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On November 12Krista Canfield answered the question:
What is the best way to see San Jose in one day?
While some of the locations in downtown San Jose, from the HP Pavilion to a few of the museums and galleries, are within walking distance of each other, your best bet for seeing San Jose in one day is to rent a car while you’re in the area. This ensures you’ll get a good overall feel for all the great experiences the city has to offer, from riding roller coasters at Great America to strolling around beautiful downtown Los Gatos and sampling wine in the Santa Cruz Mountains — plus you can do it all on your own schedule.
Begin your day by fueling up at Psycho Donuts or Stacks, then head to the Santa Cruz Mountains for an afternoon of wine tasting. Once you’ve found a favorite and picked up a bottle or two to take home with you, head to Santana Row to squeeze in a little shopping. Afterwards rejuvenate with a massage at Burke Williams Spa, refuel with a delicious dinner at Blowfish Sushi or the Yard House and if you still have enough energy afterwards, cap off your day with cocktails at Parisian-themed brasserie The Left Bank. -
On November 12Krista Canfield answered the question:
What are the best things to see and do in San Jose?
Here are our picks for the best things to see and do in San Jose:
1. Stroll downtown Los Gatos. This is a wonderfully relaxing way to experience a different side of San Jose and the towns that surround it. Los Gatos has a plethora of local shops perfect for browsing and plenty of restaurants you can stop in for lunch or dinner.
2. Wine Country. Napa and Sonoma tend to get most of the attention when it comes to breathtakingly beautiful wine country, but the Santa Cruz wine region remains a bit of a hidden gem for most tourists — and many locals would love to keep it that way since the lines are shorter, there tends to be less traffic and you rub elbows with fewer wine snobs in the tasting rooms. While the wineries may be a bit farther apart than those in Napa and Sonoma, the drive is lovely and it’s not too far from downtown San Jose by car.
3. Horseback riding. In addition to wine tasting, you may want to experience the Santa Cruz Mountains by horseback. Garrod Farms offers both horseback-riding lessons and easy access to the Cooper Garrod Estate Vineyards, allowing you to kill two birds — exercise and wine tasting — with one stone.
4. Live sporting events. Sports fans will have plenty of live events to choose from throughout the year in San Jose. The NHL’s San Jose Sharks and MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes are probably the area’s best-known teams, but the minor-league baseball San Jose Giants are another outfit worth catching while you’re in town.
5. Live music. The Bay Area is known for a great music scene, and San Jose is no exception. The Mountain Winery is a fantastic venue with awe-inspiring views, while Shoreline Amphitheater is another venue that draws in some fairly impressive bands and performers; it’s also right by Google’s headquarters.
Correspondent
San Jose, CA, USA
Krista Canfield is a Forbes Travel Guide correspondent who lives in San Jose and covers the city for Startle. Canfield works as the senior manager of corporate communications at LinkedIn. She was selected as one of PR News’ 15-to-Watch award winners. In her spare time, she loves to work on freelance writing projects, try on quirky shoes and travel as much as she possibly can.
