I'm not sure how to explain this and don't really know whether you guys will have any suggestions at all for me, but here goes:<p>In a few weeks me and my girlfriend will be visiting San Fransisco for a few days. Coming from the Netherlands, and as a founder myself, I've always been mesmerized by the entrepreneurship and technological novelties that have their origins in the fabled 'Bay Area' in California.<p>So, I was wondering whether it would be possible to somehow catch a glimpse of all this. Maybe just drive around to see the offices of industry-giants like Google, Apple, Facebook, etc. Realizing there might be very little to see on the outside, and reckoning there's not anything like a visitor-centre for folks like me, my question to HN is simple: would it be possible for a tourist like me to experience maybe just a tiny bit of the world-famous Silicon Valley? If you think so, what are your suggestions?
Yes, you can absolutely experience SV on your trip ... quite a bit actually.<p>Use Plancast and Meetup to be on the look out for startup events to attend. That's the real benefit of the valley—there is a high concentration of like-minded entrepreneurs. Go to as many events as you can. The relationships you form can be taken with you back home.<p>If you want to meet up for lunch or need further guidance, shoot me an email: dru@druwynings.com<p>-dru
Definitely stop by the Computer History Museum. It's a shame they no longer have the Babbage engine, but there's maybe 2 hours worth of coolness there.
If you need to do some work while you're here, you can also check out the Hacker Dojo in Mountain View, CA. They have co-working facilities (for free) and also hold events on occasion:<p><a href="http://wiki.hackerdojo.com/" rel="nofollow">http://wiki.hackerdojo.com/</a>
You can look at the HP garage:
<a href="http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/garage/" rel="nofollow">http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/garage/</a><p>It is here:
<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=367+Addison+Avenue,+Palo+Alto,+CA&sll=33.99561,-118.430237&sspn=0.015139,0.021286&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=367+Addison+Ave,+Palo+Alto,+Santa+Clara,+California+94301&ll=37.441414,-122.15533&spn=0.007249,0.010643&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.442886,-122.154468&panoid=eH3FaXipstz5SgCYQUTQtw&cbp=12,314.5,,1,7.02" rel="nofollow">http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&...</a>
I'm from Europe and was able to have a great week in SF. But I planned my trip around some events that were happening, and luckily managed to arrange a visit with Reddit and ICanHasCheezBurger. Maybe try contacting some interesting startups?
There is nothing to experience in Silicon Valley. It's a bunch of office parks in the suburbs. San Francisco on the other hand seems to have been designed for tourism. Marin County is great if you like the outdoors.
For sightseeing, most of SV is nondescript -- office parks, suburbia, strip retail. It's just the concentration of recognizable tech names, and a few signature campuses, that will catch your eye.<p>In the valley, the Computer History Museum, the Stanford Campus (and nearby Palo Alto), Fry's Electronics (especially the flagship store in Sunnyvale), and Weird Stuff (also Sunnyvale) could be worthwhile stops to get the regional vibe.<p>The recommendation to look up overlapping events and attend those is a good one: their frequency and quality is one key to the tech scene.<p>In San Francisco, a walk around the Moscone Conference Center area will get you a feel for where decades of tech conferences have happened. A couple blocks away is the SF Apple Store -- though nowadays Apple's stores elsewhere are larger and more distinctive. A few blocks in the other direction from Moscone is a very high concentration of software/media/social startups (SOMA/South Park/etc.), though the buildings are mostly nondescript. The Presidio in north SF is park-like, along the bay with great views of the Golden Gate, and features Lucasfilm/Lucasarts offices, with statues of pioneers of movies, TV, and the Force.<p>Not precisely 'silicon valley', but still part of the bay area science/tech/startup scene, the Berkeley campus area across the bay is also a nice stop for many.