How to Tour Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is the home of information technology.

Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco, is an important center of the computer and information technology industries. You can visit Silicon Valley by taking a drive from San Francisco to San Jose and back. You will see the headquarters of Google, Apple and Facebook, as well as technology museums. You can also visit Stanford University, a prestigious institution whose alumni include the founders of Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems. Touring Silicon Valley offers a view of the landscape where technological pioneers are revolutionizing the world.

Instructions

1. Drive south from San Francisco on U.S. Highway 101. Oracle Corp. is in Redwood Shores, 30 minutes south of San Francisco. Oracle specializes in integrated business software and hardware systems. Talk to your local sales representative in advance to schedule a tour of the Oracle Customer Visit Center.

2. Continue south on U.S. Highway 101. The corporate headquarters of Google (called the Googleplex) is in Mountain View, about 20 minutes from Redwood Shores. There are no public tours of Google, but you can drive by before stopping at the Computer History Museum, the world's leading institution dedicated to the history of computing and information technology. You can get information at the museum's website, computerhistory.org.

3. Continue south on U.S. Highway 101. Intel Corp. and the Intel Museum are in nearby Santa Clara, about 15 minutes south of Mountain View. Intel specializes in microprocessors and other computer hardware products. Visit the Intel Museum for an opportunity to learn more about the science of silicon technology.

4. Drive south on state Route 87 to San Jose, a 15-minute trip. The Tech Museum of Innovation is in downtown San Jose. It features interactive exhibits and themed galleries dedicated to Silicon Valley history, discoveries and technological innovations. Adobe Systems is nearby, but there are no public tours.

5. Drive north on Interstate 280 from San Jose toward San Francisco. The Apple corporate headquarters are at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, a 15-minute drive. While there are no public tours of Apple, you can visit the Apple Company Store, which sells clothing and accessories displaying the Apple logo.

6. Continue north on Interstate 280. Stanford University is in nearby Palo Alto, a 25-minute drive. Take a walking tour of the campus with a student guide. The corporate offices of Facebook and Hewlett-Packard are just southwest of the university.

7. From Palo Alto, take U.S. Highway 101 or Interstate 280 back to San Francisco..

Tips & Warnings

• Research your stops online before you go to find out what days and hours they are open.

References

• Silicon Valley History Online
• A Geek's Tour of Silicon Valley; 2004
• Fodor's; The Bay Area Travel Guide; 2011

Resources

• Lighthouse Tours; Local Tours; San Jose and Silicon Valley
• Steve Blank; A Visitor's Guide to Silicon Valley; February 2011
• San Jose State University; Silicon Valley Cultures Project