From Wikitravel

Mountain View [1] in California is located in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Mountain View is home to such famous Silicon Valley companies as Silicon Graphics and Google.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By air

Mountain View is reachable from all three Bay Area airports:

• San Francisco: Take a short ride on BART train to Millbrae station, then take Caltrain southbound service.
• San Jose: Take a free shuttle to Caltrain's Santa Clara station and then take the northbound train service.
• Oakland: Take a shuttle van service. This is the least desirable of the three airports in terms of distance.

[edit] By train

Caltrain service connects Mountain View to San Francisco and San Jose. There are two stops. Most trains stop at downtown (Castro St) stop.

It is possible to connect to Amtrak trains via San Jose Diridon station via Caltrain.

There is also a VTA light rail service that connects downtown to several suburb locations in the south bay.

[edit] Get around

For travel within Mountain View itself and the neighboring area, The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) operates bus and light rail service. The Caltrain, which runs all the way from San Francisco to Gilroy stops in Mountain View as well. Caltrain also provides relatively easy access to both San Francisco and San Jose Airport.

[edit] By taxi

• Yellow Cab Mountain View 650-366-9999,650-930-0001,408-577-1234 [2].

[edit][add listing] See

• Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. (near Highway 101), ☎ +1-650-810-1010, [3]. W,F,Su 1PM-4PM Sa 11AM-5PM. World's largest and most complete computer history museum, documenting the area's primary industry. Free entrance. edit

[edit][add listing] Do

• Shoreline Amphitheatre, 1 Amphitheatre Parkway (Off Shoreline Boulevard near Highway 101), ☎ 1-650-967-3000, [4]. Outdoor concert venue with huge tent cover, location for many large Bay Area concerts as well as community events. edit

• Century Cinemas 16, 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd., ☎ +1-650-960-0970. Large movie theater with ample parking showing recent big movies. edit

• Shoreline Aquatic Center, 3160 N. Shoreline Blvd (in Shoreline Regional Park at the end of Shoreline Blvd), ☎ +1-650-965-7474, [5]. Water sports center with boating, windsurfing, and other aquatic activities. Equipment rental available. edit

• Walk, bike, or skate the one of several trails.
• Go to the Farmer's Market on Sunday mornings.

[edit][add listing] Buy

Mountain View is the home of many big box stores including REI, Best Buy, and Costco near the Hwy 101 Rengstorff exit and Walmart, Sears, Target, Ross, Mervyns in the San Antonio shopping center.

[edit][add listing] Eat

Castro Street is the main downtown area with many restaurants and bars. East and South Asian food is available in abundance, but it is by no means the only choice. Watch the hours of operation; most restaurants in Mountain View are not open very late. A good list of restaurants in Downtown Mountain View can be found here.

• Kirin (on Castro Street). 11 AM-midnight every day. Chinese-Cantonese edit

• Fu Lam Mum Sea Food Restaurant (on Castro Street). 11 AM-2:30 PM, 5 PM-midnight every day. Chinese-Cantonese edit

• Spice Islands Cafe (on Castro Street), [6]. Singaporean, Malaysian edit

• Sue's Indian Cuisine (on Castro Street).  edit

• St. Stephens Green (on Castro Street), [7]. a pub edit

• Bangkok Spoon (on Castro Street).  edit

• Gelato Classico (on Castro Street). Italian ice cream. edit

• The Posh Bagel (on Castro Street).  edit

• Taqueria Los Charros (on Castro Street). Mexican edit

• Taqueria La Bamba (on Castro Street). Great burritos. edit

• Chef Liu (on Castro Street). Excellent, inexpensive, Taiwanese Chinese food edit

• Hong Kong Bistro (on Castro Street). Western-style food from Hong Kong, vestiges of a colonial era. edit

There are some wonderful Mexican restaurants in the area serving Poblano style food.

• Fiesta del Mar, 1005 Shoreline Ave, [8]. Serves delicious sea food dishes as well as the famous and elusive Enjococado chicken. edit

• Fiesta del Mar Too (downtown).  edit

• Vive Sol, 2020 W. El Camino Real, ☎ +1-650-938-2020. Specializes in cuisine from the Pueblo region of Mexico. An outdoor seating area makes this a great place to go on a warm summer evening. edit

There are other great eateries in Mountain View not on Castro Street:

• Krung Thai, [9]. Thai. edit

• Amber, [10]. Indian. edit

• Garden Fresh, 1245 W El Camino Real, ☎ 1-650-961-7795. Vegetarian Chinese. edit

• Tied House Cafe and Brewery, [11]. American. edit

• Chilis Grill & Bar, 2560 W El Camino Real, ☎ (650)941-2227, [12].  edit

[edit][add listing] Sleep

• Best Western Mountain View Inn, 2300 W El Camino Real, +1 650 962-9912, Toll-free: +1 800 785-0005, Fax: +1 650 962-9011, [13].

• Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, 93 W El Camino Real, +1 650 967-6957, [14].

• Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, 2700 W. El Camino Real, +1 650 559-9115, [15].

• Quality Inn & Suites Hotel, 5 Fairchild Drive, +1 650 934-0155, Toll-free: +1 800 970-9493, Fax: +1 650 968-9562, [16].

• Ramada Limited - Mountain View, Fax: +1 650 964-4542. [17].

• Residence Inn Palo Alto Mountain View, 93 West El Camino Real, +1 800 445-7774, Fax: +1 650 967-4834, [18]. 1854 El Camino Real West, +1 650 940-1300, Fax: +1 650 969-4997, [19].

• Holiday Inn Express - Mountain View, Experience superb lodging and exceptional value at the central Silicon Valley hotel. Offers deluxe, extended-stay amenities and services.

[edit] Get out

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!