Description & Facts: Santa Clara is a town in the South Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California. Santa Clara, California is a small city of big contrasts. If any city can claim to be the center of "Silicon Valley" it is this town of just over 100,000. The headquarters of Intel, AMD, WebEx, NVIDIA, and National Semiconductor are all here. At the same time, Santa Clara is one of the oldest settlements (by Europeans) in Northern California. The Mission Santa Clara de As??s was established in 1777, and the Jesuit-run Santa Clara University is the oldest university in California, having been founded in 1851. Dozens of 19th century homes are well-maintained by their 21st century owners in the "old quad," the earliest residential area, adjacent to the university. Yet another contrast is the diversity of the local population, driven by the tech boom of the 1970's -1990's. Visitors from Asia and Europe frequently overhear strangers speaking their native languages. Specialty markets offer native ingredients from around the world, and the Indian and East Asian restaurants are some of the best in the Bay Area. But many of the best places in Santa Clara are tucked away in nondescript strip malls. You could drive right through this town and see nothing of any interest, or you could take the time to learn where to look, explore, and enjoy.