Santana Row

Imagine a true urban village, a town-within-a-town where you recognize your neighbors, know your storekeepers, step under an arcade onto a via for a late night dinner, as the trickle of fountains surround you. You might think you're living in a village in southern France, Italy or Spain, when you're actually residing at San Jose's Santana Row, a one-of-a-kind neighborhood that blends a distinctive mix of living, shopping and dining experiences.

Santana Row is a neighborhood of 42 acres, or roughly ten city blocks. This South Bay destination is located at the intersection of Stevens Creek and Winchester Boulevards. There are currently 514 residential town homes, lofts and villas, 70 retail shops and boutiques, 20 full service restaurants, nine spas and salons, CineArts movie theatre and boutique Hotel Valencia.

Retail names synonymous with the highest quality, including Gucci and Salvatore Ferragamo call Santana Row home for their South Bay signature stores. English designer Ted Baker chose the Row for his first west coast space. California-based boutiques like Pink Stripes offer a unique combination of women's fashion and gourmet chocolates. More familiar names such as Anthropologie, Crate and Barrel, Best Buy and Sur La Table can also be found within this retail mosaic. A shopper of any caliber would be hard pressed to visit Santana Row and walk away empty handed.

Visitors to Santana Row appreciate the opportunity to take pause at one of the many traditional French benches that occupy the grounds. Public seating areas, whether found along the streets, the Row itself or nestled into the recesses of Santana Row and Valencia Parks, distinguish the neighborhood. Sit beneath one of the heritage oak or palm trees, fastidiously preserved and replanted in recognition of this neighborhood's past. Far from leaving harried and exhausted, visitors depart feeling relaxed; a day spent walking, dining and shopping among acquaintances and friends.

Whether frequenting a favorite café or considering the scores of brightly painted window boxes and planters that line the buildings and sidewalks, time here is never dull. Even CineArts, the local arts theater, specializes in diverse foreign and independent films to entertain every taste. Pedestrian friendly streets, events catering to entire families, the buzz of the Sunday Farmers' Market and a diverse shopping and dining offering, exemplify just a few of the reasons why Santana Row is often considered the Bay Area's premier neighborhood. Whether you stroll past the flowers soaking in the sunlight or pause under the antique gas lamps, the difference truly is night and day.

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