Overview

Stanford Law School, located in the City of Palo Alto at the heart of Silicon Valley, is 45 minutes from San Francisco, 30 minutes from the beach, and 3½ hours from the snow. More than 100 years old, Palo Alto is home to approximately 61,000 residents. On weekdays, due to daily commuters, the population increases to nearly 140,000. Palo Alto encompasses an area of approximately 26 square miles, of which one-third is open space. Known as the "Birthplace of the Silicon Valley," Palo Alto was also, in 1994, the first U.S. city to have an Internet home page. Palo Alto has over 300 local restaurants and offers access to outdoor hiking and a myriad of cultural activities.

• The City of Palo Alto is more than 100 years old, and is named after a majestic 1000 year old coastal redwood tree along San Francisquito Creek, where early Spanish explorers settled.
• The city encompasses an area of approximately 26 square miles, of which one-third is open space.
• First city to open a public children's library (1940).
• First U.S. city to have an Internet home page (1994).
• Palo Alto is strategically located and easily accessible to major surface routes, including Interstate 280, Highway 101, Highway 84 - the Dumbarton Bridge and Highway 92 – the Hayward-San Mateo Bridge.
• Population: 61,000 residents (approximately)
• Movie theaters within 15 miles: 26 (approximately)
• Restaurants within 15 miles: 4,511 (approximately)
• Restaurants within downtown Palo Alto: 80 (approximately)
• Public golf courses within 30 miles: 61 (approximately)
• Libraries within 15 miles: 69 (approximately)
• Museums within 30 miles: 13 (approximately)
• Palo Alto city-owned parks: 34 (approximately)
• Annual precipitation (inches) 15.7
• High temp in July °F 78.80°
• Low temp in Jan °F 40.40°

Banks

There are a number of local, regional, and national banks located in the city of Palo Alto and the surrounding areas. The banks listed below have either a branch or ATMs located on the Stanford Campus.

Bank of America
www.bankofamerica.com
There is an ATM located on the second floor of Tresidder Student Union. The local Palo Alto branch is located at 395 Quarry Road.

Stanford Federal Credit Union
www.sfcu.org
1 888 723.7328
There is a branch located on the second floor of Tresidder Student Union and 694 Pampas Lane Branch.

Wells Fargo
www.wellsfargo.com
1 800 869.3557
There is an ATM located on the second floor of Tresidder Student Union. The local Palo Alto branch is located at 600 Quarry Road.

Bicycle Shops

Bike Connection
BicycleConnection.com
2011 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
650 424.1720

Campus Bike Shop
www.campusbikeshop.com
459 Lagunita Drive # 12
Stanford, CA 94305
650 723.9300

Cardinal Bicycle Shop
1955 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
650 328.8900

Palo Alto Bicycles
www.paloaltobicycles.com
171 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650 328.7411

Book Stores

Borders
www.borders.com
456 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650 326.3670

Barnes & Noble
www.barnesandnoble.com
1091 El Camino Real
Redwood City, CA 94063
650 299.0117

Stanford Bookstore
www.stanfordbookstore.com
519 Lasuen Mall
Stanford, CA 94305
650 329.1217

Books Inc.
www.booksinc.net
855 El Camino Real #74
Palo Alto, CA 94304
650 321.0600

Modernbook
www.modernbook.com
494 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650 327.6325

Bell's Books
www.bellsbooks.com
536 Emerson Street
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650 323.7822

Megabooks
444 University Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650 326.4730

Coffee Shops

Caffe del Doge
419 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650 323.3600

The Coffee House (CoHo)
Located in Tresidder Memorial Union
459 Lagunita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305

Coupa Cafe
538 Ramona Street
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650 322.6872

Moonbean's Café
Located in front of Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305

Peet's Coffee
Located in Tresidder Memorial Union
459 Lagunita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305

Stanford Bookstore
519 Lasuen Mall
Stanford, CA 94305
650 329.1217

Starbucks Coffee Company
276 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650 321.8600

2000 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
650 320.8125

University Coffee Café
271 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650 322.5301

Driver's license and car registration

Visit the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to obtain a California driver's license and register a vehicle in the state.

Department of Motor Vehicles
www.dmv.ca.gov

300 Brewster Avenue
Redwood City, CA 94063
800 777.0133

AAA member can process their car registration and new license plates through AAA instead of the DMV as well as order maps and guidebooks on the area.

California State Automobile Association (AAA)
430 Forest Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650 321.0470

Furniture Stores

Whether looking for a new couch or a used desk, there are a variety of new and used furniture stores in Palo Alto area and surrounding cities.

New Furniture

Crate & Barrel
www.crateandbarrel.com
530 Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto, CA 94304
650 321.7800

IKEA
www.ikea.com
1700 E. Bayshore Road
East Palo Alto, CA 94303
650 323.4532

Kohl's
www.kohls.com
350 Showers Drive
Mountain View, CA 94040
650 947.7600

Pottery Barn
www.potterybarn.com
800 Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto, CA 94304
650 321.1646

Target
www.target.com
555 Showers Drive
Mountain View, CA 94040-1432
650 965.7764

Wal-Mart Store
www.walmart.com
600 Showers Drive
Mountain View, CA 94040
650 917.0796

Used Funiture

Students may find used furniture, appliances, and other household items for sale at local yard sales or through posting on the craigslist website.

Busvan for Bargains
244 Clement Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
415 981.1405

Goodwill
4085 El Camino Way
Palo Alto, CA 94306
650 494.1416

Bargain Box
341 S. California Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
650 326.0458

Grocery Stores

Andronico's
500 Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto, CA 94304

Costco
1000 North Rengstorff Avenue
Mountain View, CA 94043

Country Sun Natural Foods
440 S California Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306

JJ & F Food Store
520 College Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306

Oakville Grocery
715 Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto, CA 94304

Sigona's Farmer's Market
399 Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto, CA 94304

Safeway
525 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025

325 S. Sharon Park Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Trader Joes
590 Showers Drive
Mountain View, CA 94025

720 Menlo Avenue
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Whole Foods Market
774 Emerson Street
Palo Alto, CA 94301

Grocery Stores - International

Asian Groceries

Hankook Supermarket (Korean)
1092 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale
408 244.0871

Nijiya Market (Japanese)
143 E. El Camino Real, Mountain View
650 691.1600

Ranch 99 (Chinese)
10983 N. Wolfe Road, Cupertino
408 532.8899

India Cash and Carry (Indian)
1032 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale
408 735.7383

Many other Asian markets are located on Castro Street in Mountain View, and in Cupertino Village. There are a number of Indian/South Asian grocery stores in Sunnyvale on El Camino Real between Lawrence Expressway and Wolfe Road.

Mexican and Latin American

Mercado Marlen
2350 California Street, Mountain View
650 947.1700

Post Offices

The campus post office is located next to the law school.

Campus
531 Lasuen Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-9991
In White Plaza next to the Bookstore
Open Monday–Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Palo Alto
265 Cambridge Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Open Monday–Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Palo Alto
380 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301-9991
Open Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Utilities

For students living off-campus the major utilities companies are listed below:

Cable
Comcast
www.comcast.com
1 800 COMCAST

Internet
Comcast
www.comcast.com
1 888 COMCAST

AT&T DSL
www.sbc.com/DSL
1 800 288.2020

Garbage
Palo Alto | 650 329.2161
Mountain View | 650 903.6317
Menlo Park | 650 592.2411
Redwood City | 650 592.2411

Gas and Electricity
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (all areas)
www.pge.com
1 800 743.5000

Telephone
AT&T (all areas)
att.sbc.com
1 800 288.2020

Water
Palo Alto | 650 329.2161
Mountain View | 650 903.6317
Menlo Park | 650 367.6800
Redwood City | 650 780.7464