| I wouldn't bother with SF or Silicon Valley. SV is really just office buildings. They don't have formal tours for visiting engineers or anything like that. Most of the campuses don't even have a visitor center. As a tourist SF you get to avoid most of the really bad aspects of SF a bit but I don't really think it's a good tourist city. There's just not a whole lot to see that you can't see anywhere else. To counter some of the suggestions elsewhere: - The bridge is just a somewhat visually appealing bridge and it's often difficult to see due to fog. - Muir Woods is a nice place but it's so heavily trafficked it feels more like a garden than a forest. - Land's End is mainly special for its' view of the bridge I think. I'm being a bit negative but these aren't bad sights and I don't regret going there as a bay area resident, I just don't think they're special enough to take a substantial amount of time out of an international trip. I'd suggest: If you're after cities, head to the bigger ones like LA, New York or Chicago. If you're after culture and/or history go to the east coast (I think DC is probably the best place, it has the Smithsonian after all). If you want food, go south. If you're after natural beauty, the best places are pretty far from major cities (e.g. mountains, grand canyon, yellowstone). |