Campbell

Campbell is a town of 44,000 people (2020) south and west of San Jose.

Understand

Campbell is part of Silicon Valley.

Get in

• I-880 south of I-280 becomes Highway 17; the Hamilton Ave exit takes you to Campbell.
• VTA's Mountain View – Winchester Light Rail line has a Downtown Campbell stop. Buses are also available.

Get around

• Downtown Campbell is eminently walkable, being only four blocks long.

See

• Campbell Ave. East of Winchester and west of Bascom. To the west, the Historic Downtown District offers a variety of small independent shops and restaurants. To the east, the Pruneyard Shopping Center offers a variety of well-known franchise chains. In between, the Los Gatos Creek Trail extends into Campbell Park.
• 1 James Henry and Jessie Campbell House, 91 S 2nd St. Not open to the public, but is nice to eyeball as you walk or drive by. 
• 2 The Ainsley House, 300 Grant St, ☏ +1 408-866-2119. F–Su 11AM–3PM. A 15-room English Tudor-style house that has been restored to its 1920s appearance and decor. It is now a museum that is open to the public. (updated May 2022)

Do

• Prunefest. Annual event, usually in May. (updated May 2022)
• Farmers' Market (along E. Campbell Ave, between Central Ave and 3rd St). Sundays 9AM–1PM. Main Street downtown is closed to traffic; free parking is available on-street and in a multistory edifice. (updated May 2022)

Buy

• 1 The Pruneyard, 1875 S Bascom Ave, ☏ +1 605-992-8687. The local upscale shopping center. Has restaurants, a Trader Joe's grocery store, and a cinema. (updated May 2022)
  • Pruneyard Cinemas. Eat dinner at the dine-in movie multiplex. 
  • Coffee Society. The stage for a cast of musically inclined bohemians, laptop-toting grad students, fast-talking dot-com biz nerds, and other colorful locals. 
  • Luna Mexican Kitchen. Su–Th 9AM–9PM; F Sa 9AM–10PM. Mexican food in a vegetable-forward style with traditional ingredients such as beans, corn, and nopales. Most dishes are made in-house from fresh ingredients – even the tortilla chips. Good options for people on lower-carb diets. $15–40. 
• 2 Rasputin Music, 1820 S Bascom Ave, ☏ +1 408-558-0781. An excellent record shop featuring hard to find new and used CDs, DVDs, clothing, etc. If for some reason you can't find it there, try Streetlight Records up Bascom Avenue to the north. (updated May 2022)
• 3 Recycled Books West, 275 E. Campbell Ave (downtown Campbell), ☏ +1 408 370-3514. M–Sa 11AM–9PM, Su 10AM–5PM. This branch of San Jose's best used book store opened in 2004. The original store is still in business on the Alameda. This location has a little of everything, including several resident cats. Good sci-fi selection, but much more, too. (updated May 2022)

Eat

• 1 Stacks, 139 East Campbell Ave, ☏ +1 408 376-3516. M–Th 7AM–2PM, F–Su 7AM–2:30PM. Go there for breakfast. Gluten-free options. (updated May 2022)
• 2 Royal Taj, 1350 Camden Ave, ☏ +1 408 559-6801. Daily 11:30AM–3PM, 5:30–10PM. Excellent Indian food. $20. (updated May 2022)
• 3 Taco Bravo, 1950 S Bascom Ave. Mexican fast food you could build a hacienda out of - that's a compliment, by the way. 
• 4 Naschmarkt, 384 E. Campbell Ave, ☏ +1 408 378-0335. Su Tu–Th 5–9PM; F–Sa 5–9:30PM, closed Mondays. Named after an open-air produce market in Vienna, this upscale restaurant serves mostly Austrian and German-style food, such as bratwurst and Wiener schnitzel. Open kitchen. $65. (updated May 2022)
• 5 Orchard City Kitchen, 1875 S. Bascom Ave, Suite #190 (Pruneyard Shopping Center), ☏ +1 408 340-5285. International fusion restaurant offering treats such as smoked duck breast with mustard and blackberries and lamb riblets with pumpkin seeds, chili honey, white chocolate, and hazelnuts. Opens earlier on the weekends for brunch. $25 brunch or lunch, $50 dinner. (updated May 2021)

Drink

• 1 Out of the Barrel, 1875 S. Bascom Ave, Ste #560 (in the Prunyard shopping center, hidden away between Peet's Coffee and Luna Cafe), ☏ +1-408-676-8332. noon to 10PM. Pub serving excellent fresh local craft beer. Has a nice outdoor patio. Bring your own food. (updated Apr 2022)

Sleep

• 1 DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Campbell – Pruneyard Plaza, 1995 S Bascom Ave, toll-free: +1-800-559-4344. A Tuscan-style retreat. Smoke-free hotel with a pool and jacuzzi, fitness center and 24 hour business center. Free Wi-Fi, continental breakfast, newspaper delivery and parking. Restaurants and grocery store nearby in the Pruneyard. Near VTA bus routes 61 and 26. Half-mile walk to the VTA Green line light rail station. (updated May 2021)
• 2 Motel 6 San Jose - Campbell, 1240 Camden Ave, ☏ +1 408-371-8870, fax: +1 408-879-0236. (updated Oct 2019)
• 3 Residence Inn San Jose Campbell, 2761 S. Bascom Ave, ☏ +1 408-559-1551, fax: +1 408-371-9808. Includes full kitchen. The larger upstairs suites can accommodate up to five people, including two cribs. Easy walk to an upscale grocery store and the Bascom & Curtner bus stop for VTA bus route 61, which runs from Good Samaritan Hospital through downtown San Jose. Smaller suites at ground level are wheelchair-accessible. From $175. (updated May 2021)
• 4 TownePlace Suites San Jose Campbell, 700 E. Campbell Ave, ☏ +1 408-370-4510, fax: +1 408 370-4511. Rooms with kitchenettes. Includes parking for two vehicles. Next door to Campbell Park, with playgrounds and basketball courts, and the Los Gatos Creek Trail for exercise. On VTA bus route 26. From $275. (updated May 2021)
• 5 Larkspur Landing Campbell, 550 West Hamilton Ave, ☏ +1 408-364-1514, toll-free: +1-877-527-5778, fax: +1 408 364-1600, campbellll@larkspurhotels.com. All suites have a fully equipped kitchen. You can find freshly made cookies in the lobby, a fitness center and a library. On VTA bus route 56, which runs west to the Westgate shopping malls and then north to Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale. From $200+. (updated May 2021)

Connect

Free wi-fi may be found at the following locations:

• Orchard Valley Coffee on Campbell Ave
• Coffee Society, Pruneyard

Go next

The next town to the south is Los Gatos. Los Gatos boasts a larger downtown area, fancier shops, and richer residents.

Continuing south on Hwy 17, one goes over the hill and arrives in Santa Cruz.

Routes through Campbell

Oakland via ← San Jose ←

N  S

→ Los Gatos → Santa Cruz