Palo Alto area on a Sunday
 

Hi. Any recommendations on what to do for a few hours on a Sunday? We’re attending graduation in the morning and have nothing else planned until dinner in the area. We were keen on touring the campus and seeing the Rodins but with graduation crowds, we may do the campus tour the next day. Thanks!

If you love arts, you can go to some museums like in The Foster.

I would hike up to The Dish https://dish.stanford.edu/. I would have recommended the tour of the linear accelerator, but it's waitlisted for June 15th (Saturday) and there's no tour on Sundays.

Downtown Palo Alto is a really pleasant place to meander, shop, eat, people watch, as is Stanford Shopping Center (one of the last of the great outdoor malls).

My favorite place is the Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden, on Stanford Campus. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/...ulpture-garden There is a tour on Sunday the 16th. https://museum.stanford.edu/programs...sculpture-walk (You don't need a tour because it is always open and there are informational plaques that describe the setting.)

If you like gardens, there is the Arizona Cactus Garden, a nice, old garden which had been left to go wild for years, and has now been restored. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/...-cactus-garden Near by is the Stanford mausoleum and the weeping angel. Both very atmospheric, and close to the museums. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/stanford-mausoleum

The Rodin sculpture garden is at the Cantor Art Museum which is quite nice and in a beautiful building. There is a café for coffee and snacks. Next door is a new art museum, the Anderson Collection. It has modern art and very well done. https://anderson.stanford.edu/visit/

It's fun to take an elevator up to the top of Hoover Tower for a great Silicon Valley view, and there is a small museum on the lower level. https://visit.stanford.edu/plan/guides/hoover.html . Cost is $4.

The Memorial Church at Stanford is also worth a visit. https://www.yelp.com/biz/stanford-me...urch-palo-alto

All of these are at Stanford, and easy to walk to. You can also walk to Stanford Shopping Center.

Something different but a small drive away is the Palo Alto Baylands, which is a pretty nature walk. Palo Alto Baylands Preserve, California

Another pretty garden is Gamble Gardens https://www.gamblegarden.org/

I agree with SF7307 that Downtown Palo Alto is a charming city to explore. The Cardinal Hotel is pretty and you can take a rest in the lobby. The Cardinal Hotel - Palo Alto - Stanford, CA, and nearby is Nola, Look Inside Nola Palo Alto a restaurant with wonderful architecture and art, and if you need a milkshake, there is the quintessential Palo Alto restaurant, The Creamery Creamery

Everything is free except for Hoover Tower, and the milkshake. Hope you have a wonderful time exploring and discovering!

Thanks, everyone!