Eye care and optical shops in Palo Alto

Palo Alto has an unusual number of independent eye care businesses for a city its size. A downtown optical shop has been selling frames since 1953, several optometrists have practiced in town for 30 years or more and Stanford runs a large ophthalmology center in the city. National chains are here too, mostly on University Avenue and at the shopping centers.

This guide groups eye care providers by area. Each one links to its page in our business directory, with hours, phone numbers and the sources we checked. We do not review, rank or compare providers on quality and we do not list prices. The one-line descriptions summarize what each business says about itself. This page is not medical advice. If you have sudden vision changes, eye pain or an eye injury, contact a doctor right away or call 911 in an emergency.

Optometrists, ophthalmologists and opticians

Three professions share eye care and the titles are easy to mix up.

• Optometrists (O.D.) are Doctors of Optometry. They perform routine eye exams, prescribe glasses and contact lenses and diagnose and manage many common eye conditions. Most neighborhood eye exams are with an optometrist.
• Ophthalmologists (M.D. or D.O.) are medical doctors who specialize in eye disease and perform eye surgery. You usually see one through a referral.
• Opticians fit and dispense glasses and sometimes contact lenses from a prescription. Many optical shops are run by opticians and some have an optometrist on site or next door.

Vision insurance and medical insurance work differently for eye care. A vision plan such as VSP or EyeMed usually covers routine exams and part of the cost of glasses or contacts. An eye problem such as an infection or injury may be billed to your medical insurance instead. Ask the office how it will bill your visit and check your plan's network with your insurer before you go.

California Avenue and Birch Street

The streets around California Avenue hold the biggest cluster of optometry offices in town, all within a short walk of the Caltrain station. See our California Avenue guide for parking.

• California Avenue Optometry, 456 South California Avenue. An appointment-only optometry and contact lens practice at El Camino Real, in Palo Alto since 1992. It lists VSP, EyeMed and MES.
• Cambridge Optometry, 2307 Birch Street. A full-service practice with eye exams, contact lenses and a large frame selection. It lists VSP, EyeMed and Medicare and staff who speak English, Spanish, Chinese and Taiwanese.
• Palo Alto Vision, 109 California Avenue, Suite D101A. An independent practice offering eye exams, contact lens fittings, Ortho-K and medical eye visits. It accepts VSP and says it no longer accepts EyeMed.
• Palo Alto Eyeworks, 461 California Avenue. An independent optical shop run by a registered optician, selling eyeglasses and contact lenses since 1992.

Downtown and University Avenue

University Avenue and the side streets around it mix long-running independents with national eyewear brands. Our University Avenue shopping guide covers the rest of the street.

• Palo Alto Eyes Optometry, 540 University Avenue, Suite 110. An optometry office serving Palo Alto since 1983, with eye exams, contact lenses, myopia care and eyewear. It lists VSP.
• Lee Optometrics, 231 Hamilton Avenue. A family optometry office and eyewear boutique downtown since 2006, with eye exams, contacts and myopia management. The office says it takes contact by text or email for now.
• Peninsula Optical, 415 University Avenue. An independent optical shop established in 1953, selling designer eyeglass frames, lenses and sunglasses from Tuesday to Saturday.
• LensCrafters, 270 University Avenue. The chain's tech-focused flagship, opened in July 2022, with eye exams, designer frames and digital try-on tools.
• Site for Sore Eyes, 460 University Avenue. A store from a Northern California eyewear chain with designer frames and eye exams by an independent optometrist.
• Warby Parker, 555 Ramona Street. An eyewear store in a Birge Clark building selling glasses, sunglasses and contacts. It does not offer eye exams at this location.

El Camino Real and Town & Country Village

• Wilby Optical by Alexander Daas, 855 El Camino Real, Suite 103. An optical shop at Town & Country Village dating to 1957, now run by Alexander Daas, with eye exams, an on-site lens lab and designer frames. It lists VSP, EyeMed and most other plans.
• Lux Eyewear, 1805 El Camino Real, Suite 100. An independent optical shop with an in-house lens lab. Eye exams are next door at Palo Alto Eye Group.

The Town & Country Village guide has a map of the center and its parking.

Midtown and Stanford Shopping Center

• Uber Eyes Optometry of Palo Alto, 2750 Middlefield Road. An optometry office and optical boutique in Midtown since 2009, with a focus on specialty contact lenses. It lists English and Mandarin.
• Prospectacles Optometry, 605 Stanford Shopping Center. An optometry office and eyewear shop with eye exams, contact lens fittings and designer frames. It is part of AEG Vision and lists VSP, EyeMed and most plans.
• Sunglass Hut, 660 Stanford Shopping Center, Space 608. The chain's store for designer and sport sunglasses, with complimentary in-store repairs.

Our Stanford Shopping Center guide covers parking and store locations.

Stanford's Byers Eye Institute

For medical and surgical eye care, Stanford Health Care runs the Byers Eye Institute at 2452 Watson Court in Palo Alto. It brings ophthalmology subspecialty clinics, imaging and a refractive eye laser center under one roof. Stanford also lists Byers sites in Livermore and Portola Valley. Many patients come through a referral from an optometrist or primary care doctor. Ask your insurer whether you need a referral and whether Stanford is in your network. The general appointment line is 650-723-6995.

Sutter Health's Palo Alto Medical Foundation lists an eye-related treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration at its Palo Alto Center on El Camino Real. If you are a PAMF patient, ask your primary care doctor about eye referrals within the Sutter system. Our healthcare guide explains how Stanford and Sutter differ.

Eye care for children

Several Palo Alto optometrists list myopia management for children. Palo Alto Eyes Optometry lists myopia care, Lee Optometrics lists myopia management and Palo Alto Vision lists Ortho-K, a method that uses overnight contact lenses. Ask any office whether it sees young children and what ages it treats. Your pediatrician can also tell you when a child should have a first full eye exam.

Practical tips

• Bring your current glasses and contacts to an exam, along with the boxes or prescription for your lenses.
• Ask for your prescription. You can take a glasses prescription to any optical shop. Contact lens prescriptions include extra fitting details.
• Check exam availability. Not every eyewear store has an optometrist. Warby Parker on Ramona Street does not offer exams.
• Plan for dilation. Some exams include drops that blur vision for a few hours. Bring sunglasses and consider not driving yourself.
• Check closures. Several independents close on Sunday and Monday. Our directory lists the hours each office published.

Frequently asked questions