Santana Row, San Jose, Guide du visiteur et quoi faire à proximité

Santana Row is a pedestrian-friendly district of shops, restaurants, a hotel and apartments on Stevens Creek Boulevard in San Jose, California. Designed to feel like a Mediterranean-style town street rather than a shopping mall, it opened in 2002 and has become one of the best-known places in the city to stroll, eat and people-watch.

The story behind it

Before Santana Row existed, this part of the Santa Clara Valley was farmland. The valley was famous for its orchards, and fruit canneries were a major employer in the early 20th century, so the land under the shops belongs to a long agricultural and labor history that is easy to forget today.

The district's most dramatic chapter came while it was still being built. On August 19, 2002, a huge fire destroyed the largest building on the site, a residential block under construction known as Santana Heights. Embers carried through the neighborhood and set smaller fires nearby, including at an apartment complex close to the site. It was among the most destructive structure fires San Jose has seen. The developers rebuilt, the district opened later that year, and today the streets look calm and finished, with little to show what happened.

What to look for

• The Mediterranean-inspired facades, with warm stucco colors, shuttered windows and wrought-iron balconies that set the Row apart from a typical American shopping center.
• The tree-lined main street, laid out so that people on foot, not cars, feel like the main users of the space.
• The outdoor patios and plazas, where cafes and restaurants spill onto the pavement and the street comes alive in the evening.
• The skyline at dusk, when the sky turns orange above the rooftops and you can picture how different this same view looked in 2002.

Tips for your visit

• Allow at least an hour to wander the street and its side plazas, more if you plan to eat or shop.
• Late afternoon into early evening is the most atmospheric time, with softer light and the patios filling up.
• Walking the streets costs nothing, but individual shops and restaurants keep their own schedules, so check current opening hours before you go.
• Valley Fair shopping center is just across Stevens Creek Boulevard, which makes it easy to combine both in one outing.

See it on a quest

Santana Row is one stop on Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in San Jose, a self-guided walk with a darker theme. You reach each place on foot, the app tells you about it as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever you like.

You also pass it on Ghost Hunt in San Jose, which suits anyone who likes their sightseeing with a spooky edge. Santana Row is one stop on a longer route through the area, with the story of each place told on the spot and a puzzle to solve before you move on. One ticket covers the whole group.