Welcome to San Jose, a city of sunshine, culture and innovation. From vibrant neighborhoods, diverse restaurants and thriving arts to major sporting events and technology leaders, San Jose offers stories waiting to be told. Visit San Jose is your guide to uncovering the people, places that make our city unforgettable. 

Story Ideas

Garage Culture: A Transcendent Force Behind Silicon Valley Technology
 

Innovative beyond belief, Silicon Valley transcends technology. The legacy dates back to 1939 when two Stanford engineers William Hewlett and David Packard founded Hewlett-Packard. HP’s production began in their Palo Alto garage and inspired decades of would-be successors, including two other garage types, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Jobs and Wozniak cemented Silicon Valley’s reputation as the place where revolutionary change blossoms from unassuming places, by creating the first Apple computer in the Wozniak family’s San Jose garage. 

Today, Silicon Valley continues to flourish, as the region is home to tech giants such as Nvidia, Cisco, eBay, PayPal, Adobe, Zoom, and Intel. 
 

Trace Pinot Noir to its California Roots and explore one of the States Oldest  Wine Regions
 

The Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley are two of California’s oldest wine producing regions, dating back to the mid-19th century when grapes were grown in Northern California for commercial use. The region boasts award-winning wines produced by prolific winemakers Etienne Theé, Paul Masson and Paul Draper. 

As a result, the valley brought Pinot Noir vines to California, famed sparkline wine, won best wine at the Judgment of Paris re-enactment and claims the state’s fourth oldest continuously operating winery. From Pinot Noir to Sauvignon Blanc, Silicon Valley’s wine region is quoted by Wine Spectator as the “most underappreciated appellation in the world”.

Trippin’ Out on San Jose’s Counterculture Scene: A Catalyst in Shaping Arts, Culture and Global Change for this Valley and the World
 

Silicon Valley is flush with success stories surrounding technology, but the catalyst behind that success was the Valley’s counterculture. Steve Jobs credits psychedelic experimentation as the most important force behind his vision for Apple. Before Apple, Stanford University was studying mind-expanding experimentation and one of its early subjects was author Ken Kesey, who rallied his Merry Pranksters on a journey named “Furthur” that began historic “Acid Tests”. 

In 1965, the “San Jose Acid Test” was held in downtown San Jose and it coincided with the Grateful Dead’s debut performance, as well as the Rolling Stones concert at San Jose Civic, which still attracts world-class musical artists. The psychedelic counterculture, among other factors, helped spear the tech revolution in Silicon Valley.