Sunnyvale

Sunnyvale is a city in the South Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California. Sunnyvale was ranked the 5th safest city in the United States in its size category for 2004.

Get in

San Jose International Airport

San Jose International Airport is the closest airport.

From the airport, take the free Airport Flyer bus #60 to Santa Clara Transit Station. From there, catch either VTA bus #22 or Caltrain to Sunnyvale. The #22 bus line has many stops in Sunnyvale along El Camino Real, from Lawrence Expressway in the east to Bernardo Avenue in the west. Caltrain stops in Sunnyvale at both the Lawrence station as well as downtown Sunnyvale.

Taxi fare from San Jose Airport to Sunnyvale is approximately $30.

San Francisco International Airport

San Francisco is just up US 101 and offers additional options for flying in. In particular it offers more international and direct East Coast flights. From the airport, you can take the BART to Millbrae Station and then take the Caltrain to Sunnyvale. CalTrain's Sunnyvale station is next to old downtown, on Evelyn Avenue just West of Murphy Street.

Oakland International Airport

You can go on Interstate 680 to the Oakland airport. Also, there are flights to domestic destinations, and to Lake Tahoe. You can use BART, or you can use a Uber!

By bus

See 511.org for a bay area trip planner by public transit.


By train
  • 🌍 Sunnyvale Caltrain Station, 121 W. Evelyn Avenue, toll-free: +1-800-660-4287. Caltrain connects San Jose with San Francisco, passing through Sunnyvale. Caltrain has a transfer point to BART via the Millbrae Station. BART goes to San Francisco International Airport. (updated Sep 2019)

Get around

By bus

Sunnyvale has a decent, albeit rarely used public transport system managed by Valley Transportation Authority. Bus 22 on El Camino Real is the main bus line and most other bus lines run into it. Bus 522 is an express bus which also travels on El Camino but skips a lot of stops. Additionally, the 55, 54, 53 bus routes serve other areas in Sunnyvale. For trips to Santa Cruz or Scotts Valley the Highway 17 Express is available.

By train

Caltrain has its Sunnyvale stop in downtown Sunnyvale, and the Lawrence stop at the Lawrence Expressway.

VTA light rail also has several Sunnyvale stops—but note that these do not connect directly with Caltrain.

By bike

Sunnyvale is a recognized "bike friendly community". Many major roads have bike lanes, and if you get tired of cycling, the VTA buses, light rail, and Caltrain also allow bikes at all hours.

See
  • Go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings on Murphy Ave.
  • Go to Sunnyvale Art and Wine Festival.
  • Go to Wednesday night outdoor concerts during the Summer.
  • Birdwatchers will enjoy seeing the wild parrots (probably Red-masked Parakeet or Mitred Parakeet) flocks. They can sometimes be seen and heard from the Safeway parking lot or Las Palmas park.
  • Rooster T. Feathers is a nationally recognized comedy club.
  • 🌍 Sunnyvale Heritage Park and Museum (Sunnyvale Historical Society), 570 E Remington Dr, ☏ +1 408 749-0220, . Su/Tu/Th 12-4PM. describes the cities growth from an early agriculture focused town to the home of many of Silicon Valley's largest and most innovative companies. free. 
  • Hendy Iron Works Museum (Iron Man Museum), Northrop Grumman Marine Systems Plant, 401 E Hendy Ave (on Hendy Ave between Sunnyvale Ave & Fair Oaks), ☏ +1 408 735-2020. The Museum is open on a limited basis. Docent guided individual and group tours are open to the public by scheduling in advance. 

Do

Miniature golf and arcade games can be found at * 🌍 Golfland USA. , 855 East El Camino Real (at Wolfe Road); there are parking lots at both the El Camino Real and Wolfe Road entrances. Sunnyvale is also home to two public golf courses: the nine-hole course and driving range at Sunken Gardens at 1010 S Wolfe Rd and the 18-hole Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course at 605 Macara Ave., which is under the landing path to Moffett Field, where you can see many interesting military and some private aircraft.

On Murphy Street near the Caltrain station, many events are held during the Summer. .

Buy
  • Murphy Street in downtown Sunnyvale is the home of a weekly farmer's market, numerous restaurants such as Firehouse and international restaurants, coffee shops, and a few small stores including a used bookstore and a few boutiques. It also has some evening venues.
  • El Camino Real (Hwy 82), which runs north/south, is full of strip malls and has tons of shops, especially food markets and restaurants. You can find ethnic markets from India, China, Korea, Bangladesh and many other countries.

Eat

The densest concentration of restaurants is along Murphy Street and nearby, with most of the rest spread out in strip malls, particularly along El Camino Real.

Sunnyvale has a significant Chinese population (but appears to be declining). For authentic Chinese fare, head south east of Sunnyvale into Cupertino on Wolfe Road just north of 280 and you'll see the Ranch 99 Asian Market followed by an entire mall of Asian eats and products.

For Indian food, Sunnyvale and neighboring cities are home to numerous Indian restaurants that cater to those looking for a taste of home. Dosas and other vegetarian fare can be found at Saravana Bhavan, Madras Cafe, etc. Keep an eye out for a number of chaat places (Chaat House, Chaat Corner, Chaat Cafe, etc.) that dot the strip malls along El Camino Real. Bombay Garden at Lawrence and El Camino real

For Pakistani food, Shalimar is the third of a popular chain of Pakistani restaurants that started in San Francisco. Shan is a smaller Pakistani restaurant that is an okay alternative. Both are very casual

Korean restaurants can be found along El Camino Real between Henderson and Lawrence Expressway, but Santa Clara is more known for a larger variety of Korean restaurants.

  • Kabul Restaurant. Very good, slightly upscale Afghan restaurant. 
  • 🌍 Country Gourmet, 1314 Mary Ave, ☏ +1 408 733-9446. Their motto, "Healthy Food & Lots of It", is a fair assessment. Tucked away in a large dead strip-mall, this restaurant has an ok basic menu of salads and sandwiches plus two freshly made soups each day. in addition, there's two breakfast specials, 5 or so lunch specials such as a sandwich made with smoked chicken, roasted onions and peppers, topped with pepper jack cheese and chipotle mayo on grilled focaccia bread. At dinner there's 6+ specials such as Grilled Half Moon Bay Salmon crusted with Fennel seed and served with tabouleh, grilled endigia, rocolla and raspberry salad with kalamata olive vinaigrette. Menu changes every Tuesday. 
  • 🌍 Falafel STOP, 1325 Sunnyvale Saratoga Rd, ☏ +1 408 735-7182. Fast service restaurant with basic covered seating outside. Excellent middle-eastern vegetarian and meat dishes including obviously falafel, all served with fresh pita bread. The small car park gets full quickly at lunch times as it is very popular. (updated Jul 2015)
  • Hobee's (on Matilda Ave near US 101). Part of a popular local chain known for its coffee cake and breakfast but has a large lunch and dinner menu. It is very family friendly and has a good gluten free menu. 
  • Chelokababi (Wolfe near El Camino Real). A good, established Persian restaurant that has been reviewed several times in the SJ Mercury and other weekly newspapers in the area. Casual, but well-appointed. 
  • Gumba's, Murphy Ave. Pronounced "GUM-BAH". Okay Italian food and pizza. Casual. 
  • Siam Taste. On Murphy Ave. Known for their tasty Pad Thai as well as Pannang Curry. 
  • St John's Grill (Lawrence near Arques). Very popular burger/brewpub spot. $10–15 but quite cheap during evening/weekend specials. 

Drink
  • Murphy Ave, S Murphy Ave. Murphy is the old main street in downtown Sunnyvale with 2 Irish pubs and several other bars and restaurants. 
  • Bean Scene Cafe, 186 S Murphy Ave, ☏ +1 408-738-4523. M-F 06:30-20:00, Sa 7AM-9PM, Su 8AM-5PM. Coffee shop and cafe with character. Free Wi-Fi for customers. 
  • 🌍 Faultline Brewing Company, 1235 Oakmead Pkwy. Microbrewery with some reasonable beers. Also serving food. (updated Jul 2015)

Sleep

Go next

See Bay Area (California), Silicon Valley, South Bay, and Santa Clara County for area attractions.

Routes through Sunnyvale
San Francisco ← Mountain View ←  N  S  → Santa Clara → San Jose
END ← Mountain View ←  N  S  → Cupertino → San Jose
San Francisco ← Mountain View ←  N  S  → Santa Clara → San Jose


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