A Guided Tour of Palo Alto

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Touring Stanford

After touring California Avenue, the next stop is Stanford . Enter the university by heading west on California Avenue until you reach El Camino. Make a right and go up about a quarter mile, passing Palo Alto High School (alums include Joan Baez and Oregon Senator Ron Wyden) on the right until you reach Embarcadero Road. Make a left on Embarcadero, which will take you right into the heart of campus.

Highlights include the Hoover Tower and Institution (corner of Serra Street and Galvez), featuring exhibits of historic documents in the lobby, which is free and open to the public. Visitors can also ride the elevator to the top of the tower for a scenic view of the nearby red-tiled rooftops. On the ground level there is the Rodin Sculpture Garden (Lomita and Roth Way), housing the world's largest public bronze collection outside of Paris. Be sure to look for Rodin's Gates of Hell, a portal that has become one of Stanford's most familiar landmarks.

The Stanford Museum of Art (Museum Way and Lomita Drive) contains works from the 5th Century B.C.E. to the present. Although docents are sometimes hard to find, the few people who do visit the museum can wander undisturbed by the crowds typical of more heavily promoted venues.

If you want a more officially sanctioned view of Stanford, stop by the Stanford Visitor Information Center at Memorial Auditorium (on Serra Street), which offers free daily tours for groups of nine or less at 11am and 3:15pm, except on some holidays.

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