San Jose, CA

A boundary-pushing Indian restaurant on Santana Row, widely called the city's best new arrival, plating inventive dishes like soft-shell crab with tomato chutney and scallops in peanut salan. Ambitious, modern and genuinely exciting.

A polished Santana Row steakhouse with a buzzy patio, dry-aged cuts and a strong cocktail-and-wine program. The district's reliable special-occasion dinner.

A Japantown stalwart doing comforting, unfussy Japanese home cooking — teriyaki, katsu, udon — with real strength in simplicity. The neighborhood's everyday go-to for decades.

A tiny Japantown sandwich shop turning out some of the best, cheapest banh mi in a city full of them — crackly bread, grilled pork, house pickles. The best lunch deal around.

A family-run Japantown diner that's long been the locals' favorite for hearty home-cooked breakfasts and lunches, with a warm, regulars-greet-you feel. Comfort food without pretense.

A Willow Glen neighborhood favorite for wood-fired pizzas and pastas in a warm, family-friendly room on the district's leafy main street. The reliable, all-ages dinner in the Glen.

A perennially packed Willow Glen restaurant doing seasonal Californian comfort food and a strong brunch, with a from-scratch ethos. The Glen's buzziest table.

A downtown Italian-American institution since 1956, all red booths, tuxedoed servers and an open counter griddling steaks, chops and saucy pastas. A time-capsule meal that hasn't lost a step.

A downtown Jamaican grill beloved for jerk chicken, oxtail and curry goat with rice and peas, generous and full of island flavor. A reliable, soulful change of pace in the city center.

A long-running downtown Vietnamese restaurant that helped define San Jose's huge Vietnamese food scene, with crisp imperial rolls, clay-pot dishes and shaking beef. A local benchmark.

A downtown taqueria near the university, legendary among students for late-night burritos doused in its cult orange sauce. Cheap, fast and a San Jose rite of passage.

An upscale Greek restaurant in Los Gatos doing wood-grilled fish and meats, meze and a deep Greek wine list in a handsome hotel dining room. The valley's standout for Hellenic fine dining.

A cozy Los Gatos wine bar doing globally-inflected small plates and an interesting by-the-glass list, perfect for grazing. A relaxed, grown-up evening on the town's main street.

A lively Campbell small-plates restaurant from a local star chef, doing inventive, globally-roaming shareable dishes with a strong cocktail program. The West Valley's most fun, modern table.

A tiny 1960s drive-in beloved across the city for crisp falafel, shawarma and a cult banana shake, served from a walk-up window. A genuine San Jose institution, no frills attached.

A bright, design-forward local coffee roaster with a popular Santana Row café, doing careful espresso and seasonal drinks. The valley's homegrown alternative to the chains.

California's oldest municipal park, set in a rugged canyon in the eastern foothills with creekside trails, old mineral-spring grottoes and a steep ridge loop with valley views. A wilder escape minutes from the city.

A flat, paved multi-use path tracing the creek from Los Gatos through Campbell toward downtown, popular for walking, running and cycling past parks and percolation ponds. The valley's everyday green spine.

A big hill park on the site of a historic mercury-mining district in south San Jose, with climbing trails past old mine ruins and ridge-top views over the valley. History and a workout in one.

A flat paved path following the river right through the city, linking downtown parks, the airport edge and gardens. The easiest, most central walk or ride in San Jose.

A steady climb from the Lexington Reservoir above Los Gatos to an oak-studded summit with sweeping views over the town and South Bay. A satisfying foothill hike close to the valley floor.

A gentle lakeside park in Los Gatos with flat paths, a little train and pedal boats, ideal for an easy stroll or a family afternoon. The mellow counterpoint to the hill hikes.

A downtown hands-on science and technology museum with interactive galleries, a domed IMAX and design challenges built for Silicon Valley's home turf. The city's top family attraction.

A well-regarded downtown museum of modern and contemporary art in a historic former post office, with strong rotating exhibitions and a Silicon Valley tech-art bent. The city's flagship art space.

A surprising museum housing the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts in the western US, set in an Egyptian-revival complex with a walk-in replica tomb. A genuinely odd, delightful San Jose institution.

A huge purple landmark museum of hands-on exhibits for younger kids — a real fire truck, a creek, a bubble lab — beside the Guadalupe River downtown. One of the best children's museums in the country.

The definitive museum of computing in nearby Mountain View, tracing the machines that built Silicon Valley from the abacus to a working restored 1969 mainframe. Essential context for where you're standing.

The 'Shark Tank,' downtown home of the NHL's San Jose Sharks and a major concert arena, loud and electric on game nights. The city's big-event stage.

The valley's classic amusement park in Santa Clara, with roller coasters, a water park and family rides. A full day of thrills a short drive from downtown.

A historic hillside winery above Saratoga whose open-air amphitheater hosts an intimate summer concert series with valley views behind the stage. A magical place to catch live music.

A downtown food hall and bar in a historic block, with dozens of vendors, a central bar and frequent live music spilling into the plaza. The city center's go-to for casual eating and an easy night out.

A tranquil Japanese-style garden in Kelley Park modeled on Okayama's Korakuen, with koi ponds, arched bridges and waterfalls. A serene, free pocket of calm near downtown.

A downtown comedy club bringing in national touring stand-ups to an intimate dinner-and-drinks room. The city center's reliable adult night out for laughs.

The sprawling, deliberately bizarre Victorian mansion that heiress Sarah Winchester kept building for decades — stairs to nowhere, doors opening onto walls, 160 rooms of architectural riddles. San Jose's most famous, strangest landmark.

One of only three historic Japantowns left in the country, a low-key grid of family-run restaurants, groceries, a tofu maker and a Sunday-spirited community feel. A living neighborhood, not a tourist set-piece.

A beloved 1930s public rose garden with thousands of bushes laid out around a central fountain, a multiple national award-winner. A free, fragrant pocket of calm in a leafy neighborhood.

A grand 1880s Italianate basilica with a frescoed dome anchoring downtown's Plaza de César Chávez, the oldest non-mission Catholic parish in California. The historic heart of the city center.

An upscale European-styled outdoor shopping and dining district of boutiques, restaurants and a lively central paseo, the West Valley's go-to for a polished stroll. Manufactured but genuinely pleasant.

An open-air museum of relocated historic San Jose buildings — a 1920s gas station, an ice-cream fountain, a half-scale electric light tower — connected by a working trolley. A charming, low-key walk through the city's past.

The walkable, leafy main street of an affluent foothill town at the valley's edge — Santa Cruz Avenue lined with boutiques, cafes and restaurants under big trees. The prettiest town stroll in the area.

One of the oldest Japanese-style estate gardens in the Western Hemisphere, terraced into the Saratoga hills with a koi pond, tea house and bamboo grove. A serene, transporting escape above the valley.

Downtown's small South First Area arts quarter, with galleries, indie theaters, murals and the monthly First Friday art walk. The most creative, after-dark corner of the city center.