In addition to the world-renowned Stanford Shopping Center (hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., www.stanfordshop. com), Palo Alto features a vibrant downtown shopping district (see parking, page 22), a quieter but popular shopping and restaurant district centered around California Avenue just south of the Stanford campus, and Town & Country Village, a specialty center on El Camino Real across from Stanford Stadium. Visitors will find cafés and a wide variety of restaurants in all four shopping areas, as well as in the neighboring downtowns of Menlo Park, Los Altos and Mountain View. Downtown Palo Alto is crowded on Friday and Saturday nights, when restaurant reservations are advised and parking can be difficult. Many downtown retailers are open in the evenings to cater to the bar and restaurant crowd. California Avenue features a large number of good restaurants popular with local residents, as does Castro Street in Mountain View. Major grocery and drug stores are conveniently located. One of the biggest Safeway stores in the entire chain is located on El Camino Real in Menlo Park, less than a mile north of Palo Alto. Whole Foods has locations in downtown Palo Alto and just south of Palo Alto in Los Altos, and Mollie Stone’s operates a full-service market and deli on California Avenue.
Dani Vernon
shopping
Stanford Shopping Center
CVS Pharmacy has locations in Town & Country Village, on University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto, and in the Midtown shopping area on Middlefield Road south of Oregon Expressway. Walgreens has locations on University Avenue, in Midtown and on El Camino Real in Palo Alto, and in downtown Menlo Park. Both downtown Palo Alto and the California Avenue business district hold popular Farmers Markets, featuring live music, local produce and artisan foods. Downtown’s market is on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon starting May 10 and is held in the parking lot behind the post office at Hamilton Avenue and Gilman Street. The market on California Avenue closes down several blocks and is held on Sunday mornings year-round between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
2013
Cheeky Monkey Toys, the magic of play, the wonder of learning. Complimentary gift wrapping and assembly! Joie de Vivre introduces
The Spot for Toys, Games, and all things learning and fun!
Now open in the heart of Palo Alto BOOK YOUR RESERVATION NOW 800.224.6000 | www.jdvhotels.com 180 HAMILTON AVENUE, PALO ALTO 16 Spring/Summer Visitors Gu i d e 2 0 1 4
640 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park
650.328.7975
www.cheekymonkeytoys.com