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Brushing the western border of Silicon Valley, Saratoga is close enough to major cities like San Jose and San Francisco but also far enough away to maintain a quiet, suburban feel that residents love. 

It’s no secret among Bay Area residents that the city of Saratoga in Santa Clara County is a nice place to live, with multi-million dollar homes galore. It also probably comes as no surprise that the American Community Survey revealed Saratoga as the eighth wealthiest city in the country in 2018, and Bloomberg Businessweek named Saratoga the most expensive California suburb in 2010.

Living in Saratoga

It’s safe to say you won’t find many affordable apartment buildings in Saratoga as the city is a paradise for those looking for privacy, quiet, and lots of greenery. For buyers, prices range from $899,000 all the way up to $10 million with most of the listings in the seven-figures.

All of that money does come with benefits. The city and region feature several highly regarded schools, from elementary to the high school level. Saratoga’s downtown district is full of locally owned shops and fine dining to satisfy locals with luxury tastes.

But aside from grand mansions and upscale retail shops, Saratoga is also well known among Bay Area locals for its parks, wineries, and historic landmarks.

Hakone Gardens

Saratoga is home to Hakone Gardens, a traditional Japanese garden that is one of the oldest in the Western Hemisphere. The Cultural Exchange Center housed in the garden is regarded as an authentic recreation of a 19th-century Kyoto tea merchant’s shop. Visitors can also enjoy tea houses, as well as a bamboo garden and Zen garden.

Mountain Winery

Photo courtesy of Mountain Winery

Saratoga also boasts a famous historic winery, The Mountain Winery, formerly known as the Paul Masson Mountain Winery. Founded by an early leader of the California winemaking industry, the Mountain Winery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The winery was made famous for its television commercial slogan voiced by actor Orson Welles: “We will sell no wine before its time.”

Montalvo Arts Center

Photo courtesy of Montalvo Arts Center

For a blend of nature and the arts, residents and visitors alike frequent the Montalvo Arts Center, a non-profit culture and arts center in Saratoga, nestled near the Santa Cruz Mountains. Montalvo also features a park, walking and hiking trails, and a historic Italian Mediterranean Revival mansion. Like the Mountain Winery, the Montalvo Arts Center is also a historic landmark and has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. 

Sanborn County Park

Photo courtesy of Sanborn County Park

For serious nature lovers, Sanborn County Park is a lovely spot. This public park on the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains is located right next to Castle Rock State Park, another popular South Bay hiking destination. The area is heavily forested with thick redwood trees and is remarkably cool all year round, even in the hot summers. The park sits in between Saratoga and Skyline Boulevard, a ridgetop road that offers stunning views of the Silicon Valley below. During the summer, Sanborn also plays host to the only outdoor Shakespeare theater company in the Silicon Valley region.