11 Top Things To Do In San Jose

Being the third-largest city in California, San Jose is an interesting place to visit, packed with endless tourist attractions. That, coupled with San Jose’s sunny, mild weather, will make your experience in the city phenomenal.

San Jose is the technology hub of the Bay Area and the Silicon Valley, but just because it’s home to many high-tech industries doesn’t mean it’s boring. The city has a long history of culture, art, and diversity to be explored. We want to share with you 11 things to do in San Jose, especially if it’s your first time.

» You might like Best Ways to Get From San Jose to San Francisco Airport.

» Looking for more inspiration along the route? Check out all our guides to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Diego. Find the best beaches in Monterey, waterfalls in Southern California, and national parks.

Great Things to do in San Jose

#1 San Jose Museum of Art

Address: 110 S Market St, San Jose, CA 95113, USA

If there’s only one thing you need to do in San Jose, it would be to visit the spectacular San Jose Museum of Art. You can find modern and contemporary art there, making it a great place for art lovers of different tastes to feast their eyes on the beauty of the masterpieces.

San Jose Museum of Art was founded in 1969 and is located on South Market Street. The museum was designated a California Historic Landmark and listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The museum has a stunning permanent collection of 2,500 pieces and some temporary exhibitions that change from time to time.

It’s in a structure is a large Romanesque Revival building near Plaza de César Chávez that was originally constructed as the San Jose post office in 1892 and used as the city library from 1937-1969. 

The museum contains various media forms, such as drawings, paintings, sculptures, and photography by talented artists like Dale Chihuly, Joan Brown, Richard Diebenkorn, Milton Avery, Robert Arneson, Frederick Spatt, Deborah Butterfield, and Jim Dine.

#2 San Jose Flea Market

Address: 1590 Berryessa Rd, San Jose, CA 95133, USA

Since it opened its doors in 1960, the San Jose Flea Market has been one of the most popular attractions among both locals and tourists in the city. It features 1,000-2,000 vendors who sell all types of goods on the weekends. You’d be surprised to learn that this massive flea market opened with only 20 sellers in the 60s. 

It was originally founded by George Bumb Sr. when he noticed people throwing out usable items. He saw an opportunity. The flea market has a wide range of alleys, aisles, and restaurants with just about anything you can think of.

Whether you’re looking for fruit and vegetables, electronics, clothing, accessories, handmade gifts, fabrics, homewares, antiques, or food made on the spot, you’ll find exactly what you need and sometimes be overwhelmed by the countless, seemingly endless choices. 

The flea market is open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday. There is an admission fee of a few dollars if you don’t park on site, otherwise there is a parking fee.

#3 San Pedro Square Market

Address: 87 N San Pedro St, San Jose, CA 95110, USA

San Pedro Square Market is one of my favorite places because of the great food options. It’s the perfect downtown meeting place for friends, and a great place to stop in if you want to try a bunch of foods that are famous in San Jose. 

You can get the best organic meat from Golden Gate Meat Company, the best oyster from the Hog Island Oyster Company, the best cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, and the best herbs and beans from Rancho Gordo. There are also mouth-watering pastries, aromatic coffees, amazing arts, and beautiful crafts. Plus, the ambiance is always lively and entertaining thanks to varied live music.

#4 Visit Some Wineries

There are quite a few wineries in and around San Jose that are open to visitors for wine tasting. We often make this a part of our itinerary and have been to a number of the wineries in the area. Some that I would recommend visiting in the city are Coterie, J. Lohr, and Travieso.

If you don’t mind going a little outside the city, we enjoy going to Burrell School Winery that is housed in an old one room schoolhouse from the 19th century, and Regale Winery & Vineyards in a beautiful hilltop Tuscan-style villa. They are next to each other about 18 miles south of the city.

#5 Los Gatos Creek Trail

This one is for fellow outdoorsy types who want to enjoy the nice weather and some fresh air. The 9.7-mile Los Gatos Creek Trail runs alongside the Vasona Reservoir, providing hikers with great views.

The entire trail is long, but that doesn’t mean you have to hike the whole thing. There are a few different access points where you can join the trail and go as far as you like before turning around. Maybe start at Oak Meadow Park and walk the 1.2 miles to Miles Avenue.

#6 Winchester Mystery House

Address: 525 S Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128, USA

Winchester Mystery House is something you have to see to believe. Sarah Winchester, once widowed, moved to the 8-bedroom house and dedicated her life to its ongoing construction, which only stopped when she died in 1922.

The Winchester Mystery House is definitely worth your time for the stunning and unique architecture it features. It’s a 24,000-square-foot mansion with 160 rooms, 6 kitchens, 47 stairways and fireplaces, plus numerous other curiosities. The house is also rumored to exhibit paranormal activity.

You need to reserve at least 2 hours to properly see the mansion and its gardens. Buy tickets for a reserved time slot ahead of time. The price is $42 or adults, $35 for seniors, and $22 for children.

#7 SAP Center

Address: 525 W Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA 95113, USA

The San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League were established in 1991, and two years later, they moved to the famous SAP Center. You can watch the Sharks compete in the Western Conference with thousands of Sharks fans from fall to spring at the ‘Shark Tank.’

Not a fan of hockey? Many other concerts and events regularly occur in SAP Center, including Mixed Martial Arts events. The USA Olympic Gymnastics Trials were held there in 2012 and 2016. And your trip to the city should involve attending one of the events that frequently occur at the SAP Center.

Make sure to check out the Plaza de Cesar Chavez which is close to the SAP Center. There are beautiful fountains that children play in during the summer months.

#8 Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Address: 1660 Park Ave, San Jose, CA 95191, USA

You don’t have to visit Egypt to enjoy the fascinating, ancient Egyptian artifacts—just head to the magnificent Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose.

Ancient Egypt is the sole focus of the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, situated in California’s Rose Garden neighborhood in Rosicrucian Park. Everything about this museum screams ‘Egyptian’—from the ancient architectural style to the mind-blowing Egyptian artifacts and everything in between!

Once you are finished touring the indoor artifacts make sure to make your way outside to experience the gardens and grounds.  

Without a doubt, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum is one of the few places in San Jose that succeed in giving its visitors a whole ancient Egyptian experience without having to travel over 6 thousand miles for 14 hours in Egypt. 

The museum is only open on the weekends. You can purchase tickets at the door, though they don’t accept cash or you can purchase them online here.

#9 Great America Theme Park

Address: 4701 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara, CA 95054

California’s Great America is a 112-acre amusement park in Santa Clara, just 9 miles from San Jose. It originally opened in 1976 and it now has over 40 rides and attractions, one of the most popular being Gold Striker, which has been featured as a top-ranked wooden roller coaster.

Other run rides include RailBlazer, a single-rail coaster and Flight Deck, an inverted coaster. But these extreme rides aren’t the only reason to go to the park. There’s all kinds of entertainment options, as well as rides for the little ones, and plenty of food stands.

The park is only open on the weekends, and the water park is only open in the summer. You can get tickets here.

#10 Municipal Rose Garden

Address: 1649 Naglee Ave, San Jose, CA

If you like botanical gardens or are especially fond of roses, you should definitely take time to visit the Municipal Rose Garden, which was founded in 1927. It’s literally full of roses. A tour around the grounds will take about 45 minutes and you’ll see all different variety and color of roses.

The whole garden is 5 1/2 acres and contains more than 3,500 plantings and 189 varieties. We were blown away by the peacefulness of the rose garden. It really is worth a visit!

The unique thing about these gardens is that they’re maintained by volunteers. It’s free to get in and it’s open from 8am to sunset every day.

#11 Santana Row

Address: 377 Santana Row, San Jose, CA

One of the best places to walk around and enjoy some shopping in San Jose is Santana Row. It’s a shopping area that has 30 restaurants, 50 shops, a movie theater, and the modern Hotel Valencia.

I had no idea what to expect when I arrived here the first time, and I was blown away by how awesome the area is. It’s only a 6 minute walk to the Winchester Mystery House, which must be experienced.

While it’s mostly high-end shopping and you’ll definitely see your share of luxury cars driving by, there’s still a casual air about it, with outdoor events and street performers. If you don’t know what to do in San Jose, definitely head to Santana Row. You can spend hours there.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Have we convinced you that San Jose is packed with fun and interesting places? Fantastic! We hope you will enjoy going to some or all of these places when you visit San Jose.

Of course, there are many other spectacular destinations in San Jose we didn’t mention on the list, including Children’s Discovery Museum, Intel Museum, Alum Rock Park, History Park, Almaden Quicksilver County Park, Levi’s Stadium and many more.

You can extend your time in the city by adding one of these great things to do to your itinerary.

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September 14, 2023