Sunnyvale has a variety of attractions in the city and the surrounding Santa Clara County that are sure to please everyone in your group. Depending on what you are in the mood for, you can go for a good laugh at comedy clubs, explore quaint museums, indulge in gourmet chocolate or enjoy an intense garlic festival that will leave you gasping for breath. These are just some of the many choices available to you in Sunnyvale.

Rooster T Feathers Comedy Club

For more than 30 years Rooster T. Feathers Comedy Club has dominated the Sunnyvale comedy scene. Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, Ellen DeGeneres, and Drew Carey are just a few star comedians who have been on stage at Rooster. Rooster hosts national comics who perform on The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, HBO, Showtime and Comedy Central. The intimate setting gets you close to the entertainers up close, and sometimes in the spotlight. This historical building was at one time Sunnyvale's original bus stop. In the early 1970s the first video game, Pong was beta tested here.

Weekly specials include College Night on Thursday and Military Appreciation Night on Sunday.

The Lace Museum

Since 1976, The Lace Museum, founded by a small group of women, preserves the art of lace making. The founding members met regularly to teach each other lace making techniques, teach other groups and individuals how to make lace, and to educate the community about the fine art of lace making through exhibits, shows and community events.

Today The Lace Museum is a teaching museum and staffed by volunteers and the only lace museum in the western part of the United States. On show at the museum are hundreds of lace samples that have been donated over the years. Many types of lace, lace-making tools and books that date back to the 1700's can be found in the museum.

Quarterly exhibits demonstrate the breadth of the museum's holdings.

Chocolatier Desiree

Chocolatier Desiree offers more than 40 flavors and styles of chocolate and is the largest selection from Gartner in the United States. Gartner has been making chocolates for over 50 years. Did you know the ideal temperature to store chocolates is between 14 and 20 degrees Celsius? The selection at Chocolatier Desiree includes truffles, fresh creams, nuts, marzipans and much more. Gartner’s chocolates have only natural products and do not use wax, preservatives or colorants.

Montalvo Arts Center

Montalvo Arts Center is a beautiful cultural center in the Saratoga Mountains. It celebrates culture and creates and presents arts of all types in the historic buildings and lovely grounds.

Montalvo has on its 175 pristine acres a stunning Mediterranean-style villa. The Center is also home to the Lucas Artists Programs, which offers facilities and staff support for the creative process of its resident artists, state-of-the-art technology and an environment conducive to both individual practice and the energetic exchange of ideas among international and culturally- and artistically diverse fellows.

You can hike up the wooded hillside for a truly unmatched view of the valley. Many people enjoy a picnic on the front lawn.

Walking Tours of the Villa & Grounds at Montalvo Arts Center are led by volunteer docents every Sunday and Tuesday at 10 a.m. You’ll hear about Senator Phelan’s country home, his life and his friends, and the history of the arts center. The tours are free for Montalvo members and one guest; tickets are $10 per person for non-members. Tours last approximately two hours and are recommended for ages 12+. Make a reservation at the Montalvo Box Office at 408-961-5858.

You can also take self-guided grounds tours and walk the Montalvo grounds on your own. The grounds are open seven days a week (except for special events, which are posted on the website). For docent guided tours check the site. 

Arboretum & Gardens

Montalvo Arts Center has two lovely gardens for you to enjoy: the Italianate Garden is located at the bottom of the Front Lawn with a gated entry and beautiful trees and plants lining the pathways leading to the Love Temple and the Phelan Cactus Garden. The Blue Garden and the Bird Garden are meticulously curated to preserve the natural beauty of Montalvo's grounds.

Seasonal Attractions

Grandpa's Pumpkin Patch and Christmas Tree Lot

Grandpa's Pumpkin Patch and Christmas Tree Lot is a fall and winter favorite with Sunnyvale residents and their children. The Pumpkin Patch brings the farm to the city with a petting zoo full of cuddly animals, a hayride, hay maze, and a Haunted House. There are bounce houses for the kids to burn some energy. The Pumpkin Patch is open from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00. p.m., seven days a week during the month of October. Guests can stay as long as they wish at the Patch.

Nearby attractions

The Tech Museum

The Tech Museum in Santa Clara is a fun, hands-on technology and science museum for young people and the young at heart. Situated in the center of Silicon Valley, the museum is one of the most accessible places for Bay Area families to explore tech and science in a hands-on environment. Programs such as The Tech Challenge, an annual team design competition for youth, and internationally renowned programs such as The Tech Awards, makes The Tech Museum a center for engaging the younger generation to innovate and expand their knowledge and interest in technology.

Gilroy Garlic Festival

The Gilroy Garlic Festival is for the brave hearted. The chefs, vendors, visitors and sponsors at the festival all share their love of garlic in every way imaginable. A Gourmet Alley serves a feast of stuffed mushrooms, pepper steak sandwiches, pasta con pesto, calamari, scampi, Italian sausage sandwiches, ice cream, garlic bread and garlic fries—all infused with garlic. Chefs battle their best recipes to see who will win the coveted trophy of being the garlic chef of the year. A beauty pageant, recipe cook-off, live bands, arts and crafts booths, garlic cooking tools, ingredients, and contests will keep the family busy for hours.

Hakone

Hakone is the oldest Asian estate and garden in the western world. It has 18 acres of manicured grounds in the lush hills of Saratoga in full view of Silicon Valley.  You can take a tour, participate in a meditative tea ceremony and learn about origami. Hakone celebrates annual festivals and events, including the Lunar New Year, Matsuri (spring festival), opera performances in the fall and Daicha Kai (a grand tea gathering). The loveliest features of Hakone include the gardens and historic buildings.

San Jose Museum of Art 
The San José Museum of Art showcases exhibitions with a focus on contemporary art on a rotating basis. The museum also schedules poetry readings, concerts, lectures and children’s activities. The museum has a store and cafe on its premises.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom 

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is a fun and wild ride in Vallejo on the East Bay. It is a combination wildlife park, oceanarium and amusement theme park. There are rides and activities that will delight the young and the young at heart.

Stanford University 

If this is your first trip to the San Francisco Bay Area a visit to Stanford and a guided tour of the campus is a must. Explore the grounds on your own to get a feel of the campus. Guided campus walking tours leave daily, except during certain academic breaks, at 11 a.m., and 3:15 p.m. from the Memorial Auditorium information booth, across from Hoover Tower. Tours by motorized cart are also available.

The Tech Museum of Innovation

More than 250 interactive exhibits devoted to innovation, exploration, communication and the human body show visitors how technology touches their lives every day. Other special areas to explore are the 290-seat Hackworth IMAX® Dome Theater, Tech Café and Tech Store, with the latest in gizmos and gadgets.

Winchester Mystery House

Bizzare, weird, strange, fascinating and amazing are some of the adjectives used to describe the Winchester Mystery House in its brochures. Strange, inexplicable features include a stairwell that leads to a ceiling, a window built into the floor, doors that open to blank walls, upside down posts and much more. To get discounted tickets to the Mystery House, go to the city of Santa Clara’s website. 

Sunnyvale Farmers Market

With more than 50 vendors displaying, sampling, and offering their freshest seasonal fruits and vegetables, it’s a year-round bounty. The Farmers Market is located in Downtown Sunnyvale at South Murphy Street between Washington and Evelyn Avenues.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., year round

Sunnyvale Historical Museum:

The colorful history of Sunnyvale is captured at this museum. Exhibits highlight the City’s founding families and agricultural development, from 1850s cherry, plum and pear orchards to today’s high-tech industrial parks. 

Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant

Learn about water stewardship as you following the water’s flow and view processes and equipment on this free 90-
minute tour. Tours are available Monday through Friday bewteen 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Advance reservations are required.

Gilroy Gardens:
Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park is a one-of-a-kind experience combining four unique gardens and amusement rides with the mid-20th century history and agricultural roots of Santa Clara Valley. To get discounted tickets for Gilroy Gardens, go to the city of Santa Clara’s website. 

Children’s Discovery Museum of SanJose
This museum is an educational, cultural and discovery center for children, families and groups. More than 150 hands-on
exhibits and programs encourage tinkering, testing, tasting, listening, and learning to help us understand this complex world we live in.

Happy Hollow Park and Zoo

The fun kid-themed park features children’s rides and amusements. Let your child explore and learn about more than 50 domestic, exotic and endangered species from all over the world, including a jaguar and one of the country’s largest lemur exhibits.

Raging Waters

The Bay Area’s largest water park offers more than one million gallons of family recreation and adventure. High-speed slides include the four-person Barracuda Blaster; among the many other attractions are the 350,000-gallon wave pool and palm-shaded lawns.

California's Great America

California's Great America is Northern California's best known amusement park. The rides and activities in the park are varied enough to cater to thrill seekers of all ages. Extreme rides that are pure speed and adventure like Flight Deck and Vortex will get your heart pounding.  Need something a little slower? Try the Carousel Columbia or Barney Oldfield Speedway.

Planet Snoopy is for the die-hard Snoopy fan, especially if he or she is a kid. See Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, and Sally or take a ride through the park. Need more to entertain the kids? Try KidZville a big, busy town built just for kids. This small town has 18 rides and attractions for parents and kids to enjoy together.

Boomerang Bay the Australian-themed Beach Club has the best water play area.

There’s live entertainment, special events such as the Halloween Haunt that is known for its frights. To get discounted tickets for Great America, go to the city of Santa Clara’s website. 

Sources

http://www.sunnyvale-ca.worldweb.com/ToursActivities/

http://www.sunnyvale-ca.worldweb.com/SightsAttractions/AmusementThemeParks/