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Ask HN: How to visit Google HQ?
Hello HNers. I am visiting in San Jose for the weekend to visit my brother, and I would love to tour Google during my visit. I've searched a bit and found that they're not too fond of unannounced visitors, so I was hoping you could help. Does anyone either: work at Google and willing to give us a quick tour, or know of a way to visit their headquarters without being too much of a headache for them? I appreciate any help.
- timinman 17y agoThis might be a long shot, timing-wise, but the Silicon Valley Google Technology Users Group (like a Google fan club for developers) meets at the Googleplex once-a-month; their information is on meetup.com.
- dkokelley 17y ago"The Silicon Valley Google Technology User Group meets on the first Wednesday of the month at the GooglePlex in Mountain View." Thanks anyways. Good to know I could do that some other time.
- jey 17y agoBecome friends with a Googler, get invited by Googler friend. (At least, they allowed this back in 2005.)
- dryicerx 17y agoOn a related note, don't forget to visit the Computer History Museum if you're in the area (might be a good alternative if your Google plans fall through) Hope they still have the difference engine on display.
- rdoherty 17y agoI'd even argue the Computer History Museum is more interesting than Google. Over 100 years of computing machines, free tours, interactive exhibits and a lot more. I've interviewed at Google a few times and eat lunch there every week or two. Great campus, but not exactly something that I think people should push for touring when they're in SV. A few other awesome nerd things to see/do: * Winchester Mystery House http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/index.cfm http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/index.cfm * California Academy of Sciences http://www.calacademy.org/ http://www.calacademy.org/ * USS Hornet http://www.uss-hornet.org/ http://www.uss-hornet.org/ * Fry's http://www.frys.com/ http://www.frys.com/ Or visit Mozilla (I work there ;) )
- andyking 17y agoIsn't it just like any other office? I work in a small FM radio station and we quite frequently get visits from listeners, both on request and unannounced. I'm not sure what sort of showbiz glitz and glamour they're expecting; apart from one room with a few microphones and a mixing desk in it, it's just a few fairly dull offices in an old house, with computers and desks and papers lying around. People often leave feeling a little disenchanted after we've made them a terrible cup of tea. They come thinking they're going to get a "tour", said tour lasts about 10 minutes if you stretch it out, awkwardness all round. We're happy to meet our listeners, they're why we exist, but there's just not all that much to see. I can imagine Google being similar; people wanting to visit because it's Google but then being greeted by an office block not dissimilar to where they themselves work. I'm sure there are more interesting places in the area! I wouldn't, for instance, put my bank's head office on the list of places to visit in Edinburgh...
- dschobel 17y agoIf you're a CS buff, visiting google is a trip to the holy land. It is borderline obscene the legendary names they have working there who you'll see just wandering the halls. Seriously, it's like nothing I've ever seen before. Think of the most prestigious CS department imaginable, now multiply the size a hundredfold.
- sown 17y agoI don't see how it would be like visiting the holy land. google headquarters is not a tourist's attraction. I wouldn't want to be accosted by random people at work, if I were the luminaries.
- dschobel 17y agoWhether it is polite to bother them (it's not) is orthogonal to the fact that such a roster of seminal academics and hackers is located in one place.
- buster 17y agohttp://www.time.com/time/photoessays/2006/inside_google/ http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/2006/inside_google/ If this is your definition of "like any other office" i am seriously working for the wrong company :P
- jamesbond 17y agoI did visit the Googleplex last summer. Basically, find a Googler to invite you ;) He/she will make you visit it and you may even have diner at one of their cafeterias. They have a merch store on site by the way. Otherwise, you shouldn't have problems walking around the volleyball field and the dinosaur without an invitation, just don't look too suspicious. The Google Security guys watched me from their SUVs as I was walking near the campus with my 65 liters backpack and day pack. Mozilla is across the street. I went inside but all I could find was an empty room with another door and a magnetic card reader, so I couldn't visit. The Computer History Museum is a 10-15 minutes walk from the Googleplex. There is also a movie theater in proximity.