Palo Alto

Palo Alto is a bustling suburb in Santa Clara County south of the city of San Francisco. It is adjacent to Stanford University and home to hundreds of Silicon Valley technology companies, ranging from VMware and Hewlett-Packard to tiny startups operating in garages.

Understand
Palo Alto means tall tree in Spanish, and in this case refers to an aging redwood tree at the north end of the city appropriately named "El Palo Alto". The 1080-year-old Coast Redwood, which stands 110 feet (34 m) high and has a base diameter of 90 inches (229 cm), marks a campsite for the Portola Expedition Party of 1769.

While Palo Alto is considered one of the more affluent areas of Northern California, East Palo Alto has a less posh reputation. East Palo Alto is known locally as one of the more dangerous cities in the Bay Area; it is not a town for random sightseeing.

Get in
Accessible by train, bus or automobile from nearby San Francisco (about 25 miles/40 km) and San Jose (about 20 miles/32 km) airports. US 101 is the primary highway access, although I-280 also passes through the western edge of Palo Alto. Palo Alto Municipal Airport, which is a few miles from the center of the city, serves private aircraft.

SFO
The cheapest way to get to Palo Alto from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is to take SamTrans bus KX or 292 to Hillsdale Station and transfer to route ECR for $2.25 + $2.25 = $5.50. A potentially quicker alternative is to take BART from SFO to Millbrae, and then take Caltrain from Millbrae to Palo Alto, which will cost $4.40 + $6 = $10.40. This is more of a hassle than it may seem, as Caltrain doesn't run as frequently as you might like. Check the schedules in advance see Bay Area public transit for more information.

UberPOOL pricing is highly variable, but can drop as low as $13-15 if multiple riders are heading in your direction.

SJC
From the San Jose International Airport (SJC), take the free shuttle bus #10 to get to the Santa Clara Caltrain station. From there take Caltrain to Palo Alto for $6, or VTA bus 522 or 22 to get to Palo Alto for $2.25.

By train
on the Bay Area train route known as Caltrain has convenient access to downtown Palo Alto as well as bus connections, including free Marguerite shuttles to the Stanford University campus.

Caltrain also stops at 2 miles (3 km) away, which is convenient for certain residential areas including some student housing. Service is less frequent than at Palo Alto Station.

By bus
Bus service runs through some major areas within the city. Routes are concentrated around El Camino Real and University Avenue. The Palo Alto Shuttle is free, and serves the otherwise unserved Embarcadero Road corridor, as well as the VA Hospital.

By bus
Stanford University runs free buses, called the Marguerite Shuttle, that transport passengers around the university and stop at the Palo Alto Caltrain station. It is free and open to the public.

By bike
Bike lanes are nearly everywhere and make riding convenient and safe. One of the most prominent lanes runs down Bryant Street and takes you from South Palo Alto to the downtown district, in North Palo Alto.

By car
Palo Alto traffic is not usually very congested, and parking is plentiful everywhere except the downtown area. Municipal parking is free and fairly well dispersed, but usually limited to 2 hours during the business day.

Buy
Palo Alto's main shopping district is on University Avenue, between El Camino Real and Middlefield Road. It is a great long street of shopping, coffee spots, eateries and outdoor dining. Influenced by a college and upscale tech demographic, there is a variety of stores available from the local shop, to a unique designer store. A second, smaller shopping area is on California Avenue between El Camino Real and Alma.



Stay safe
Palo Alto enjoys a very low crime rate, although visitors should take basic precautions against petty crime as with any college town or tourist hotspot. Palo Alto's downtown is home to a small number of homeless people and beggars, but they are much less visible than their counterparts in Berkeley.

The city of East Palo Alto and the unincorporated area of North Fair Oaks suffer from high crime rates and should be avoided or traversed quickly. In East Palo Alto, there are many perfectly decent shops and restaurants, but it is best to know where you are going and not to wander aimlessly.

Connect
Downtown Palo Alto, along University Avenue, has free Wi-Fi.


 * Apple Store, 451 University Avenue. All the computers are on Wi-Fi and free to use.
 * Palo Alto Cafe, 2675 Middlefield Road. Has a free Wi-Fi hotspot.
 * Palo Alto's Downtown Wi-Fi Internet Hotzone
 * The Stanford Marguerite Shuttle is free to use and has free Wi-Fi on board.

Go next
Palo Alto is a good base of operations for visiting both the Silicon Valley and San Francisco, as it is halfway between that city and San Jose.

Trips to San Francisco on Caltrain leave frequently and stop just south of downtown. The ride lasts about an hour, and Caltrain's rush-hour Baby Bullets travel the distance even faster. Check out Caltrain schedules, and make sure to buy a ticket before boarding.

To the west, the beautiful Coastal Range provides excellent biking, hiking, and other outdoor sports. Taking Page Mill Road due west will get you, eventually, to Highway 1 on the beautiful peninsula coast (although Highways 84 and 92 are preferable, especially the latter). And Santa Cruz is accessible from Highway 17, Skyline Boulevard (Highway 35 to Highway 9), or beautiful Highway 1.

If you're touring universities, the University of California, Berkeley is just across the bay. Take US-101 north through San Francisco and across the Bay Bridge to I-580 north, exiting University Avenue. Or by public transport, take the Stanford Marguerite shuttle to Caltrain and ride to Millbrae. At Millbrae, switch to BART and ride to Downtown Berkeley. (See 511.org for more).