Travel Guide to California

2015 Travel Guide to California

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2 0 1 5 T R A V E L G U I D E T O C A L I F O R N I A 95 » Anderson Collection Stanford University's historic campus now includes the Anderson Collection, a private modern American art collection that includes major works by Pollock, Still, Rothko and Diebenkorn, housed in a striking 33,000-square-foot building. Next door is the Cantor Arts Center, which features 24 galleries and one of the largest collections of Rodin bronzes outside Paris. › stanford.edu » Santana Row Discover one of San Jose's restaurant and nightlife hubs at Santana Row, a European-style development with chic shops and fine restaurants, across the street from one of the valley's major attractions, Winchester Mystery House. › santanarow.com, winchestermysteryhouse.com » History Park Stretching over 14 acres, San Jose's History Park conveys the richness of Santa Clara Valley's long history. The park features 27 original and re-created buildings connected by running trolleys. Included are the Chinese- American Museum, the Portuguese Historical Museum and one of the first banks opened by A.P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of America, who was born in San Jose. › historysanjose.org » California's Great America and Levi's Stadium Thrillseekers find heart-stopping rides at California's Great America theme park, which includes Gold Striker, Northern California's tallest and fastest roller coaster, with high-speed turns and drops, one falling 103 feet at a 50-degree angle. Levi's Stadium, the lavish new $1.2 billion home of the NFL San Francisco 49ers, towers nearby. Public tours are available, with visits to the stadium's 49ers Museum as an add-on option. › cagreatamerica.com, levisstadium.com » Computer History Museum Technology giants call Silicon Valley home and this museum explores their history and impact on society. Large-scale exhibits, including one added in 2014 tracing the creation of self-driving cars, are filled with the world's largest collection of computing hardware, software, ephemera and photographs. › computerhistory.org MUST DO SEE, » Palo Alto, home of Stanford Univer- sity, has long been a cultural center, and now offers a tiny museum significant to Silicon Valley history: the HP Garage, the garage where Stanford classmates Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded Hewlett-Packard in 1939. Beyond tech, the valley offers much to see and do, with theme parks for fami- lies, cultural institutions and varied landscapes, from the Santa Cruz Moun- tains to lively city and town centers. Nestled at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains are Saratoga and Los Gatos, hamlets with picture-perfect Victorian homes and Craftsman bungalows. Vast stretches of parks, open space preserves and rows of vineyards and winery tasting rooms cluster in the surrounding moun- tains, as well as south of San Jose, along the Hecker Pass Highway and around the city of Gilroy, which is home to an annual Garlic Festival that draws thousands. DRIVE TOUR » Starting in PALO ALTO , take in vibrant University Avenue and drive the leafy lanes of the STANFORD CAMPUS , stopping to see the mosaics in Memorial Church and the MAIN QUAD . Head west on Sand Hill Road to Highway 280 south to revitalized downtown SAN JOSE for a visit to the striking Tech Museum of Innovation. Take Highway 17 west to LOS GATOS , stopping to enjoy the village-like downtown and its shady plaza, and head south on Highway 9 to the equally charming hamlet of SARATOGA , nestled at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Continue on Highway 9 up into the mountains to Skyline Boulevard (Highway 35), the crest of the range. Here you'll find uncrowded wineries, pristine forests and many open space preserves and parks, including CASTLE ROCK STATE PARK , the most spectacular. Follow Skyline Boulevard south and rejoin Highway 17 east, which leads back to San Jose and the heart of Silicon Valley. PALO ALTO SARATOGA CASTLE ROCK STATE PARK LOS GATOS SAN JOSE ANDROID LOLLIPOP replica in front of Google's headquarters, Mountain View, leV; Santa Clara County's VTA light rail in San Jose, opposite.

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