Downtown San Jose

Introduction

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If you are visiting San Jose and only have a limited amount of time in town, you may want to consider saving transportation time and costs by staying within the downtown core. In San Jose’s compact downtown, most everything is within walking distance of each other.

If you live in San Jose, consider being a tourist in your home town: You may be surprised to find that there is much to do downtown.

Getting Here

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From the airport via ground transportation

From the airport via bicycle – This is about a 2.5 mile ride. See this map.

At the airport, take Airport Boulevard heading south.
Take the Guadalupe River Trail from the south end of the airport to Coleman Avenue.
Turn left on Coleman, which quickly turns into Market Street in the downtown core.

From the airport via public transit

Take VTA bus Route 10, the “Airport Flyer”, to the Metro light rail station.
Transfer onto light rail heading south towards Santa Teresa.
Get off light rail in the downtown core at one of the following downtown core stops: St. James, Santa Clara, Paseo de San Antonio, Convention Center, or Children’s Discovery Museum.

By car

By train – The San Jose Diridon station is located in downtown San Jose.

Caltrain
Altamont Commuter Express
Amtrak Capitol Corridor and Coast Starlight

By bus or light rail

Neighborhood Associations for Residents

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Join a neighborhood association to enable you to find out what’s going on in your neighborhood, to network with your neighbors, and to help shape a powerful collective force for action on neighborhood issues. Many San Jose neighborhoods have websites and email lists which enable people to communicate with each other on-line. To see if there is a neighborhood association for your area, use one of the following:

If your area does not appear to have a neighborhood association, then ask your neighbors if they would like to start one. Use the links above to contact other neighborhood associations to get advice for forming your association.

If your area has a neighborhood association which does not appear on the map or list, then please submit information about your neighborhood association to San Jose Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez’s office.

Getting Around

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Here are maps of the downtown core:

San Jose Downtown Association Map
Valley Transportation Authority Map (Requires Adobe Acrobat)
San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau Map

Most locations within the downtown San Jose core area are within walking distance of each other. However, a walk from one extreme of the core to the other may take about 45 minutes (e.g. from the San Jose Diridon train station to the San Jose State University Event Center), so you may sometimes want to consider public transit.

Accomodations

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These hotels and motels are all within the downtown core:

Crowne Plaza – Reviews
Fairmont – Reviews
Hilton San Jose – Reviews
Hotel De Anza – Reviews
Sainte Claire – Reviews
Marriott – Reviews
Montgomery Hotel – Reviews
Ramada Limited – Reviews
Townhouse Motel 475 S. Second St. (408) 295-5558

Dining

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Arts & Culture

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Artsopolis – An arts and culture site which lists many of the events happening in the Silicon Valley. Many of the events take place in the downtown San Jose core.
Camera 12 Cinema – See both art house movies and blockbusters at the flagship of the local independent Camera Cinemas chain.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library – A library as a visitor destination? This collaboration between San Jose State University and the City of San Jose has the following special items of interest for the visitor:

HP Pavilion – A venue for many concerts and special events.
MACLA
Populus Presents – Producer of many downtown events.
San Jose Downtown Association Museums and Galleries Directory
San Jose Downtown Association Performing Arts Directory
San Jose Jazz Society – Produces a number of concerts that are usually held in downtown San Jose.
San Jose Mercury News Events
San Jose State University Event Calendar – Many, but not all, campus events are posted here.
San Jose State University Event Center – Popular artists play here.

Festivals

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Cinco de Mayo
Fiesta Patrias
Metro Fountain Blues Festival
San Jose America Festival
San Jose Jazz Festival
San Jose Mariachi Festival
Tapestry Arts Festival (formerly Tapestry ‘N’ Talent)

Historical Sites

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Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph
De Anza Hotel
Downtown San Jose Historic District
Peralta Adobe and Fallon House
San Jose History Walk
Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
(Note that the header on the destination page incorrectly has the the city "Palo Alto" in it.)
St. James Park

Preface

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If you only have a limited amount of time in San Jose, you may want to consider saving transportation time and costs by staying within the downtown core. In San Jose’s compact downtown, most everything is within walking distance of each other.

For Kids

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Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
Plaza de Cesar Chavez – Young kids love to play here in the fountains.
The Tech Museum of Innovation – A technology museum which provides many hands-on exhibits and an IMAX theater.

Nightlife

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San Jose Downtown Association Nightlife List

Parks

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Guadalupe River Park “is a three-mile ribbon of park land, currently being developed along the banks of the Guadalupe River in the heart of downtown San Jose […]. It is one of the largest urban parks under development in the United States today. […]”
Plaza de Cesar Chavez – Young kids love to play here in the fountains. The park hosts many events.

Spectator Sports

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HP Pavilion – A venue for many special events such as the SAP Open tennis tournament, the HP Pavilion is the home of the following sports teams:

San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League
San Jose Sabrecats of the Arena Football League
San Jose Stealth of the National Lacrosse League

San Jose Grand Prix
San Jose State University – Home of a number of NCAA Division I teams.

Note the Event Center and Aquatic Center are on the main campus and are within the downtown core, but the SJSU Softball Complex, Municipal Stadium, and Spartan Stadium (where the San Jose Earthquakes play) are at SJSU’s south campus are not within walking distance.

Shopping & Services

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San Jose Downtown Association Shopping and Services List

Other San Jose Websites

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