The Computer History Museum in Mountain View offers a comprehensive look at the history of the tech industry, from the first computer to the dawn of the Internet age and modern developments, such as the driver-less car. The museum also online exhibits on its website.

Located in downtown San Jose, the Tech Museum of Innovation is a hands-on museum, offering visitors a variety of opportunities to touch and operated innovative technologies developed in Silicon Valley. The museum also features regular visiting exhibitions, including recent partnerships with Star Wars and Mythbusters—both of which have Bay Area ties.

• HP Garage

• 367 Addison Ave, Palo Alto

Designated the "Birthplace of Silicon Valley" by a historic marker, Hewlett-Packard's first product, an audio oscillator, was created in this modest Palo Alto residential garage in 1938. It is not open open tours but visitors can stop and take pictures in front of the garage and a National Register of Historic Places plaque.

Visitors will know they have arrived at Facebook headquarters when they see the iconic “Like” symbol on Hacker Way, the street that circles the campus. Formerly home to Sun Microsystem, the 57-acre Facebook waterfront campus just west of the Dumbarton Bridge in Menlo Park is closed to public tours. However, visitors can stop by Bayfront Park nearby and grab a bite to eat at several eateries, including Dashi Japanese Restaurant and comfy California cuisine eatery Cool Cafe.

Visitors to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View will notice familiar Google icons and employees taking advantage of the company's bike-share program. Stop by the Google Android Sculpture Garden (1635 Charleston Road, Mountain View) to see all of the Google’s creative icons and the Google Gate Bridge, a small brown bridge crossing over a little lake. For added entertainment, Shoreline Amphitheatre hosts concerts next to the campus from spring to fall, drawing heavy traffic to the area on some nights and weekends.

The modern architecture at Yahoo! stands out with an angular design and the company’s famous logo. There’s not a lot to see here, but it sits adjacent to the museum at NASA’s Moffett Field and there are numerous great dining options nearby, including the Fish Market Restaurant and affordable ethnic restaurants Komala Vilas and Palace BBQ Buffett on El Camino Real.

One of the most famous addresses in Silicon Valley, Apple headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop offers a photo opportunity with a big green No. 1 in front of the main entrance of the building. The Apple company store is located next door and offers authentic Apple shirts, laptop bags, hats, mugs and more. Across the street, Apple techies can sometimes be found unwinding after a long day of coding at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse.

At Intel’s headquarters in Santa Clara, visitors can visit the Intel Museum, free and open to the public during business hours, with an exhibit on how computer devices work and other hands-on activities. Athena Grill and the Fish Market are great options for a meal near the campus.

One of the tallest buildings in downtown San Jose, it’s hard to miss the four spinning wheels at the top of Adobe’s headquarters. Every 7.2 seconds the wheels turn to new positions and have the possibility of 256 combinations. According to San Jose Walk and Talks, the wheels relay a secret message that only few techies can decode. Guadalupe River Park is located adjacent to the building and San Pedro Square Market offers numerous dining and drinking options nearby.

The large eBay headquarters building in north San Jose surrounds is preceded by a colorful eBay sign in the middle of an island of beautiful flowers, making for great photo opportunities. The building is near Las Gatos Creek Trail, a great stop for outdoor fun once the quick photo opportunity is over.