Winchester Mystery House

No visit to Silicon Valley would be complete without a stop at this bizarre attraction, once owned by Sarah Winchester, the eccentric heiress to the Winchester Rifle fortune. Influenced by a fortune teller who predicted she would live as long as she continued to build her home, she lived in her unfinished mansion for 38 years amidst the daily pounding of hammers. The result is a 160-room architectural marvel combining Victorian beauty with unexplained features—such as doors opening to walls, skylights in floors and stairs leading nowhere—that make it a mystery. Also on site, the firearms and antique products museums both provide historic background on Western heritage, traditions and culture.