Art Gallery

Shallow Alto? Anyone who's slammed the city with that nickname hasn't been to the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford with its changing exhibits, permanent Rodin sculpture garden and a very Cool Cafe. The next couple of months feature four centuries of French drawings, plus French lithographic albums (including erotic visions and demonic apparitions), as well as a dozen works from primo artists think Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein on advertising and commercial art. Don't miss Deborah Butterfield's "Untitled of 1999," the horse sculpture in the foyer. 328 Lomita Drive, Stanford, 650-723-4177; museum.stanford.edu

Nightlife

Back to claim another title, NOLA is the New Orleans-themed bar that Palo Altans, Stanford students and young professionals love to frequent. Voters deemed the bar as Palo Alto's best Happy Hour back in 2011, featuring raspberry mojitos, ginger juleps and Hurricane bowls. NOLA has claimed this category in back-to-back years, making it the easy choice for locals looking for a fun night. 535 Ramona St, Palo Alto, 650-328-2722; nolas.com

Best Place for a Kid's Playdate

Captivate your child's curiosity and share a love for science and nature with a trip to the City of Palo Alto's own Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo. With hands-on experiences and a diverse population of 50 different species of bobcats, jungle bats and more, your child will be mesmerized. There are plenty of ways to get involved, including school science programs, summer camps and birthday parties. 1451 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, 650-329-2111; friendsjmz.org

Place to Enjoy the Outdoors

Did someone say hike and a picnic? Escaping Palo Alto's growing density is as easy as trekking up Page Mill Road for about 20 minutes, flashing your local address, then continuing into 1,400 acres of the pristine Foothills Park. Expect to find a lake (with fishing and boating allowed), miles of trails, picnic tables and barbecues (which one can reserve for groups) and the chance to spot wildlife, from deer to coyotes. Want to extend your stay overnight? You can reserve a campsite at Towle Camp up to a year in advance. 3300 Page Mill Road, Los Altos Hills, 650-329-2423; cityofpaloalto.org

Place for Live Entertainment

After being open for more than 80 years, Palo Alto's best place for live entertainment is old, but its players aren't. The City of Palo Alto Children's Theatre has been allowing chaperoned children to participate in nearly every part of the play-production process from set and costume fabrication to acting, lighting and direction work all to put on plays by kids, for kids. The 2013-14 season will have kids going wild in the "The Jungle Book," getting out of their shells in "The Nutcracker" and really rocking the rhymes in "Dr Seuss' The Cat in the Hat" and "Seussical the Musical." 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, 650-463-4930; cityofpaloalto.org/childrenstheatre

Best Place to go for a Run

The Stanford Dish is not your average jogging route. A quick hike or run in the open environment of the Stanford hills will not only give you a crystal-clear view of Stanford University (and, on a good day, of San Francisco's skyline), it will give you a glimpse into the Bay Area's natural wildlife: Great Blue Herons, California ground squirrels, wildflowers and even bobcats or coyotes. Hundreds and hundreds of Bay Area joggers and Stanford students can be found exploring the paved trails of 3.5-mile main loop that takes about an hour and 15 minutes to walk. Stanford Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard

Wi-Fi Hotspot

After a year's hiatus, voters again turned to Coupa Cafe as Palo Alto's best place to surf the web. The Venezuelan cafe has locations littered across Stanford campus along with its primary location downtown, which has been there since 2004. Organic and artisanal, it is easy to see why Palo Alto residents enjoy checking their emails at this local treasure. 538 Ramona St., Palo Alto, 650-322-6872; coupacafe.com