San Jose, California

San Jose, California
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Panoramic_Downtown_San_Jose.jpg
Author: XAtsukex


San Jose, located on the southern end of San Francisco Bay, is the third largest city in California, and the tenth largest in the United States. It is also the county seat for Santa Clara County. The city, which sits on the greater San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area, with a population of 7.5 million, is a major location of high technology industries in the United States. It is often called the Capital of Silicon Valley.

Mission Santa Clara de Asis at the Santa Clara University, San Jose
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mission_Santa_Clara.jpg
Author: JaGa


San Jose was founded on 29 November, 1777, and was originally known as El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe. Once a farming town, it experienced rapid growth in the 1950's. Its position as the center of Silicon Valley triggered the highest increase in real estate prices in the country. Between 1976 and 2001, property prices in San Jose rose by 936%.

Despite its importance to the U.S. economy, San Jose sits of the volatile San Andreas Fault, an area seriously prone to earthquakes. Numerous major quakes have rocked the area in the past one hundred years, the last major one happening in 1989.

As with much of the Bay Area, San Jose experiences a Mediterranean Climate. The position of mountains on three sides of the city shelters it from rain, creating a semiarid feel to the city. It gets only a third of the precipitation of the coastal parts of the Bay Areas. Warmest months are July and August, with average high temperature of 84°F (28.9°C). Coolest months are December and January, with average low reaching 41.7°F (5.4°C).

Tower Hall, San Jose State University
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Jose_SU_Tower_Hall.jpg
Author: roarofthefour

Travel to San Jose

By Plane
The Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is the main airport in the Bay Area serving San Jose. It receives direct flights from major cities in the United States. Arriving at the airport, you have the option for leaving it by door-to-door shuttles, hotel shuttles, scheduled public buses, rental cars and taxis. If you plan to do a lot of exploring, I would suggest that you rent a car.

The other two airports are the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Oakland International Airport (OAK).

By Train
The train lines that pass through San Jose are Caltrain, Capital Corridor, Coast Starlight and Altamont Commuter Express.

By Road
Take US Highway 101 or Interstate 280 from San Francisco.

Winchester Mystery House
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Winchester_House_Front.jpg
Author: Ben Franske

Travel within San Jose

Having a car at your own disposal is the most convenient way to explore San Jose. The public transportation in San Jose is mananged by VTA (Valley Transportation Authority). It comprises public buses and some Light Rail (within the Mountain View-Winchester route and Alum Rock-Santa Teresa route). You can buy the all-day pass for $5.

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rc_egyptian_museum.jpg
Author: Zarathustra

Places of Interest in San Jose

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About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.