Santa Clara has plenty of sights and attractions for visitors who come to the area for business or pleasure. Being at the heart of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara has a number of events and places to go that are internationally known.
California's Great America
California's Great America is Northern California's best known amusement park. The rides and activities in the park is varied enough to cater to all tastes and even in some cases ages. Extreme rides that are pure speed and adventure like Flight Deck and Vortex will get your heart pounding. Need something a little slower? Try the Carousel Columbia or Barney Oldfield Speedway.
Planet Snoopy is for the die-hard Snoopy fan, especially if he or she is a kid. See Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, and Sally or take a ride through the park. Need more to entertain the kids? Try KidZville a big, busy town built just for kids. This small town has 18 rides and attractions for parents and kids to enjoy together.
Boomerang Bay the Australian-themed Beach Club gives guests the best water play.
There’s live entertainment, special events such as the Halloween Haunt that is known for its frights.
To get discounted tickets for Great America, go to the city of Santa Clara’s website.
San Jose Sharks
A trip to San Jose to see the San Jose Sharks is a must for the hockey fan or if you just want to catch some non-stop action. When the puck hits the ice, the speed, agility and sheer adrenalin makes hockey a sport that feels more like combat.
The HP Pavilion environment is the Bay Area’s best arena for a hockey experience. It is well run by an efficient staff and has many amenities to make the experience the best it can be. It has been consistently ranked as one of the best arenas in the United States. HP Pavilion’s clean, friendly and convenient venue is ideal for entertaining friends, clients and family.
Intel Museum
A trip to Santa Clara is not complete if you love museums and technology unless you visit Intel Museum. The Intel Museum, owned and operated by Intel Corporation, exhibits Intel corporate history, innovations, technologies and branding in an interactive and educational manner. Special exhibits and presentations let you explore Intel® technology first hand. Children will be entertained with the many interactive exhibits. Some examples are, children can write their names in binary code, learn how different size files move over a network, or try on a bunny (cleanroom) suit.
If you want to pick up Intel memorabilia, you can at the Intel Museum store which has a wide selection of merchandise, educational kits, and Intel branded items.
Intel Museum is located at the computer giant’s headquarters and is open 9:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays.
Shoreline Amphitheatre
Chances are if you are visiting Santa Clara, your favorite musician may be performing at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. If you are a resident, then it is only a matter of time before you can see your favorite artist. The Shoreline Amphitheatre is a large outdoor concert venue that has a capacity of 22,000 seats, including lawn seats. It was built from 1985-1986 and the structure resembles that of Grateful Dead’s “steal your face” image.
The Shoreline Amphitheatre is an ideal venue for festivals, concerts, comedy shows and other kinds of gatherings. Popular festivals are the 4th of July celebration, Mayhem Festival, Lollapalooza, Ozzfest, and almost all of the hottest concerts in town. Good sound, wide screens for close up viewing, and well-run operations have made it a popular venue for watching live concerts. Security is tight, no alcohol is allowed into the premises. You may bring plastic water bottles.
To get discounted tickets for the Shoreline Amphitheatre, go to the city of Santa Clara’s website.
Shrine of Our Lady of Peace
The Shrine of Our Lady of Peace is a 32- foot stainless steel sculpture at the shrine is a reminder to parish and visitors to work and pray every day for peace. The Shrine of Our Lady of Peace is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 2800 Mission College Boulevard, Santa Clara, CA 95054. (408) 988-4585
Winchester Mystery House
This amazingly beautiful, but bizarre 160-room Victorian mansion was built by Mary Winchester, the Winchester heiress. 525 South Winchester Boulevard, San Jose 95128. (408) 247-2000. To get discounted tickets for Winchester Mystery House, go to the city of Santa Clara’s website.
De Saisset Art Museum – Located on the campus of Santa Clara University, this free museum houses one of the most highly regarded collections of fine art in the South Bay Area. An extensive permanent collection and a rotating exhibit keeps art lovers coming back here.
San Jose Museum of Art – Founded relatively recently, in 1969, the San Jose Museum of Art started as a gallery and collection of art and remains today close to its roots of exhibiting art. Visit the galleries of the museum to see one of the most unique collections of artworks in any South Bay museum.
Happy Hollow Park and Zoo – Happy Hollow has been pleasing children and parents alike for decades with a petting zoo and outdoor park complete with educational exhibits, interactive learning and play activities, animals, and a miniaturized train for the little ones. This amusement park was created just for children and will delight your little ones.
Nearby Attractions
Just a short distance away from Santa Clara, there are several day trips to some fun and often adventurous places.
The Children's Discovery Museum is one of the nation’s largest museums dedicated to educating and promoting discovery for children. With more than 150 interactive exhibits about daily events, science mysteries and fun every day facts to explore, children from all over the Bay Area come to visit the museum. 180 Woz Way, San Jose, CA 95110. (408) 298-5437
Lick Observatory is located on 4,209 foot Mount Hamilton. This University of California observatory is 30 miles southeast of Santa Clara. The Observatory offers a public program at sunset in the summer called the Summer Visitors Program where visitors can view space through the 36-inch Great Lick Refractor and Nickel 40-inch Reflecting Telescope. Speakers present lectures for visitors. Children under the age of 10 are not allowed to participate at the Summer Visitors Program for safety reasons. Find out more about Public programs by calling (408) 274-5061.
NASA Ames Exploration Center features rotating exhibits of artifacts from space missions and demonstrations of research equipment, including the human centrifuge and flight simulator. The Center is open from Tuesday through Sunday and is located at Moffett Field, Mountain View, CA 94035. (650) 604-6274
Raging Waters San Jose is the area’s largest water park with water slides, family play areas and a 350,000 gallon wave pool. Raging Waters is open May through September and is located at Tully Road, Lake Cunningham Park, San Jose, CA 95148. (408) 238-9900
Roaring Camp Railroads is 40 minutes from Santa Clara. An 1880's steam train takes you to the top of Bear Mountain or to the ocean at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. At Christmas time a caroling and Yule time ride is available that takes you past the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Roaring Camp is located off Highway 17 at Mt. Herman Road, P.O. Box G-1, Felton, CA 95018. (831) 335-4484
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center is the world-famous 426-acre research laboratory run by the U.S. Department of Energy. You can take a guided tour, which includes a lecture, slide presentation and a walkthrough the experiments. SLAC is located at 2275 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025. (650) 926-8703
The Mountain Winery is a beautiful winery and concert venue at the top of a Saratoga hill. As you wind up the hillside you will get some incomparable views of the Santa Cruz mountains and the surrounding area. 14831 Pierce Road, Saratoga, CA 95070. (408) 741-2822
Attractions in Santa Clara, CA:
Mission Santa Clara de Asis
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
(408)554-4000
California’s Great America
4701 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA 95054
(408)988-1776
Triton Museum of Art
1505 Warburton Ave.
Santa Clara, CA 95050
(408)247-3754
Intel Museum
2200 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95054
(408)765-0503
De Saisset Art Museum
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95050
(408)554-4528
Winchester Mystery House
525 S. Winchester Blvd.
San Jose, CA
(408)247-2000
San Jose Museum of Art
110 S. Market St.
San Jose, CA 95117
(408)294-2787
Happy Hollow Park and Zoo
1300 Senter Rd.
San Jose, CA 95112
(408)277-3000
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