San Jose, California’s third-largest city, has a larger population than San Francisco yet remains relatively overlooked.
It is also closer to the companies that define Silicon Valley. Think of it as the valley’s capital — a city more important than its low profile suggests.
I visited earlier this month for San Jose Jazz Summer Fest. Founded in 1990, the three-day festival filled the immensely walkable downtown with jazz and other music. Stages rose in the shadow of the Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph — St. Joseph being the English translation of San Jose — and near the Romanesque former post office, which now houses the modest San Jose Museum of Art.
The Spanish Colonial Revival post office that replaced it in 1933 is equally notable. Facing St. James Park, the building recalls an era when public architecture was expected to be beautiful.
St. Joseph isn’t San Jose’s only cathedral. Near the 1933 post office stands the humbler Carpenter Gothic-style Trinity Cathedral, built in 1863 as a parish church and now the seat of the Episcopal (Anglican) bishop of El Camino Real. Unlike St. Joseph, which welcomes visitors daily, Trinity appears to open only for regular services. Catty-corner across St. James Park is another Romanesque landmark: First Unitarian Church.
Downtown may be largely devoid of retail — admittedly, a familiar problem in American city centers — but it’s hardly lacking in places to eat. Restaurants range from old-school Original Joe’s to Il Fornaio inside the Westin. The hotel occupies the former Sainte Claire, the sort of early-20th-century downtown hotel every decent-sized city once had before generic chains came to dominate.
For something more casual, head to San Pedro Square Market, which has been transformed into a food hall with more than 20 bars and eateries. Next door, the Peralta Adobe dates to 1797 and is San Jose’s oldest surviving building.
Retail, meanwhile, has migrated to Santana Row. It is essentially an outdoor mall dressed in a streetscape vaguely evocative of Spain or Italy. Some will dismiss it as pastiche. It reminded me of Las Colinas in the Dallas suburb of Irving: manufactured, yes, but not unenjoyable. I enjoyed the people-watching over a meal at Augustine, where coastal California cooking meets French and Italian influences.
Two short drives expose a different San Jose. Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve has miles of trails in the foothills. I went every day. Moving within minutes from concrete and asphalt to hills with sweeping views across Santa Clara Valley is a remarkable luxury.
In the opposite direction, Alamitos Vineyards offers laid-back tastings and extraordinary views. The drive passes settlements that grew around 19th-century mining. The treasure here wasn’t gold but mercury, or quicksilver, indispensable to extracting gold elsewhere.
The city’s best-kept secret might be the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. It has more than 4,000 artifacts, constituting the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities on exhibit in western North America. A museum of this caliber is unexpected here.
No visit to San Jose is complete without the Winchester Mystery House. Sarah Winchester, widowed heiress to the firearms fortune, expanded a farmhouse into a sprawling Victorian mansion from 1886 until her death in 1922. The tour leans into commercialized myth that is unsupported by the historical record. Still, it’s worth seeing for the architecture and craftsmanship.
If you go
Combine the Egyptian museum with a picnic at the nearby 6-acre Municipal Rose Garden, home to more than 4,000 rose shrubs representing 189 varieties.
Strata, opposite the postmodern San Jose City Hall and Civic Plaza, is another good restaurant choice.
Consider staying at Hotel Valencia, an upscale boutique anchoring Santana Row. For a downtown hotel, the cookie-cutter Marriott will not disappoint because you know what you’re getting.
The next San Jose Jazz Summer Fest is scheduled for Aug. 13-15, 2027.
San Jose’s airport, named after Norman Mineta, a former mayor, congressman and cabinet secretary under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, is served by all the major airlines. You’ll need a rental car if you plan to hike at the Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve or visit Alamitos Vineyards. Otherwise, getting around San Jose with Waymo, the self-driving robo taxi, is safe, easy and cheaper than riding with Uber.
Trip planning resources are available through the Visit San Jose website.
Dennis Lennox writes a travel column for The Christian Post.
Dennis Lennox writes about travel, politics and religious affairs. He has been published in the Financial Times, Independent, The Detroit News, Toronto Sun and other publications. Follow @dennislennox on Twitter.
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