Hi, everyone! I'm taking my first trip to San Jose soon and want to know what sights I should check out. This is a work-related trip so it will be short and with little free time, but I'm still hoping to squeeze in some fun.

I've taken several trips to the Bay Area so I've seen lots already in San Francisco itself and in the surrounding parts (Napa Valley, Carmel, Monterrey Bay Aquarium, etc.) and as such am not looking for a road trip to the "bigger" stuff nearby; I want to focus on San Jose itself. I don't have a lot of free time in this trip so I'm going to take it easy, but still I'll have at least a half day to do stuff. I've already put the "Winchester Mystery House" on the list... looks neat! Anything else I should do that afternoon? I'll be near the convention center and my free time will be Friday from about noon until evening. Thanks!

(Edited for typo)

is lots of fun. Not sure where it is in relation to the CC. It's in a leafy quiet little residential neighbourhood of SJC (city of proper).

The Winchester Mystery House is fun.

Both of the two recommendations above are good. However, you will need a car for both of them. In fact, San Jose is very spread out and you will likely need a car to get to just above any destination.

The Tech Museum, however, is within walking distance of the CC; it is a hands-on science and technology-type museum. It also has an IMAX. Another pleasant diversion within walking distance is the SJ Museum of Art. It has quite a small collection but occasionally has interesting special exhibits (such as the surfing exhibit last year -- fun, fun, fun) and its small cafe is nice (especially if the weather is nice and you sit outside).

Further afield is the Intel Museum in Santa Clara (car necessary).

Truth be told, there is not all that much to do in SJ, alas.

If you like baseball and the San Jose Giants are in town, go to one of their games. In many ways it's a lot more fun than a major league game - you are much closer to the field, they have a really excellent barbecue with a convenient picnic area, and lots of fun games and promotions between innings.

Thanks, everyone, for the good ideas! As I said, I don't have a lot of time but will still have at least 4-6 hours to kill on Friday so surely I can do something. I won't have a car but will look into bus routes. And for the nearby stuff, a cab shouldn't be that much (for example, the Winchester Mystery House is supposedly about four miles from where I'm staying; terenz, I'll look up the museum you mentioned).

And Jassy, I'll certainly be at the tech museum -- in fact, the reason I'm going is to attend the Association of Science-Technology Centers annual meeting! And Jerry, that's a good tip. Here in Northern Virigina I've done the same. Just a couple of weeks ago I went to a Potomac Cannons (minor league games) and it's about the same as what you describe.

I'm going to be staying near the SJC airport next week and wanted to do a nice bicycle ride (~50mi or so) on tuesday. Are there any recommendations for a place to rent a decent road bike and a good route that offers cool scenery and will keep me off major roadways ? I'm comfortable riding in traffic but would like to avoid any road with 40mph+ traffic and no shoulder.

thanks,
Alan

I have really enjoyed visits to the Tech. Of course, not nearly as expansive as the Exploratorium to the north, but not as overwhelming, either. Just right for a short, interesting visit. I have also been to some interesting theater in San Jose. Again, small and intimate, but always interesting.

There is shopping at Santana Row, another mall across the street, and of course, the mall in Palo Alto.

Don't know how much you like the outdoors or if you like to walk/hike, but Santa Clara County has some beautiful parks and open space preserves if you have the time:

http://www.parkhere.org/channel/0,47...D16344,00.html

I can personally recommend Almaden Quicksilver, Mount Madonna, Rancho San Antonio, Stevens Creek/Upper Stevens Creek and Villa Montalvo for some great walking trails and scenery.

Also:

http://www.openspace.org/default.asp

J Lohr's winery is nearby & there's a tasting room in town (shows where my priorities are!)