30 Things to Do in San Jose (2026)
Downtown, Japantown, Santana Row, the hills and the rainy days.
Updated October 2026. Thirty things to do in San Jose, grouped by area so you can do three or four in one afternoon: six downtown, six around Japantown and the Rose Garden, six on the west side, six in the parks and hills, and six for rainy days and evenings. Most are free or under $30.
The short answer: lunch at San Pedro Square Market, the Winchester Mystery House, Japantown on a Sunday morning, sunset from Lick Observatory, and something you made yourself at our studio on N Market Street.
30 things to do in San Jose, by area
Updated October 2026. Prices are what each place publishes this autumn; check before you go.
Grouped by where they are, so you can do three or four in one afternoon instead of driving across the valley for each. Every entry has the same facts: where, what it costs, how long it takes and who it suits.
Downtown and San Pedro Square
The walkable core: food halls, museums and the arena, all within fifteen minutes on foot.
Eat your way through San Pedro Square Market
FreeA covered food hall and courtyard with a dozen-plus counters (pizza, tacos, poke, a bar or two) and live music on weekend evenings. The easiest place in the city to feed a group that cannot agree.
- Where
- Downtown · 87 N San Pedro St
- Price
- Free to enter; most plates $12–20
- Time
- 1–2 hours
- Best for
- Groups, first-time visitors, anyone hungry near downtown.
The Tech Interactive
IndoorHands-on science museum built around Silicon Valley: design a robot, ride the earthquake platform, catch an IMAX film. Adults get more out of it than the name suggests.
- Where
- Downtown · 201 S Market St
- Price
- About $30–35 per adult
- Time
- 2–3 hours
- Best for
- Families, curious adults, rainy afternoons.
San Jose Museum of Art
IndoorA compact modern and contemporary museum on Plaza de César Chávez. One visit takes about an hour, so it fits between lunch and dinner.
- Where
- Downtown · 110 S Market St
- Price
- About $10–15; check for free days
- Time
- 1 hour
- Best for
- Art lovers, a quiet hour downtown.
Christmas in the Park and Downtown Ice
SeasonalFrom late November to Christmas, Plaza de César Chávez fills with decorated trees and lights, and the outdoor ice rink opens nearby at the Circle of Palms.
- Where
- Downtown · Plaza de César Chávez
- Price
- Park free; skating about $20 with rentals
- Time
- 1–2 hours
- Best for
- Families and couples, November to January.
Catch a Sharks game at SAP Center
San Jose's NHL team plays at the arena by Diridon Station from October to April. Even a weeknight game is loud, and San Pedro Square is a ten-minute walk for food after.
- Where
- Diridon · 525 W Santa Clara St
- Price
- From about $40 per seat
- Time
- 3 hours
- Best for
- Sports fans, groups, a big night out.
Tuft your own rug
KraftStoriesOur most-booked San Jose class: pick one of 100+ designs, learn the tufting gun after a short safety briefing, and take your finished rug piece home the same day. Three minutes from San Pedro Square.
- Where
- Downtown · 255 N Market St
- Price
- $89 per person, all materials
- Time
- 2.5 hours
- Best for
- Couples, friends, team events; ages 12 and up.
Japantown and the Rose Garden
One of the three historic Japantowns left in the United States, and the museums and gardens a short drive west.
Walk Japantown
FreeJackson Street and the blocks around it hold bakeries, ramen and izakaya, temples and family shops that have been here for generations. Come hungry and walk it end to end.
- Where
- Japantown · Jackson St and N 5th St
- Price
- Free; meals $15–25
- Time
- 1–2 hours
- Best for
- Food lovers, a slow afternoon.
Japantown Farmers Market
SundaysThe Sunday morning market on Jackson Street: produce, mochi, flowers and hot food. Arrive early for the best of it.
- Where
- Japantown · Jackson St at N 7th St
- Price
- Free to browse
- Time
- 1 hour
- Best for
- Sunday mornings, locals and visitors.
Japanese American Museum of San Jose
IndoorA small museum telling the story of Japanese Americans in the Santa Clara Valley, including the wartime incarceration. Pair it with lunch on Jackson Street.
- Where
- Japantown · 535 N 5th St
- Price
- About $10
- Time
- 1 hour
- Best for
- History lovers, school-age kids and up.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
IndoorThe largest collection of Egyptian artifacts on display in western North America, with a walk-through replica tomb, in a temple-style building set in a quiet garden.
- Where
- Rose Garden · 1660 Park Ave
- Price
- About $15–20 per adult
- Time
- 1.5–2 hours
- Best for
- Families, history fans, rainy days.
San Jose Municipal Rose Garden
FreeFive and a half acres of roses around a fountain, free and open daily. Peak bloom runs from late April through summer.
- Where
- Rose Garden · Naglee Ave and Dana Ave
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 45 minutes
- Best for
- Couples, photos, a picnic.
Repair a bowl with gold: kintsugi
KraftStoriesThe Japanese art of mending broken ceramics with gold seams. You piece a ceramic back together, finish the joins in gold, and hear the idea behind it. A short drive from Japantown.
- Where
- Downtown · 255 N Market St
- Price
- $89 per person, all materials
- Time
- 1.5 hours
- Best for
- Couples, mindful groups, a gift for someone who has everything.
Santana Row and West San Jose
The west side: the famous mansion, the outdoor shopping street and the old mission.
Winchester Mystery House
IndoorSarah Winchester's sprawling Victorian mansion, built without a master plan for nearly forty years, with stairs to the ceiling and doors that open onto walls. Book the guided tour ahead on weekends.
- Where
- West San Jose · 525 S Winchester Blvd
- Price
- About $40–50 per adult
- Time
- 1.5–2 hours
- Best for
- Everyone once; October is busiest.
Santana Row
FreeAn outdoor street of shops, restaurants and wine bars with fire pits and a central green. Best on a warm evening, when the patios fill.
- Where
- West San Jose · 377 Santana Row
- Price
- Free to walk; dinner $25–50
- Time
- 2 hours
- Best for
- Date nights, shopping, a dinner out.
Mission Santa Clara de Asís
FreeThe mission church at the heart of Santa Clara University, with its gardens and the de Saisset Museum next door. Quiet and free.
- Where
- Santa Clara · 500 El Camino Real
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 45 minutes
- Best for
- History lovers, a calm hour.
Hakone Estate and Gardens
One of the oldest Japanese gardens in the Western Hemisphere, on a hillside above Saratoga: koi pond, tea house, bamboo garden. About 25 minutes from downtown.
- Where
- Saratoga · 21000 Big Basin Way
- Price
- About $10–15
- Time
- 1.5 hours
- Best for
- Couples, photographers, slow mornings.
California's Great America
SeasonalThe big theme park in Santa Clara, with roller coasters, a summer water park and Halloween and holiday events. Check the calendar; it closes between seasons.
- Where
- Santa Clara · 4701 Great America Pkwy
- Price
- From about $50 online
- Time
- Full day
- Best for
- Teens, thrill-seekers, families.
A 49ers game or concert at Levi's Stadium
The NFL stadium in Santa Clara, reachable by VTA light rail from downtown. Stadium tours run on non-event days.
- Where
- Santa Clara · 4900 Marie P DeBartolo Way
- Price
- Tours about $30–40; games much more
- Time
- Half day
- Best for
- Sports fans, big groups.
Parks, hills and the observatory
San Jose sits in a bowl of hills, and the best views are a short drive from downtown.
Sunset at Lick Observatory
FreeA winding hour up Mount Hamilton to the University of California observatory, with the whole valley below. The main building is open to visitors most afternoons; summer evening programs sell out.
- Where
- Mount Hamilton · 7281 Mt Hamilton Rd
- Price
- Free to visit; evening programs ticketed
- Time
- Half day
- Best for
- Couples, stargazers, a clear day.
Alum Rock Park
FreeCalifornia's oldest city park: a creek canyon on the east side with old mineral springs, stone grottos and trails up to the ridge.
- Where
- East San Jose · 15350 Penitencia Creek Rd
- Price
- Free; small parking fee
- Time
- 2–3 hours
- Best for
- Hikers, families.
Almaden Quicksilver County Park
FreeOak hills south of the city with miles of trail and the remains and museum of the old mercury mines. Wildflowers in spring.
- Where
- South San Jose · 21785 Almaden Rd
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 2–3 hours
- Best for
- Hikers, history buffs.
Kelley Park: Happy Hollow, History Park and the Japanese Friendship Garden
Three things in one park: a small zoo and rides for young kids, an outdoor village of restored historic buildings, and a koi-filled Japanese garden.
- Where
- Kelley Park · 1300 Senter Rd
- Price
- Garden and History Park free; Happy Hollow about $20
- Time
- 2–4 hours
- Best for
- Families with young kids, a free stroll.
Guadalupe River Park and Trail
FreeA green ribbon through downtown with a paved trail and gardens. Easy to start from the arena or San Pedro Square.
- Where
- Downtown · along the Guadalupe River
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 1 hour
- Best for
- Runners, cyclists, a walk after lunch.
Rancho San Antonio
FreeThe South Bay's favourite hike, in the foothills above Cupertino: climb to the ridge views, or take a flat loop past the working farm.
- Where
- Cupertino · 22500 Cristo Rey Dr
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 2–4 hours
- Best for
- Hikers of every level; go early on weekends.
Rainy days and evenings
For the days it pours, and the nights after dinner.
Paint your own ceramics
KraftStoriesPottery painting without the wheel: choose a ceramic piece and paint it your way, with an instructor on hand for technique. Relaxed, social and good for any age from about eight.
- Where
- Downtown · 255 N Market St
- Price
- $69 per person, all materials
- Time
- 1 hour
- Best for
- Friends, families, a low-key date.
Make a Turkish mosaic lamp
KraftStoriesPress hundreds of glass pieces and beads onto a glass globe in your own pattern, grout it, and take home a working lamp. The class our studios are best known for.
- Where
- Downtown · 255 N Market St
- Price
- $79 per person, all materials
- Time
- 2 hours
- Best for
- Couples, birthdays, anyone who wants a real keepsake.
Children's Discovery Museum
IndoorThe big purple building by the Guadalupe River, with water play, a fire truck and hands-on exhibits built for under-tens.
- Where
- Downtown · 180 Woz Way
- Price
- About $20 per person
- Time
- 2–3 hours
- Best for
- Families with young kids.
Comedy at the San Jose Improv
IndoorA restored historic theatre on S 2nd Street that books touring headliners most weekends. Dinner nearby in SoFA first.
- Where
- Downtown · 62 S 2nd St
- Price
- About $25–50 per ticket
- Time
- 2 hours
- Best for
- Date night, friends' night out.
Opera or a film at the California Theatre
IndoorA restored 1920s movie palace that is home to Opera San José and the spring film festival. The interior alone is worth the ticket.
- Where
- Downtown · 345 S 1st St
- Price
- From about $55 for opera
- Time
- 2.5–3 hours
- Best for
- Couples, culture lovers.
Pour your own soy candle
KraftStoriesPick your scents, blend a fragrance you like, and pour a soy candle in a vessel you keep. One hour, and the easiest class to fit before dinner downtown.
- Where
- Downtown · 255 N Market St
- Price
- $79 per person, all materials
- Time
- 1 hour
- Best for
- Couples, friends, a rainy evening.
Hours, prices and seasons change, and some places need advance booking on weekends; check before you go. Our workshop prices are exact.
Quick answers for San Jose
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