Welcome to Palo Alto!

We invite you to explore our city at your leisure. You'll find that Palo Alto is a walkable city of beautiful neighborhoods, plentiful recreational opportunities, and an abundance of natural beauty. Dining and shopping are world-class, and a stroll down University Avenue or California Avenue will reveal a pleasing mix of boutiques, bookstores, and bistros.

Palo Alto is known around the world as a center of innovation, as is our neighbor, Stanford University. In fact, Silicon Valley was born here, in a garage on Addison Avenue near downtown, where in 1938, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard decided to "make a run for it" in business.

Palo Alto is a careful steward of the environment and we are proud of our official designations as a Bicycle Friendly Community and a Green Power Community.

I hope you enjoy your stay and return to visit again soon.

Regards,

Yoriko Kishimoto, Mayor