Free things to do in San Jose

Brigadoon

Brigadoon Park

Downtown and SOFA

San Jose Improv

Part of a NYC comedy club chain started in the '60s, this spot hosts big-name & lesser-known comics.

Almaden Lake

Almaden Lake Park

Park with a 32-acre lake offering fishing, bocce courts, trails & a seasonal concession stand.

Arts & Culture

Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

Classic & contemporary art museum with an outdoor sculpture garden featuring Rodin bronzes.

Arts & Culture

Rodin Sculpture Garden

Garden at Stanford's Cantor Arts Center showing 20 statues by famed sculptor Rodin (open all hours).

Fowler Creek

Fowler Creek Park

Rolling lawns mark this 9.5-acre park that offers picnic facilities, playgrounds & tennis courts.

Arts & Culture

Shoreline Amphitheatre

Large-scale music venue with open-air seating hosts festivals & big-name acts.

Little Saigon and Spring Brook

Kelley Park

This park, which contains a zoo & living history museum, offers picnic spots & lawn bowling greens.

The Glens

Lake Cunningham Regional Park

Alameda

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Museum with displays on Egyptian burial practices, plus artifacts including jewelry & bronze tools.

Ballbach and SOFA

Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose

Children of all ages explore more than 150 interactive exhibits including a full-size fire truck.

Cypress

Winchester Mystery House

Sprawling landmark with a staircase leading nowhere & other odd features designed to confuse ghosts.

Coleman

Guadalupe River Park

Small city park offering a visitor's center, a playground, a community garden & 2.6 miles of trails.

Arts & Culture

Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History

Expansive venue with hands-on art & history exhibitions, plus special programs good for all ages.

Pink Elephant and PAL

Emma Prusch Farm Park

Compact community farm features heirloom vegetable gardens, orchards, chickens & a fair.

Ballbach and SOFA

Broadway San Jose

Arts & Culture

Triton Museum of Art

Exhibits of contemporary & historical works, with an emphasis on Bay Area artists.

Ballbach and SOFA

Plaza de Cesar Chavez

Various concerts & events are held at this busy open space with water jets & a contemporary statue.

Little Saigon and Spring Brook

Japanese Friendship Garden

Covering 5.5 acres, this serene Japanese garden features a koi pond & a quaint red arch bridge.

Arts & Culture

Blackhawk Museum

Research library & museum featuring historic & vintage cars in sprawling, contemporary digs.

North Willow Glen

Willow Street Frank Bramhall Park

City park offering shady green space, plus softball fields, basketball & unlighted tennis courts.

Ballbach and SOFA

San Jose Museum of Art

Revolving exhibitions from post-1980 to older 20th-century works plus a cafe & education center.

Rose Garden

Municipal Rose Garden

180+ rose varieties typically blooming April-November in a colorful 5.5-acre garden with a fountain.

Ballbach and SOFA

The Tech Interactive

Accessible, hands-on exhibits for all ages in a spacious facility, plus an attached IMAX theater.