Overview
Cupertino is a city in Silicon Valley at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay. It is home to Apple Inc. and a handful of other tech companies.
5 sights · 3 things to do · 2 places to eat · 1 bars & cafés · 8 places to stay
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Best things about Cupertino
De Anza College
The community college for the area. It is one of the largest community colleges in the area, and has an excellent reputation.
Apple Infinite Loop
The historical headquarters of Apple, Inc., still in use. Despite their overall lack of aesthetic quality, they were the most recognisable of all Silicon Valley headquarters until the construction of the Apple Park a mil…
Apple Park
The headquarters of Apple, Inc., inaugurated in 2017. One of the largest buildings in the world (factories excluded) in terms of length and width, this $5 billion ring-shaped "spaceship" was built on the Vallco Park at t…
McClellan Ranch Preserve
On McClellan Rd. has an old farmhouse (with pigs!) and a short trail along the creek to walk. Cupertino also a bunch of suburban parks, notably Memorial Park on Stevens Creek Blvd. which has ponds with ducks.
Rancho San Antonio County Park
A popular hiking location with over 25 mi of trails. Good for biking and horseback riding as well. Features a farm called Deer Hollow Farm that offers tours and seasonal produce for sale. Arrive early if visiting on week…
Cupertino Historical Society and Museum
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: Feb–Nov. Summer highs reach about 82°F; winter lows dip to about 38°F. Wettest: Jan and Dec.
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- SJC Mineta San Jose International Airport, San Jose — 7 mi away (major hub). Directions
- SQL San Carlos Airport, San Carlos — 18 mi away. Directions
It's 15 minutes west of San Jose and 45 minutes south of San Francisco. The nearest railway, Caltrain (connecting San Francisco with Gilroy), stops in downtown Sunnyvale, about a ten-minute drive from the city center. Bus service is provided by VTA.
Full “Get in” guide ↓Budget & where to stay
No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.
Sample 2-day itinerary
Day 1
- Morning De Anza College, Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino Historical Society and Museum
- Lunch Alexander's Steakhouse
- Afternoon McClellan Ranch Preserve, Rancho San Antonio County Park
- Dinner Cupertino Village
- Evening Picchetti Winery
Day 2
- Morning Apple Infinite Loop, Apple Park
- Afternoon Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy - Cupertino Branch
Stops are grouped by area so each day needs little backtracking. Check opening hours before you go.
Food for you
Cupertino has a large Chinese population and so has a lot of Asian food choices. It doesn't have a walkable downtown and most of the restaurants are in smaller strip malls.
Cuisine (tap to filter)
What to ask about, for your diet
Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder
Photos
Map
Every listing with a location. Tap a pin for its Google Maps link.
Understand
Cupertino (population 60,000 in 2020) is situated up against the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains. It is something of an anomaly being the one city in the South Bay that doesn't have a distinct town center or main street, though there are concentrations of upscale development in the works. It has a highly-rated local schools system and quiet neighborhoods.
Get in
It's 15 minutes west of San Jose and 45 minutes south of San Francisco. The nearest railway, Caltrain (connecting San Francisco with Gilroy), stops in downtown Sunnyvale, about a ten-minute drive from the city center. Bus service is provided by VTA.
Get around
Cupertino has 2 major streets: De Anza Blvd., which runs north-south, and Stevens Creek Blvd., which runs east-west. The intersection of these two streets is in the center of Cupertino, and most of the businesses and shopping centers in the city are located in the area.
Highways 85 and 280 cross through Cupertino. These provide excellent access to the western cities in the South Bay, and to downtown San Jose (respectively).
Public transportation in Cupertino, provided by VTA, is very limited. The predominant form of transportation is personal vehicles.
The Silicon Valley Hopper offers microtransit service, something halfway between a bus and a ridehail car.
Traffic is not much of an issue and major streets come with bike lanes, so biking is relatively safe.
See
Due to its consistent tangerine/beige colors and the amount of money local authorities probably spend in maintenance, Cupertino is actually quite beautiful, with a peculiar charm distinct to that of its neighbors. The contrast with San Jose outskirts, Sunnyvale or South Los Altos can be striking at city edges.
The northeastern quarter of Cupertino (including the "city center" at the intersection of De Anza Blvd. and Stevens Creek Blvd.) hosts a large number of Apple Inc. offices. This is unusual given that tech giants tend to set their headquarters in outlying urban areas—usually beyond a freeway—and rarely approach downtown. Apple employees can easily make up the vast majority of bystanders in these locations, especially at lunchtime, and may be seen wandering around with half-open MacBooks and openly discussing confidential matters.
See Apple Infinite Loop (Apple Campus)
The historical headquarters of Apple, Inc., still in use. Despite their overall lack of aesthetic quality, they were the most recognisable of all Silicon Valley headquarters until the construction of the Apple Park a mile to the east, and Apple fans do take selfies in front of the main entrance. You can go through the first door, up to the reception and before security check, and then take a peek through the glass panes at the rather scenic main hall, with banners featuring the company's latest product hanging in front of the inner lawn.
See Apple Park
The headquarters of Apple, Inc., inaugurated in 2017. One of the largest buildings in the world (factories excluded) in terms of length and width, this $5 billion ring-shaped "spaceship" was built on the Vallco Park at the location of a historic barn, which was rebuilt on the north of the site. The Apple Park is near-entirely surrounded with a mound, trees and a fence, which conceal most of it from sight. In contrast, its glass walls are transparent enough to allow seeing the employees inside, and the sheer size of the place tends to give optical illusions on whether the walls are actually straight or curved. The Apple Park Visitor Center is a two-story building at the east of the headquarters. The ground floor includes a small Apple Store, exclusive merchandise, a café and an AR model of the site. Upstairs is a balcony with a view on the headquarters. Contrary to Infinite Loop, it is not possible to smuggle oneself through the entrance of the Apple Park.
Do
Hiking trails can be found in the Fremont Older Open Space Preserve, which is connected with the Mid-Peninsula Open Space Preserve, offering even more options. Streets generally have bike lanes and (sparsely-used) sidewalks that can be good for jogging.
Do Rancho San Antonio County Park (Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve)
A popular hiking location with over 25 mi of trails. Good for biking and horseback riding as well. Features a farm called Deer Hollow Farm that offers tours and seasonal produce for sale. Arrive early if visiting on weekends as it can be difficult to find a parking space.
Buy
Apple's two campuses, the Apple Park and Infinite Loop, both feature a "Company Store". They sell corporate merchandise not available either at the company's standard retail stores or on the Internet, and each store sells different swag. This includes t-shirts (usually in limited edition), mugs, notebooks, caps, and other small gifts. They are open M-F 10AM to 5:30PM, and closed on some public holidays.
Eat
Cupertino has a large Chinese population and so has a lot of Asian food choices. It doesn't have a walkable downtown and most of the restaurants are in smaller strip malls.
Eat Cupertino Village
A good place to find authentic Chinese food, with the restaurants and shops catering to mostly Chinese customers. There are a few Taiwanese, Cantonese, and other regional specialty places around.
Eat Alexander's Steakhouse
Amazing tasting steaks, but expect a bill in the 100s.
Drink
Drink Picchetti Winery
One of the oldest wineries in California, established in 1890. It is on a historic ranch in the Santa Cruz mountains and within the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space, with nearby hiking trails.
Sleep
The following hotels and motels aren't in Cupertino proper but are very close, in San Jose, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale. Downtown San Jose is home to the finest hotels in the area.
Stay safe
Be careful to check for ticks after hiking in fields in the Bay Area. There is a high rate of lyme disease transmission in the Bay Area. If a bull's-eye rash develops at the tick bite site, immediately seek medical help and treatment with antibiotics. There have been instances of mountain lion sightings in the western periphery of the city, in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains.
Cupertino is very safe, with violent crime virtually nonexistent. On the other hand, this means the local sheriff's deputies have little to do but hide behind bushes to catch drivers for moving violations. Be sure to obey traffic laws while in Cupertino.
Go next
- One of the city's strongest assets is its accessibility to the Mid-Peninsula Open Space Preserve (aka Rancho San Antonio) which extends up and down the Santa Cruz mountains.
- Not only is it one of the most accessible, Fremont Older Open Space Preserve is generally not as frequented as the other preserves on the peninsula, making for a quiet get-away very close to the heart of Silicon Valley.
Nearby
Sunnyvale
City / town · 28 listings · 4 mi away
Saratoga
City / town · 8 listings · 4 mi away
Los Altos
City / town · 28 listings · 5 mi away
Santa Clara
City / town · 40 listings · 5 mi away
Campbell
City / town · 21 listings · 5 mi away
Mountain View
City / town · 55 listings · 6 mi away
Los Altos Hills
City / town · 2 listings · 7 mi away
Los Gatos
City / town · 22 listings · 7 mi away
My experience
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