Journeys in Suburbia: Downtown San Jose--Part 9: Visiting

Journeys in Suburbia: Downtown San Jose--Part 9: Information
The R2-D2 building, the last hanging ground in California, and a statue that looks like feces.

Top Locations:
1. Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
2. Martin Luther King Library
3. San Pedro Market
4. Cesar Chavez Square

Time for Visiting: 1-4 hrs
Cost: ~$15 for food, $0 - $20 
Best Season: Winter, Spring, Fall
Bring: Camera, sunscreen, money

Difficulty:  Flat: Paved roads, lots of intersections

Downtown San Jose with routes (light blue) connecting each individual section.  Parking lots depicted in pink, food areas depicted in orange

Downtown San Jose is a big city traffic in a suburban setting. To visit, take HWY101 or HWY280 South of San Francisco until you exit at Downtown SJ.

Total time: ~ 3hrs, 8.8km
 
Notable restaurants:
1. Back-A-Yard: Somewhat hidden Caribbean Resturant,  makes a nice jerk chicken--$15-$30
Yelp page- http://www.yelp.com/biz/back-a-yard-san-jose

2. Los Cubanos: Best Cuban restaurant in the San Jose area: $15-30
Yelp page- http://www.yelp.com/biz/los-cubanos-restaurant-san-jose-2

Final Notes: Lots of homeless and police. Confusing traffic layout means it is better to park and walk the area on foot. Daytime generally kid-friendly, Night time more bar crowd. City festivals, concerts and Sharks games held in the area, which are nice to visit be wreck havoc on anyone trying to pass by or park.