San Jose and California in general both have a reputation for being strongly associated with the arts. San Jose has a host of museums, enough to tickle the fancy of any art lover and even those who are not necessarily art lovers but who have a curiosity, nonetheless, about the world and the way various cultures express themselves through art. The San Jose historical Museum, Sunnyvale historical Museum, and the Lace museum in Sunnyvale, are three examples of inexpensive places to view some of the most impressive collections anywhere.

Ancient cultures had their arts as much as do modern cultures and the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum provides ample evidence of this. The mission Santa Clara harkens back to the early days of California when it was dominated by the Spanish Empire and Native Americans who had converted to Christianity built this mission from which the present-day County takes its name. Other excellent places to visit include the Triton Museum of Art, the San Jose Theater, the San Jose Repertory Theatre, the Lace Museum and the Sunnyvale museum. The San Jose History Museum contains information on sites such as the California Mission Santa Clara.

California, where mission Santa Clara can be located not far from an impressive collection of Egyptian art and, in turn, that collection of Egyptian art located not far from some of the finest modern art to be seen anywhere is obviously a diverse place. The San Jose and Silicon Valley in general are most often associated with the technological innovations that drive the American economy forward, but the San Jose Museum of Art and other destinations here display art that transcends generations, incredible gulfs of time and which represents the collective work of great nations both present and long extinguished from the face of the earth.