I'm from the UK and will be visiting SF for a week in April. Is it worthwhile to heading down to Silicon Valley to check it out?<p>I'm aware a lot of the area is simply large business parks, and companies won't let you just wander into their offices uninvited. These are places of work after all, not tourist attractions.<p>Having said that...<p>Is it worth trying to get a tour of the Googleplex? Or trying to get a tour of other headquarters (Facebook/Apple)? Or a tour of Stanford? Is there anything else worth seeing?<p>I will not have a car either, but suppose I could hire one for the day if it was necessary.<p>Other suggestions welcomed!<p>EDIT: If any Google/Apple/Facebook employees can snag me a tour I'd be greatly appreciative, email in profile.
Rent a car (you'll need one) and head down to walk around Stanford's beautiful campus, then have a coffee in Palo Alto before heading over to see Google's campus and shoot some pics. Then off to nearby Cupertino to buy some goodies at the company store in Building One. Not much else to see in the Valley I'm afraid.
It is possible to take the train down to Palo Alto from SF, rent a bike from the bike share system, take a leisurely ride down Palm Drive and around Stanford campus (2-5 miles along bike paths) and then back to Palo Alto for coffee (or something else tasty). Coupa Cafe is a good place for coffee, as ulfw mentioned.<p>If you want to tour one of the big companies, find a friend/acquaintance/recruiter, and catch lunch. These companies compete on quality of meals...<p>Also, if you're going to rent a car, I highly recommend visiting some Redwoods. The best around are in Big Basin about an hour south of SV. There are also some just north of SF in Muir Woods.
I could only vaguely remember my time in San Francisco due to the fact that I was only three years of age, but that didn't stop my parents from taking me everywhere within the city. Although I may have not recalled any of the visits, after we had moved out of Cali, I always hear how we should've toured Stanford and what a great opportunity we had. Don't miss that opportunity! Schedule a tour of the campus, I'm sure you'll be glad you did.
This is probably old news, but if you haven't already read Steve Blank's Vistors Guide to Silicon Valley, i'd recommend it before your trip.<p><a href="http://steveblank.com/2011/02/22/a-visitors-guide-to-silicon-valley/" rel="nofollow">http://steveblank.com/2011/02/22/a-visitors-guide-to-silicon...</a>