• Great America, [9]. Nestled among the office buildings is one of the Bay Area's largest amusement parks. Yes, from their cubicles they can hear you screaming on the roller coasters.

• Santa Clara Golf and Tennis Club, 5155 Stars & Stripes, tel. 408-980-9515.

• San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek Trail. This relatively new bicycle and pedestrian trail currently extends as far south as the intersection of Monroe and San Tomas Expressway (with a planned extension another mile south). The trail follows the San Tomas Aquino Creek north, roughly parallel to San Tomas Expressway, all the way to the bay. It connects to other trails and Sunnyvale's Baylands Park.

• Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, cadet corps, and winter color guard. [10]. Shows are seasonal, and the group tours across the country during the summer.

• Santa Clara Aquamaids synchronized swimming [11]. The group boasts numerous Olympic team members among its alumni.

• Intel Museum, [5], 2200 Mission College Blvd (off Montague expressway, just north of 101). Open Weekdays 9am-6pm; Sat 10am-5pm. Free admission. Learn a bit of local and technological history, and see what it takes to enter a cleanroom. Allow 1-2 hours.

• Mission Santa Clara

• Santa Clara University

• de Saisset Museum 500 El Camino Real (on the Santa Clara University grounds near Palm and Alviso streets) [6], open Tues - Sun 11:00 - 4:00. The museum combines rotating exhibitions with a permanent collection of works by Ernest de Saisset, a 19th century Santa Clara student who studied painting in Paris. Note: Museum will reopen January 16th, 2010 with a preview night on January 15th..

• Agnews Developmental Center, 4030-4070 Lafayette Street (just off the Montague Expressway). The Agnews Historic Park preserves three buildings from the old California Hospital for the Chronic Insane. Founded in 1889, the facility's original buildings collapsed in the "San Francisco Earthquake" of 1906, killing 117 people. The new buildings, including the still-standing auditorium, clock tower and superintendent's residence, are good examples of early twentieth century Mediterranean Revival architecture, heavily influenced by the Arts and Crafts style. The new buildings represented a more modern attitude toward the mentally ill. The smaller buildings with larger windows were designed to comfort and stimulate the mentally ill, rather than imprison them. The state of California moved the last few hundred residents out in the mid 1990's, and sold the campus to Sun Microsystems, who promised to preserve the grounds and buildings, and make the auditorium and executive mansion available for public events. Unfortunately, you cannot get inside to see the very impressive interiors of the buildings, unless you've got a Sun employee badge or are lucky enough to slip in during a meeting or public event. Neither tours nor docents seem to be available. You can visit a small shelter that has public restrooms, as well as historic photographs and information about the hospital.

• Triton Museum of Art [7], 1505 Warburton. Open daily except Mondays. The museum offers a variety of rotating exhibits. Admission to the museum is free; selected classes and special events may require a fee.

• Harriss-Lass Historic Museum, 1889 Market St. Open Sa-Su only, 12PM to 4PM. This 19th century farmhouse has been restored and converted to a museum of local history.

• KoreaTown. Though not yet officially recognized, the area of El Camino beginning at Lawrence Expressway and extending east to San Tomas Expressway is home to many Korean owned businesses, stores, and restaurants.

• Edward Peterman Museum of Railroad History and South Bay Historical Railroad Society [8]. This museum occupies the historical Santa Clara railway depot building near the Santa Clara Caltrain station. It features a variety of historical railroad artifacts and elaborate model railroads at HO and N scales. It is open to the public Tuesday evenings from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm and on Saturdays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Admission is free.

• Santa Clara City Hall. On El Camino at Lincoln Street. The grounds surrounding City Hall include a statue of Santa Clara, fountains, plaques, other public artwork, and a set of flagpoles featuring all the flags that have flown over Santa Clara. City Hall is across the street from the Triton Museum and worth a stroll around the grounds if you are visiting the museum.

• Old Quad. Roughly, this is the area outlined by El Camino Real, Lafayette, Market, and Lincoln streets, and it makes up the old, historical section of the city. Many 19th century homes are well preserved. If you have time, explore this area by bicycle or on foot, and make time to visit the local historical buildings, such as the Harris-Lass museum and the Women's Club Adobe, that are in and around the Old Quad.

Just west of San Jose, Santa Clara is adjacent to San Jose Mineta Airport.

By train

Caltrain stops at Santa Clara Station, on the east side of Santa Clara University. Though Caltrain doesn't really stop at San Jose Mineta Airport, the free Airporter bus shuttles passengers between the airport and the Santa Clara Caltrain station.

The Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) is an Amtrak express train running from the central valley towns of Stockton, Tracy, Livermore and Pleasanton to San Jose. The train stops at the Santa Clara Amtrak station at Lafayette and Tasman, near the Santa Clara Convention Center. Only a few trains run per day. Note that the Santa Clara stop doesn't include a station building, just a platform under an overpass, so plan connecting transportation before you arrive.

Amtrak California's Capitol Corridor train runs between Sacramento and San Jose via East Bay cities such as Berkeley and Emeryville. The Santa Clara stop is the same as the ACE above, with no building. The nearby Diridon station in San Jose is better equipped and includes a building with a ticket counter. It may even be closer to parts of Santa Clara. Read schedules carefully, since some trains include a bus connection.

Light rail and bus. The Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) offers light rail in Santa Clara on the Alum Rock-Santa Teresa and Mountain View-Winchester lines. VTA also offers bus service within and around Santa Clara. Consult the VTA website for schedules, fares, and trip planning. [1].

Rental car. Numerous national car rental chains serve Santa Clara and surrounding cities. Most people living in the area prefer automobiles as their primary means of transportation, and it is likely to be the fastest, although area freeways do get congested during commute hours. Rental cars are available both at the San Jose Airport and at various locations in the city. Throughout most of Santa Clara, public parking is ample and free.

Bicycle. Many city streets are wide and bicycle-friendly with painted bicycle lanes; expressways permit bicycles but have high-speed, heavy traffic that may be uncomfortable, especially for inexperienced riders. Stop by City Hall for a copy of the Santa Clara bicycle map showing recommended bicycle routes. Bicycles should ride on the right side of the road, going the same direction as traffic. Take care when crossing expressway exits and right turn lanes in traffic. Caltrain [2], Amtrak[3], VTA light rail, and VTA buses [4] are all equipped with bicycle racks. If you plan to take a bicycle on area public transit, consult the website of the system(s) you will use for information on locating and using the bicycle racks.

• Westfield Shopping Town at Valley Fair. Probably the largest shopping center in the area and certainly the most successful. Most of it is technically in San Jose, but that is because of the crazy quilt of San Jose's growth. Originally it was two shopping areas, one was a Macy's store with other smaller stores in an open air mall. The other was an Emporium store, two or three blocks away. The present shopping center is now one large building with multiple floors, food courts, and Nordstrom. The Emporium is no longer in business, but Macy's occupies the old store with their men's clothing, kitchen and glassware and some other features. It's good exercise to walk from one Macy's to the other. When Westfield took over Valley Fair, they increased the parking substantially. Building literature says that a previous version of this mall was intentionally built with hard walking surfaces to keep the noise level up. Now, with unique carpeted areas in the main walkways, it is not so noisy.

• Santana Row. Across Stevens Creek Blvd in front of Valley Fair is Santana Row, a newer boutique shopping area with more restaurants, a hotel and other interesting stores (as well as Crate&Barrel, Best Buy, ..) Consider this the Rodeo Drive of Santa Clara/San Jose. There are 70 stores which include: Tiffany's, Gucci, Oakley, Ann Taylor Loft, Ted Baker, Lucy, Urban Outfitter, Diesel, Burberry, and much more. Santana Row also offers apartments and condos above the center. [12]

• Farmer's Market Located in Franklin Square (Jackson Street between Homestead and Benton), the farmer's market runs every Saturday from 9am to 1pm. Besides fresh California fruits and vegetables, the farmer's market usually features live music and foods such as tamales and samosas. Local artists and craftspeople also offer handcrafted goods for sale.

• The Train Shop [13] Located at 1829 Pruneridge (at Winchester). If you are a railroad or model railroad or model train buff, you will enjoy their selection of model trains and railroad books. Open Mon 9:30am-4pm; Tue-Sat 9:30am-6pm. The Train Shop is not open Sundays.

• Trade-A-Book [14], 2740 El Camino Real, (in the Moonlite Center, near Office Depot, cross street is Kiely Blvd.). A small, used book shop specializing in fiction. The selection includes general fiction but emphasizes romance, science fiction, and mysteries.

• Starving Musician

Area restaurants feature foods from cultures all over the world, reflecting the area's diversity. There is no need to eat in the same restaurant, or even the same kind of restaurant, twice.

Shopping Centers

• Rivermark Village

With a supermarket, cafes and specialty stores located along a pedestrian-friendly main street at the south border of the community. Rivermark Village is a 136,000 sq. ft. premier neighborhood shopping center. It features a 65,000 sq. ft. new generation Safeway super market. Restaurants include: Yan Can, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Jamba Juice, Quizno's, Red Robin, Baja Fresh, Prolific Oven, Premier Pizza, and many other shops.

Splurge

• Parcel 104, 2700 Mission College Blvd. (at the Santa Clara Marriott), Phone: (408) 970-6104, [15]. One of the best restaurants in the South Bay is hidden at the ground floor of the Santa Clara Marriott, just off the Great America Parkway at highway 101. The cuisine is a sophisticated example of California cuisine (light dishes, good fish, flavorful fruits and fresh vegetables), combined with Asian influences such as Japanese ingredients. Excellent wines and desserts too. Prepare to spend and enjoy.

Midrange

• Gaesung Tofu, 2089 El Camino Real (at the corner of El Camino Real and Scott, in the strip mall behind the Union 76 station), 248-8638. Among the dozen or so Korean restaurants in Santa Clara, Gaesung is one of the best. Their specialty is the tofu based hot-pot stews of Korea. The restaurant is not entirely vegetarian, but does offer vegetarian dishes.

• Yuki Sushi, 1827 Pruneridge Ave (in the Cedar Tree Shopping Center at the corner of Pruneridge and Winchester), 248-9144 (Fax 260-1988), [16]. Lunch: Tu-Fr 11:30AM-2:00 PM, Dinner: Tu-Sa 5PM-9:30 PM, Su 5PM-9PM. Closed Mondays. A small restaurant with excellent sushi, Yuki Sushi also has specialty rolls with innovative combinations of western and Japanese ingredients. Vegetarian entrees, noodles, donburi and teishoku are also on the menu. The restaurant usually fills up fast. Take-out is available.

• California Noodle House, 1460 Halford Averue (one block south of El Camino, one block west of Lawerence Expressway, in a strip mall across from the Kohl's store), 408 244-9721. [17]. M-Su 10AM-9PM. Good and affordable noodle soups, served in large bowls with different types of meats. Other dishes as well, including iced coffees and teas.

• La Paloma 2280 El Camino Real (at El Camino and Los Padres in a bright yellow building) (408) 247-0990. M-Th 11AM-9:30PM, F-Sa 11AM-10PM, Su 4PM-9PM. Generous portions of Mexican food at a moderate price. A smaller, family-owned restaurant with lively decor. Live entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights may draw crowds. Takeout is available, as is a weekday lunch buffet. Parking may be tight at popular times, but nearby residential neighborhoods have plenty of on-street parking.

• Pizz'a Chicago 1576 Halford Ave (at El Camino, behind the much more visible Fish Market) offers thick, rich Chicago-style pizza.

• Athena Grill 1505 Space Park Dr (near San Tomas and Scott) (408) 567-9144‎. Not open weekends. Delicious, authentic Greek food well worth the trip into what is mainly a business and industrial district. Main dishes come with salads, pita slices, bread, and dips. If you still have room for dessert after their generous portions, try the galaktoboureko, a custard dessert topped with phyllo and syrup.

• Thai Pepper 1045 Monroe St (at Benton, tucked into a shopping center), (408) 984-1931 [18]. Orders are family-style, so you can try several different dishes if you are with others.

• Stan's Donut Shop, 2628 Homestead Rd (in the strip mall at the end opposite the Safeway, across from the library and Central Park). Real donuts, hot and freshly made the old-fashioned way. Stan's is popular with local residents, so it can be crowded in the mornings.