Three days in Palo Alto

Three days is the right length for a first trip to Palo Alto. It gives you time to see Stanford properly, eat well, get into the hills and still spend a day somewhere else in the Bay Area. Palo Alto makes a good base for that. It sits midway between San Francisco and San Jose, with Caltrain at the edge of downtown and the coast less than an hour over the hills.

This plan puts Day 1 on campus and downtown. Day 2 covers the foothills and the neighborhoods. Day 3 is a day trip of your choice. It assumes you stay downtown and arrive the night before. If you only have one day, use our 24 hours in Palo Alto plan instead. If you have a weekend, a weekend in Palo Alto is built around the farmers markets.

Before you go

• Choose your days. Thursday to Saturday is ideal. The Stanford museums open Thursday to Monday and the Cantor is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The free Marguerite shuttle main lines run on weekdays only.
• Check closures. Hoover Tower's observation deck is closed until January 25, 2027. Memorial Church's maintenance closure ran to October 31, 2026, so confirm hours on Stanford's site.
• Book the day trip early. Filoli uses timed tickets. Big Basin recommends a parking reservation, though it is no longer required. Muir Woods needs a parking or shuttle reservation.
• Decide on a car. You only need one for Day 3 if you head to the coast, Woodside or the redwoods.

Day 1: Stanford and downtown

Morning on campus

Ride the free Marguerite from the Palo Alto Transit Center up Palm Drive, or walk it in about 25 minutes. Start at the Oval and the Main Quad, then follow our self-guided campus walk past Memorial Court, the Quad arcades and White Plaza. Plan to spend the late morning at the Cantor Arts Center and the Anderson Collection on Lomita Drive. Both are free. The Rodin Sculpture Garden next to the Cantor holds one of the largest collections of Rodin works outside Paris.

Afternoon on campus

Eat on campus or head back to town. Afterward, choose one of three stops: the Arizona Cactus Garden beside the Stanford Mausoleum, the Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden near Roble Hall or a loop of Lake Lagunita. Each is free and quieter than the Quad.

Evening downtown

Walk down Palm Drive at golden hour. Have dinner downtown at a place such as Evvia on Emerson Street or Tamarine on University Avenue. End at the Stanford Theatre for a classic film, or at Salt & Straw for a late scoop.

Day 2: hills, neighborhoods and the bay

Early hike

Start early on the Dish, a paved loop of about 3.5 miles through Stanford's foothills with wide views over the bay. The main entrance is at Stanford Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard. Dogs and bikes are not allowed. There is almost no shade. If you want dirt trails or are traveling with a dog, go to Pearson-Arastradero Preserve instead. It is open every day and leashed dogs are welcome.

Late morning in Midtown and California Avenue

Head to California Avenue, Palo Alto's second main street. Its blocks near El Camino Real are permanently car-free. On a Sunday the farmers market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. year-round. Grab coffee at ZombieRunner and lunch at Terún for Neapolitan pizza or Zareen's for Pakistani and Indian plates. The California Avenue Caltrain station is at the end of the street.

Afternoon options

• Professorville and the HP Garage. Take the train one stop back to downtown and walk to 367 Addison Avenue, where Hewlett-Packard started in 1939. Continue to Gamble Garden on Waverley Street.
• With kids. The Junior Museum and Zoo on Middlefield Road closes at 4:30 p.m. from November 1, 2026. Book a timed slot and let the kids run in Rinconada Park next door afterward.
• Tech history. Drive or ride to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, about 15 minutes south. Our museum guide covers hours and tickets.

Sunset

Finish at the Baylands Nature Preserve at the end of Embarcadero Road. The boardwalk and levees are free and open until sunset. Dinner afterward can be downtown or back on California Avenue.

Day 3: choose your day trip

Pick one of these four. Each fills a full day and gets you back for dinner.

Option A: San Francisco by train

This is the easiest choice and needs no car. Take an express Caltrain from Palo Alto station to Fourth and King. On weekdays the express takes about 40 minutes and a local about 50. It is a three-zone trip. The adult fare was $8.50 in October 2026 and rises to $9.00 on January 1, 2027. From Fourth and King, walk north along the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building for lunch, then continue to North Beach, Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf. Alcatraz closed on October 26, 2026 for dock repairs and was expected back by mid-November, so check before you plan around it. Our San Francisco day trip guide has a full plan. If you would rather let someone else handle the route, browse San Francisco tours that start near the waterfront. Check the last train south before dinner.

Option B: Half Moon Bay and the coast

Drive over the hills on Interstate 280 and Highway 92, about 40 to 50 minutes. Walk part of the Coastside Trail, which runs about 3 miles along the state beaches. Have lunch in town or at Pillar Point Harbor. The water is cold all year and has strong rip currents, so admire it from the sand. Our Half Moon Bay guide covers the stops. You can compare rental cars if you did not drive in.

Option C: Filoli and Woodside

Filoli, at 86 Cañada Road, is a 1910s country house with 16 acres of formal gardens on a 654-acre estate. It is about 20 to 25 minutes away. Tickets are timed, so book ahead. Pets are not allowed. Pair it with lunch in Woodside village. See our Filoli guide.

Option D: the redwoods

For tall trees, Big Basin Redwoods State Park is open for day use with recommended parking reservations, though its main campgrounds remain closed. Closer groves in the Santa Cruz Mountains take less driving. Our redwood forests guide compares them.

Getting around over three days

Days one and two need no car. Downtown, Palo Alto station and the Main Quad sit within about a mile of each other. The free Marguerite shuttle covers Palm Drive and the campus loop on weekdays. Caltrain links Palo Alto and California Avenue stations in a few minutes, which makes the hop to Cal Ave for lunch easy. For the Dish, the Baylands or the Computer History Museum, a short rideshare or a Waymo is simpler than walking. Palo Alto has no bike share, but if you bring your own bike, the city's quiet bike boulevards connect most of these stops.

Day three decides the car question. San Francisco is easier by train than by car, since parking in the city is scarce. The coast, Filoli and the redwoods all need wheels. If you rent for just that day, check whether an agency near your hotel saves a trip back to the airport. On a summer weekend, leave by 9 a.m. to beat the traffic over the hills.

Where to stay for three nights

Stay downtown or close to Palo Alto station. You can walk to dinner every night and reach the train without a car on Day 3. Friday and Saturday nights are often cheaper than midweek at business hotels, which makes a Thursday to Sunday trip good value. Book early if your dates fall near Stanford commencement or a home football game, then compare hotels in downtown Palo Alto.

Frequently asked questions