Menlo Park

 

Menlo Park is a vibrant city in the heart of Silicon Valley. Facebook is headquartered at a sprawling campus on Menlo Park’s San Francisco Bay shoreline. The city is also home to the famous venture capital hub on Sand Hill Road, where dozens of investment firms have provided funding for virtually every major Silicon Valley tech firm. Menlo Park has a lively downtown area featuring a fine choice of chic restaurants and independent retailers.

 

Menlo Park is composed of a variety of distinctive neighborhoods with an eclectic real estate mix. Renovated mid-century single-family homes and classic ranches are prevalent. The city also offers charming bungalows and stylish condominiums close to downtown amenities. At the high end of the market, Menlo Park features stunning custom-built properties and grand estates. The city’s wide-ranging housing options also include rustic Napa farmhouses.

 

Menlo Park is one of Silicon Valley’s most important hubs of tech and finance. Sand Hill Road is the engine room of Silicon Valley, with investment groups accounting for billions of dollars in funding for the region’s world-leading tech scene. Facebook’s Menlo Park campus employs 15,000 workers. Other top local employers include Stanford University’s SRI International nonprofit scientific research offshoot. Along with providing some of the best employment opportunities in Silicon Valley, Menlo Park offers its residents an enviable lifestyle with a great downtown and many trails and parks for outdoor recreation.

 

Menlo Park’s pretty tree-lined downtown area features a great mix of stylish restaurants and unique local businesses. The Refuge is a laidback gastropub serving Belgian beers alongside specialties, including a delicious signature pastrami sandwich. Sultana offers traditional Turkish cuisine and other flavorful Mediterranean fares. This sophisticated dining destination has an airy outdoor patio and an impressive selection of wines available by the glass or bottle.

 

Other downtown dining highlights include refined French brasserie dishes at Left Bank, authentic Northern Italian cuisine at Ristorante Carpaccio, intimate French bistro dining at Bistro Vida, and creative sushi rolls and modern Japanese entrees at Octopus. 

Afterwards Consignment and The Shop both sell steeply discounted second-hand designer clothing and vintage furniture. Other downtown retailers include independent bookstore Kepler’s Books, hip womenswear boutique Dolma Handicrafts, running and sportswear emporium Fleet Feet, and gourmet grocery store Draeger’s Market.

 

The upscale Stanford Shopping Center offers lots more shopping and dining along Palo Alto’s boundary with Menlo Park. This premier retail destination features more than 150 businesses anchored by Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom department stores.

 

Menlo Park has plenty of parks and greenspace to get out and explore. Conveniently located in the downtown area, Fremont Park has tree-shaded lawns for relaxing afternoon picnics. On Wednesday evenings between June and August, Fremont Park hosts an eclectic lineup of performers for the Summer Concert Series. Nine-acre Nealon Park features softball fields, tennis courts, and an off-leash dog park.

 

Bedwell Bayfront Park covers 160 scenic areas along Menlo Park’s San Francisco Bay shoreline. Surrounded on three sides by the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Bedwell Bayfront Park offers hiking and biking trails, which connect to a 400-mile trail network running along the SF Bay. At the intersection of Sand Hill Road and I-280 at Menlo Park’s southern edge, Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club offers members challenging play and spectacular Santa Cruz Mountains views.

 

Menlo Park touts numerous outstanding academic facilities. A few of the most noteworthy educational opportunities in the area include: