The Inland Peninsula

Driving south of San Francisco along the San Mateo coast, it's hard to believe that inland, behind the rolling hills, is Silicon Valley. And while the high-tech hub is known more for its semiconductors and Fortune 500 companies than its sightseeing, it does have a few highlights worth stopping for—especially if you're already driving through on I-280.

Adorable Palo Alto and it's intellectual neighbor, Stanford University (450 Serra Mall, Stanford, 94305. 650/723-2300. www.stanford.edu), are about 35 mi south of San Francisco. Stanford's gorgeous grounds are home to a primordial-looking cactus garden, a stone sculpture by Scottish artist Andy Goldsworthy, aboriginal artworks from Papua New Guinea, and an excellent art museum—The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts—whose lawn is planted with bronzes works by Rodin. Free one-hour walking tours of the campus leave daily at 11 and 3:15 from the visitor center in the front hall of Memorial Auditorium.

In the center of Santa Clara University's campus is the Mission Santa Clara de Asis. Roof tiles of the current building, a reproduction of the original, were salvaged from earlier structures, which dated from the 1790s and 1820s. Early adobe walls and a spectacular garden with 4,500 roses remain intact as well. 500 El Camino Real. 408/554-4023. www.scu.edu/visitors/mission. Free. Self-guided tours daily 1-sundown.

At the southern end of Silicon Valley, San Jose is home to several good museums. The permanent collection at the San Jose Museum of Art (110 S. Market St., San Jose, 95113. 408/294-2787. www.sjmusart.org. $8. Tues.-Sun. 11-5) focuses on cutting-edge California and Latino artists. The Tech Museum of Innovation (201 S. Market St., San Jose, 95113. 408/294-8324. www.thetech.org. $8. Daily 10-5) is a hands-on, high-tech children's museum. The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum (1342 Naglee Ave., San Jose, 95126. 408/947-3635. www.egyptianmuseum.org. $9. Mon., Wed., and Fri. 10-5, Thurs. 10-8, weekends 11-6) showcases an exquisite collection of Egyptian and Babalonian antiquities.

Southwest of San Jose are the pretty village of Saratoga and the ritzy town of Los Gatos, nestled in the foothills of the Coastal Range. Los Gatos is also home to one of the finest restaurants in the country, Manresa (320 Village Lane, Los Gatos, 95030. 408/354-4330. www.manresarestaurant.com. Closed Mon. and Tues. No lunch), which runs its own farm to produce ingredients for its French-Catalan cuisine.