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Level 9

Tech Offices Tour in Silicon Valley

Recently spent a weekend in the SF Bay Area with a friend who has never been. He wanted to see all of the tech offices in the area. Thankfully we flew into San Jose International airport. So once we landed, we picked up a rental car and off I drove with Google Maps navigating us! (I have done this tour on more than one occasion, so some of these photos are a bit older than a few weeks old)

 

1. Apple Campus

Everyone probably goes to the Apple Campus for the sign and also the store.  You aren't allowed to go in unless if you know someone working there.  The first time I visited, my friend knew someone who is an Apple employee, so we were able to go in.  No photos allowed though, all we were able to do was eat lunch at their cafeteria, which I have to say, not bad for cafeteria food.  You can even get steaks! But the only place we were able to go into was the cafeteria and a courtyard in the middle of the office building. Parking is free here, but they're super packed on a weekday but very empty on weekends.  The time I visited on a weekday, I double parked car and then had to leave our key with the valet as they may move it. You can also enter the store and they do sell exclusive items that are not found anywhere else, mostly apparel.  During my most recent visit in May 2018, one of the employees mentioned to us that we should visit the new visitor center as well. It was about a 5 minutes drive and right across from their new "spaceship" campus, so we thought, why not and hopped into the car to visit that next!

IMG_20160915_132110.jpgIMG_20160915_132545.jpgIMG_20160915_115800.jpgIMG_20160915_115812.jpgIMG_20160915_115948.jpg

2. Apple Park Visitor Center

The visitor center is a snippet of the Apple's newest "spaceship" campus, which is supposedly the largest office building in the world, over 1 mile in circumference. This is the only public part that is accessible without an Apple employee. There is an Apple cafe, which they said is the only one that is open to the public. It is kind of like their cafe that I went to in their original campus at One Infinite Loop, but not really that special compared to any other cafes out there in US. There is also a shop here, again with exclusive items. These exclusive items are also different from the items at One Infinite Loop, different designs, fits, etc. There is also a part where you can experience the spaceship campus via AR. Everyone gets an iPad and you get to play around with it. There are staff members here to help out with that. Definitely check out the rooftop as well, there's quite a nice view of the spaceship office! There are a number of parking spots here for visitors and all free! I did come by on the weekend, so it wasn't too busy.

The New Apple Visitor CenterThe New Apple Visitor CenterStore at the visitor centerStore at the visitor centerPlaying with ARPlaying with ARNew Spaceship CampusNew Spaceship CampusThe cafeThe cafe

 

3. GooglePlex

The public tends to go here for the Merchandise Store. Note that it is only open on weekdays and it can be a bit busy. In addition to the Merchandise store, you can visit the lawn statue area where you'll see all of the Android statues in the different operating systems, eg. cupcake, donut, eclair, etc. The most recent one, at the time of writing would be Oreo, is not where the rest of the statues are and it is right by the main GooglePlex. Note that there are Google Bikes everywhere as well, but these are only for employees, visitors are not permitted on them. Posing for a photo is allowed. Also seen the street view car here before. There is a visitor center; however, you'll need a Googler to take you in.

IMG_20160915_140404.jpgGoogle Play Music and GingerbreadGoogle Play Music and GingerbreadGoogleplexGoogleplexAll the Google BikesAll the Google BikesLollipopLollipopHoneycombHoneycomb

3. Facebook HQ

We then stopped by Facebook.  Again, you can't go in unless you know someone working there.  Apparently, they have a merchandise store and that too is only for employees, but hey, you can always get a photo of the thumbs up sign.  As you can see, the background of the sign changes.

Sept 2016Sept 2016Sept 2016May 2017May 2017May 2017May 2018May 2018

4. Stanford University

 

This is also nearby. We just drove through it because we had to catch our flight. But if you have some time, there is a nice courtyard and a tower as well.

There is also a yummy ice cream place, Tin Pot Creamery, that is a local business in the area.

 

What about you? Ever want to see these tech offices in person? Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

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Silicon Valley, CA, USA
11 comments
Former Google Contributor

Re: Tech Offices Tour in Silicon Valley

That's pretty cool, @Shirley! Definitely something I would love to do. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your experience.

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Level 10

Re: Tech Offices Tour in Silicon Valley

Thanks for sharing, it is very interesting and I was left wanting to visit some of those places last year.

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Level 8

Re: Tech Offices Tour in Silicon Valley

Thank you Shirley for sharing. 🙂

 

Cheers

Level 10

Re: Tech Offices Tour in Silicon Valley

Hi @Shirley

Your briefing with photo encourage me to arrange a visit to Apple. The question remains about the employee to introduce me. Yes, I am sure that it will be OK in the right time.

Thank you for sharing the information

BHASI BAHULEYAN
Level 9

Re: Tech Offices Tour in Silicon Valley

I hope you guys get to visit one day soon!! @NadyaPN @bhasibahuleyan @MaxWalsh @Badruddeen

It was definitely a lot of fun, especially for people like us, who are a bit "techy"!!

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Level 10

Re: Tech Offices Tour in Silicon Valley

Thanks for sharing this @Shirley I'd definitely visit in October 🙂

Level 9

Re: Tech Offices Tour in Silicon Valley

All of these places are very attractive for all @Shirley I am very interested also.... ha..ha..ha. Anyway thanks for sharing with us.

Love to Hear ; Love to Share !
Kamal Hasnainee
Bangladesh
Level 10

Re: Tech Offices Tour in Silicon Valley

These places are worth to visit but inaccessible to me as I have no known person working any of them @Shirley

 

I wish to share a joke about Apple Inc. we used to share in childhood.

[Asking anybody] Do you know who bite that apple? I bite that apple. 😁

Level 9

Re: Tech Offices Tour in Silicon Valley

@XanderO: Yes, definitely a must visit! We'll go to GooglePlex (I think, we did in the last two summits!) so you'll at least get to visit the lawn statues!!

@Kamalhasnainee - it is very attractive to visit, I personally really enjoyed it!

@BishowvijayaP: haha ,that was funny about the Apple =P

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