Eyewear in Palo Alto

Palo Alto buys a lot of glasses. Screens are part of almost every job in town and the sun is strong for much of the year, so frames and sunglasses are an everyday purchase rather than an occasional one. The city has a long-running independent optical scene alongside the national chains, with clusters downtown, on California Avenue and at the two big shopping centers.

This page focuses on buying eyewear. It names 15 shops and practices that sell frames or sunglasses, grouped by area, each with a neutral description and a link to its directory listing for hours and contacts. We do not rank stores or discuss prices. For eye exams, contact lens fittings and medical eye care, our eye care guide covers the same businesses from the health side.

Downtown: University Avenue, Ramona Street and Hamilton Avenue

Downtown has six places to buy eyewear within a few blocks, which makes it the easiest area to compare frames on foot.

• Peninsula Optical: an independent optical shop at 415 University Avenue, established in 1953, selling designer eyeglass frames and sunglasses from Tuesday to Saturday.
• LensCrafters: the chain's tech-focused flagship at 270 University Avenue, opened in 2022, with eye exams, designer frames and digital try-on tools.
• Site for Sore Eyes: the University Avenue store of a Northern California eyewear chain, with designer frames and eye exams by an independent optometrist.
• Warby Parker: the eyewear brand's store at 555 Ramona Street in a Birge Clark building, selling glasses, sunglasses and contacts, with no eye exams on site.
• Lee Optometrics: a family optometry office and eyewear boutique at 231 Hamilton Avenue, downtown since 2006.
• Palo Alto Eyes: a downtown optometry office at 540 University Avenue, serving Palo Alto since 1983, with exams, contact lenses and eyewear.

LensCrafters opened its Palo Alto store on July 1, 2022 as the brand's fourth flagship, according to the trade publication Vision Monday. It was built with digital screens, a virtual mirror for trying frames and a display for Ray-Ban smart glasses. Peninsula Optical is the opposite in feel: a small shop that has sold frames on the same street for more than 70 years. Warby Parker's store sits in a building designed by architect Birge Clark. Our page on Birge Clark explains his downtown work. Our downtown boutiques guide covers the shops around it.

California Avenue and nearby

California Avenue has the second cluster, mostly optometry offices that also sell frames, plus one independent optical shop.

• Palo Alto Eyeworks: an independent optical shop at 461 California Avenue run by registered optician Robert Martinez, selling eyeglasses and contact lenses since 1992.
• California Avenue Optometry: an appointment-only optometry and contact lens practice at California Avenue and El Camino Real, in Palo Alto since 1992.
• Palo Alto Vision: an independent optometry practice at 109 California Avenue with eye exams, contact lens fittings and Ortho-K.
• Cambridge Optometry: a full-service optometry practice at Cambridge Avenue and Birch Street, with eye exams, contact lenses and a large frame selection.

Palo Alto Eyeworks is the only shop on the street whose main business is dispensing glasses, so it is the natural stop if you already have a prescription. Cambridge Optometry says its staff speak English, Spanish, Chinese and Taiwanese. See our California Avenue shopping guide for the rest of the district.

El Camino Real and Town & Country Village

• Lux Eyewear: an independent optical shop at 1805 El Camino Real with designer frames, an in-house lens lab and walk-ins welcome, with eye exams next door at Palo Alto Eye Group.
• Wilby Optical: an optical shop in Town & Country Village dating to 1957, now run as Alexander Daas Opticians, with eye exams, an on-site lens lab and designer frames.

These two are the shops with their own lens labs in our directory, which can matter if you want lenses fitted or adjusted without a long wait. Wilby accepts walk-ins but recommends appointments. Town & Country's surface parking makes it an easy stop. Our Town & Country Village guide lists the other shops there.

Stanford Shopping Center

• Sunglass Hut: the chain's store at Space 608 selling designer and sport sunglasses, with complimentary in-store repairs and a second shop inside Macy's.
• Prospectacles: an optometry office and eyewear shop at unit 605, part of AEG Vision, offering eye exams, contact lens fittings and designer frames.

Sunglass Hut is the only sunglasses specialist in town. Our Stanford Shopping Center guide covers parking and the rest of the stores.

Midtown

• Uber Eyes: an optometry office and optical boutique at 2750 Middlefield Road, open since 2009, with a focus on specialty contact lenses.

It is the only eyewear option in Midtown and serves patients in English and Mandarin. For other errands nearby, see our Midtown shopping guide.

Which kind of shop to choose

Independent shops and chains

Palo Alto's eyewear trade splits roughly in half. The independents, led by Peninsula Optical, Palo Alto Eyeworks, Lux Eyewear and Wilby Optical, are local businesses rather than chains. Several have decades in the same location. Two run their own lens labs. The chains, including LensCrafters, Site for Sore Eyes, Warby Parker and Sunglass Hut, offer wide brand selections, online ordering and standard return windows. Optometry offices sit in between, selling frames mainly to their own exam patients. None of these is better in general. Choose by what you need that day: a quick exam, a specific designer or a pair of sunglasses before a trip to the coast. Downtown University Avenue lets you compare all three kinds within a short walk.

Tips for buying eyewear

1. Measure your pupillary distance. Ask for your PD at your exam. You need it to order online and it speeds up an in-store order.
2. Try frames in daylight. Step near a window to judge color against your skin.
3. Think about screens. Ask about lens coatings and options for computer work, since most jobs here involve long hours at a monitor.
4. Get polarized sunglasses for driving and the water. The sun off the bay and on Highway 280 can be harsh.
5. Keep the receipt. Site for Sore Eyes and Warby Parker list 30-day exchanges or returns. Policies at independent shops vary.

Fit matters as much as style. A frame that slides down your nose will annoy you within a week, so ask the optician to adjust the temples and nose pads before you leave.

Frequently asked questions