The Apple Park Visitor Center

I am sure we agree that you know who Apple is, the guys behind the Macs, iPhones, iPads and much more. Apple’s new headquarter in Cupertino opened April 2017 to employees. The circular design and sheer size earned it the name “Spaceship” or “UFO”.

Access to the Apple Park is only granted to employees and some occasionally to the press while holding product launches at the Steve Jobs Theater.

If you wish to visit the Apple Park or at least get a glance of it from the outside, your best bet is the Apple Park Visitor Center. The visitor center is located across the street of the “spaceship”.

The easiest way to get here is by car. Plenty of parking is available behind the visitor center and in the underground parking garage. Charging stations for electric vehicles are also available in the parking lot.

Admission is free and the visitor center is split into 4 sections:

1. Apple Store
2. Exhibition Area
3. Café
4. Roof Terrace

Apple Store

Of course, you can shop for your favorite Apple products here. No matter if it’s an iPad, Mac or just some accessories. Besides the regular products which can be found as well in other Apple Stores, there are exclusive Apple- and Apple Park–branded merchandise articles. They are only available here. This exclusive merchandise is a bit pricey but did we expect anything else from Apple?

Besides shopping, sign up for one of the “Today at Apple” sessions. Sessions range from sketching with the Apple Pen, to Photography, Coding and creating music with Garage Band.

Exhibition Area

Here you can find a model of the Apple Park and its surrounding area. When you first look at the model, it looks like the forgot something and they did. There is no texture on the buildings and everything is just in plain white color.

However, once you get one of the available iPads near the model, you can launch an immersive AR experience. Hold the iPad over parts of the model and you get a better look at the whole building. Pretty impressive. Be aware that you might be in line for a while if you want to try the AR experience.

Café

Sit down and unwind over a cup of coffee or one of the many other refreshments offered here. Sit either inside or enjoy a bit of nature outside in the olive grove. I consider the prices here for decent. Fast Wi-Fi is available as well in the café and throughout the visitor center.

Roof Terrace

The highlight is probably the roof terrace. It’s open design lets you enjoy the beautiful and sunny California days and you get a glimpse of Apple Park. The views are not very good, as big trees block the view and you get to see only a small part of the $5 billion Dollar building. Because of that, it is hard to get a real feeling for the sheer size of the whole “spaceship”.

Plenty of chairs and tables are available upstairs to sit down and relax.

Furthermore…

Besides the areas mentioned above, don’t expect to see any historic devices like the first ever iPod or iPhone. Neither is there any information about the construction of the Apple Park or any of its features. Neither are there any tours available of the Apple Park itself.

The visitor center seems to be very busy, especially on weekends. During weekdays, you might catch the one or other Apple employee in the Café.

If you still can’t get enough of Apple. Don’t constrain your visit just to the visitor center. Walk down on North Tantau Avenue. You get to see the entrances to the “spaceship” and the tall berms planted with trees and scrubs to hinder you from getting a glimpse of what’s going on inside.

Even More Apple…

Still not satisfied? Check out these two locations below. A must for a true Apple Fan.