There are a lot of interesting places to visit in the valley but I am not sure you'll be able to get a snapshot of the valley advantage in a few days. The valle

There are a lot of interesting places to visit in the valley but I am not sure you'll be able to get a snapshot of the valley advantage in a few days. The valley advantage is more about the connections you build in the course of living and working there. If you attend popular geek events though, you might get a good approximation. Stanford always has something interesting. Last time I was there, a CS class was hosting some very interesting guest lecturers. I emailed the prof asking him if I could attend (as a GT student at that time) and he said sure. Non geeky recommendation: Half moon bay, it's a nice beach Avoid at all costs: The tilted / haunted house (called something like that) - Fake tourist spot, highly boring and a waste of time.