There’s so much to do in San Francisco that some visitors never leave the city. Others take day trips north to Sonoma and Napa wine country, which happens to be one of my favorite side trips. However, there are other places in the Bay Area to consider. I recently posted about the Livermore Valley to the east where there are a surprising number of vineyards and tasting rooms. But what are some of the things to do south of San Francisco?
Fun and Interesting Things To Do South of San Francisco
There are many points of interest and things to do south of San Francisco along the Peninsula and beyond to San Jose, as well. Here are just a few of them.
Winchester Mystery House
Construction started on this house in 1886 and only stopped when the owner, Sarah Winchester, died in 1922. It’s thought that Mrs. Winchester was obsessed with having continuous, 24 hours a day construction on the house because she was superstitious and believed that if building was completed, she would die. I’ve toured Winchester Mystery House on two occasions. It’s a fun, interesting and kind of eerie tour as you wind through a maze of Mrs. Winchester’s eccentrically designed hallways, stairways, and 110 of the 160 rooms. You really could get lost in the place if it weren’t for the guides. People have reported seeing ghosts in the house, so keep a look out especially when you’re in the seance room, where Mrs. Winchester went nightly to get guidance on building plans. The guides have interesting tales to tell about the many puzzling places in the house, such as the door that opens to an eight foot drop, windows that open onto walls and stairs that go to the ceiling.
Stanford University and Palo Alto
I like to visit universities and I’m lucky to have Stanford University very close to home. Established in 1891, Stanford is well-known worldwide for academics and athletics. I enjoy walking around the campus to admire the architecture and feel the energy of students bustling along the sidewalks to class. A very special landmark at the center of the campus is Stanford Memorial Church. In 1899, Jane Stanford began overseeing construction of the church which she created as a memorial to her late husband, Leland Stanford. The beautiful exterior facade, seen in the photo, is intricately made of mosaic tiles.
It’s also nice to spend time downtown Palo Alto, where university students as well as Silicon Valley entrepreneurs hang out at the many diverse restaurants, bakeries and cafes. There’s plenty of technology history in Palo Alto, too. For example, it was in a garage at 367 Addison Avenue where Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard developed their first products. In more recent history, Facebook’s first offices were located at 156 University Avenue.
Filoli
Filoli takes you back in time to San Francisco’s Golden Age of the early 20th century. The 36,000 square foot Georgian house and its extensive gardens are set on 654 acres in a lovely country setting in Woodside. The estate was built in 1917 by gold mining magnate, William Bourn, who named it Filoli (short for his motto of “Fight, Love, Live”). Also part of Filoli’s history are the movies and television shows that have been filmed there, such as The Joy Luck Club, The Wedding Planner, and Dynasty.
Hiller Aviation Museum
You don’t have to be a pilot or aviation buff to enjoy Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos where you’ll learn much about aviation history going back to 1869 and see displays of vintage airplanes and models. There are also exhibits focusing on the future of aviation. Through large windows in one area of the gallery, you can watch the restoration and maintenance of the exhibits. In the Flight Sim Zone, you can take control of a flight simulator to get some realistic piloting experience. The simulators weren’t available when I was there, so I’d love to go back and try that.
Rosicrucian Museum
I never expected to find an Egyptian museum in San Jose, but there is one and it’s quite exceptional. At Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum there are many fascinating exhibits of artifacts and educational displays about burial practices, religion, an daily life of the ancient Egyptians. One of the best parts for me was going inside a replica of an ancient Egyptian tomb.
CuriOdyssey
CuriOdyssey is a great place to take the kids to experience science and nature exhibits and educational activities. Of course, the stars of CuriOdyssey are the more than 100 animals that live there. Most of them come from rehabilitation facilities and would not be able to survive in the wild. CuriOdyssey is located next to San Francisco Bay where there’s a clear vantage point to watch planes coming in for landing at San Francisco International Airport. That’s actually my favorite thing to do there. Don’t tell the animals.
Curiodysseey! Fab, you should TM that! Love that first pic too, well, all of them really! Looks very green n pleasant!
Thanks, Jools. But I’m afraid that the TM for CuriOdyssey is probably taken by the place already. 🙂
Amazing how much one can discover in one’s own backyard if one only takes the time to be a tourist in one’s own town. That’s why a staycation is always a good idea.
So true. I’m sure that I could never run out of places to visit here in the SF Bay Area.
Stanford has such a gorgeous campus doesn’t it? I wandered around there for an hour!
It is lovely with all of the old building, church & the quad. I also like driving down Palm Drive to get there with all of those beautiful palms lining the street.
What an inspiring tour off the beaten track. I’d love to visit the mystery house and – of course – the aviation museum.
Thanks! I hope to find more places like this as I do some more local traveling.
I love San Francisco and have done precisely NONE of the above. A great excuse to go back…
Absolutely. Let me know if find yourself in this area! 🙂
Back when I was a student, we did many road trips between San Fransisco and LA. So much to see, especially the nearer we got to SF. Never seen the Winchester Mystery House, though, but would really like to. So interesting.
Gosh, between LA and SF there’s enough places of interest to keep a person entertained for a lifetime!
These are very interesting places to visit, especially the Egyptian museum and CuriOdyssey!
I think there’s a little something for everyone in this selection. The Egyptian Museum is quite a gem, though.
Some interesting museums. I keep hearing about that Winchester Mystery House – I really need to check it out!
I heard about it for years before I actually went — now I’ve been there twice! Well worth a visit (or two).
What a lot of great suggestions for my next trip to San Francisco – if I can tear myself away from wine country.
Wine country is definitely the priority. 🙂
Fascinating places to discover in California!! I’ve seen the Winchester House on TV…fascination place…all of those mysterious stairways and doors leading to nowhere. Love the mystery and intrigue. Would like to see the Stanford mosaic as well!! Plus, all the places you list actually. CuriOdyssey sounds wonderful.
Glad you like the list. They have special Halloween tours at the Winchester Mystery House — that would be lots of fun, I think.
Great finds! I have only been to Stanford University for an afternoon walk. I really want to visit Winchester but have yet to go …
Stanford’s great for just walking around or bike rides, too. Love doing that.
There is an never ending supply of things to discover in and around San Francisco! I’ll have to look into Filoli.
How lucky are we, Debbie?! 🙂
You always find the coolest little tucked-away places, Cathy. How did I not know about some of these? I think the only 2 I’ve heard of before are the Winchester Mystery House (from Believe It Or Not) and Stanford. Gah! Now you’ve got me pining for my home state – cut it out! 😉
lol – Well, come back and see some of these places!
I know I’ve heard about the Winchester Mystery House before, but I had no idea it was out near San Francisco. I spent some time in San Jose a while ago too, which probably would have been perfect for a visit. Oh well…have to go back I guess.
I have a feeling that you and your family would have so much fun there. I’d look forward to reading one of your fun posts about it, too!
I have been to the Winchester Mystery House and it was definitely worth it. Try not to get lost from the group because it might take a while to find them again.
Can you imagine being there alone, especially at night?? Kind of spooky.
Ooh going inside a tomb would be pretty incredible.
My favorite part!
Love these suggestions for my next trip to Northern California! I have wanted to visit the Winchester Mystery House since I saw it featured in a TV show! How awesome you’ve been there TWICE! Thanks for the great travel tips!
Thank YOU, Marianne. You’ll love Winchester Mystery House. They also have a gun museum there — Winchester, or course! I’m not into guns, but it’s interesting history.
I went to the Winchester Mystery House for the first time last year. What a kooky place! 🙂
I remember reading about your time there. Definitely a kooky place!
We did the SJ to SF drive a couple of years ago and missed a lot of these places except for the Stanford campus. My husband and I wanted to go to Winchester House but didn’t want to creep the kids out. This is such as great list for our next trip up there. Would love to visit CuriOdyssey =)
There were quite a few kids on the tour, but I think they were older kids. They really don’t make it too scary of a thing, but your imagination can run wild there. 🙂
Didn’t expect San Francisco to be packed with such an amazing and interesting spots to see. Thanks for sharing.
I didn’t expected >San Francisco to be packed with so beautiful spots and attractions. Well I’ve heard about Stanford University of course but not of all the other attractions!
Seems like Stanford is the place that most have heard of or visited. It’s a very cool campus to visit.
Ever since I watched the show Felicity, I have wanted to go to Palo Alto!
Head up this way and we can have lunch in Palo Alto!
I didn’t have a chance to comment yesterday, but I agree with the very 1st commenter “CurioOdyssey” is AWESOME!!!!! I shared this every place I could. 😉
Thanks for sharing, Courtnery. I wish I could take credit for that name CuriOdyssey — it is a very clever name for the place.
I can’t believe I have never been to the Winchester Mystery house! I’m going to have to make a point to stop the next time we drive through the area. SF has so many cool things to see!
Try to visit off-season. It can get pretty busy there. On a weekend in January, we waited about 45 minutes for a tour, which wasn’t bad. Plenty to look at in the gardens and Winchester gun museum while you wait.
I’ve been to San Francisco several times but have never heard of any of these. The Winchester Mystery House and the Fioli look exceptionally interesting.
They are both unique places and worth a visit. They really take you back in time and the Winchester Mystery House adds a little — well, mystery!
I loved visiting the Winchester Mystery House — doors to nowhere, stairs to the ceiling — and it had such a sad history.
You’re right, it’s not just a mysterious place. The history is also sad. You can you imagine living with the fear that Mrs. Winchester had about dying if building didn’t continue 24/7.
We are traveling to California next summer with the kids and with posts like these, my list of “must-dos” gets longer & longer!!!
Thanks for linking up today!!
I went to the Winchester Mystery House last fall, but these other places are new to me. I’ll have to visit them next time I’m up north.
Enjoyed reading about the variety here, Cathy. That Winchester House certainly has an air of mystery about it. I love the Stanford campus so much, I probably wouldn’t want to graduate. Also didn’t know there was a Rosicrusian museum.
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