Of Interest: downtown San Jose, historic San Jose, HP Pavilion
Lodging: yes
Tourist Office: No
San Jose Diridon Station is a major rail hub. Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor stops several times a day while the once daily Coast Starlight connects San Jose to Los Angeles to the south and Portland and Seattle to the north. Both lines take about three hours to get to Sacramento after passing through Oakland and Berkeley. It is the terminus for both the Caltrain and the Altamont Commuter Express. The former takes about an hour to get to San Francisco International Airport and two hours to get into San Francisco itself. Express trains that run during rush hour only take an hour to get to San Francisco. Trains are frequent during rush hour. Frequency drops to once an hour during the middle of the day and on weekends. The ACE runs a two hour route to Stockton. Three trains come into San Jose in the morning and three trains go back out to Stockton in the evening.
Santa Clara County’s light rail system, the VTA has a separate platform behind the station and another station within walking distance. The VTA will be operating a historic trolley on Saturday afternoon in December.
The station was renamed the Diridon Station in 1994 in honor of former Santa Clara County Supervisor Rod Diridon, a long time California rail supporter.
The station is close to two hotels. The Arena is a budget hotel to the west of the hotel. The Hotel De Anza is to the east and is much more luxurious. It is often a good value compared to other downtown hotels. The Hotel De Anza is on the edge of downtown, and there are many more hotels, most expensive, within walking distance. Likewise there are other budget hotels and motels further to the east beyond The Arena.
Downtown San Jose is home to large office buildings as well as several museums. Local festivals are also held in the area as well as a farmers’ market every Friday from May to the middle of December.
Trainstar 