buildings according to the Institute of American Architects. Docents lead regular tours of the house built in 1938 for Stanford professor Paul Hanna.

Stanford Theatre: A University Avenue landmark since 1925, the restored Assyrian/Greek-style movie palace plays classic films produced from the 1920s to the 1960s. A pre-show organ concert starts the Stanford Theatre experience, and owner David Packard sometimes shows up to relate how he collected copies from around the world to create the print they're screening.

Sunset Magazine Headquarters: Tour the test gardens, and you may learn what's new before the western lifestyle magazine's subscribers do.

Filoli: In nearby Woodside, the 645-acre, early-twentieth-century estate boasts a 16-acre formal garden surrounding a California eclectic-style house.

High Tech, Humble Beginnings: Technophiles can't resist the urge to see Palo Alto's famous garages: Hewlett-Packard's at 367 Addison Avenue or the Macintosh computer's birthplace, 2066 Crist Drive.

Best Time to Visit Palo Alto, California

I like Palo Alto best fall through spring, when students enliven the downtown scene. Crowds attending Stanford football games or graduation ceremonies make finding a parking place more difficult than passing a final examination.

Palo Alto, California Dining

Restaurants line the town's main street, University Avenue, and the side streets intersecting it. Favorites include Zao Noodle Bar's (261 University Ave.) tofu (yes, tofu!) fries and Shanghai Beef Noodles, Palermo's (452 University Ave.) Sicilian-style roasted chicken and linguine puttanesca, and Mango Cafe's (435 Hamilton Ave.) Jamaican Jerked (chicken) Joints, curried goat roti and bread pudding . Metroactive, a local Palo Alto newspaper, serves up more options.

Palo Alto, California Lodging

You can see Palo Alto in a day from San Francisco or San Jose, but if you plan to spend the night, you'll find places to stay ranging from bed and breakfast inns to four-star hotels.

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Getting to Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto lies midway down the peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose. Drivers can reach Palo Alto from U. S. 101 (exiting at University Avenue west) or from I-280 (exiting at Page Mill or San Hill Roads). To get there via public transportation, catch Caltrain and get off at University Avenue downtown. From there, the Marguerite Shuttle runs to the university campus.