Gilroy is located just south of California's Silicon Valley, and easily accessible from Highway 101 and Highway 152. Garlic may have put Gilroy on the map, but visitors will find there's much more to savor. Gilroy also gives visitors a friendly, small town experience with affordable places to stay, great restaurants, wineries, breweries, superb shopping, attractions and recreational opportunities.

Gilroy's location between the Monterey Peninsula and the San Francisco Bay Area makes it a great place to pull off the highway, stay, and dine. Historic bed & breakfasts, full service inns and hotels, and familiar national brands are available.

Gilroy got its start in 1850 as a stage stop along Monterey Road. By the time the village was incorporated as the Town of Gilroy in 1867, it was the third largest community in the county. History is preserved in Gilroy with six buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Gilroy Historical Museum is housed in the 1910 Carnegie Library on the corner of Fifth and Church Streets. The museum offers walking tours of historic homes and buildings in the downtown core.

There are two distinct shopping areas in Gilroy where visitors can shop for Versace, Indian Motorcycles (headquartered in Gilroy), the perfect golf outfit or collect antiques. Gilroy Premium Outlets offers the ultimate for shoppers - 145 top-brand stores with extraordinary values. Downtown Gilroy has more than 20 stores with 65 antique and collectible dealers along Monterey Street and offers one of the finest selections of furniture and turn-of-the-century items in the California Countryside. There are also eclectic galleries, day spa experiences, hard-to-find music and garlic specialty markets in historic downtown Gilroy.

Whether the craving is for prime rib or a quesadilla, Gilroy has the restaurant for every taste. Friendly service is combined with farm-fresh ingredients and accompanied by local wine and microbrews. Of course, in the home of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, you'll also be able to find a garlic specialty item in just about every restaurant.

more >>