19 Silicon Valley landmarks you must visit on your next trip

Computer History Museum

Before Silicon Valley brought us the iPod and the HP printer, the area nestled between San Francisco and San Jose was a fruit orchard.

That past is mostly gone now, and the next generation of computer companies has already filled the valley faster than you can say Moore's Law.

If you want to take a trip into Silicon Valley, here's how to get a good mix of its past and present.

Note: Several of these include visits to garages and office campuses. Always be respectful.

Intel Museum

If you didn't understand that Moore's Law reference in the intro, then your first stop should be at the Intel Museum. The museum covers topics like Moore's Law, Intel's first microprocessor and how silicon chips (those things that gave Silicon Valley its name) are manufactured. It's not as big as the Computer History Museum, but it does give visitors a solid foundation in the history of both Intel and Silicon Valley.

Address: 2200 Mission College Boulevard, Santa Clara, CA 95054

Website: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/company-overview/intel-museum.html

Facebook campus

You can't visit Facebook's campus unless you have a friend on the inside, but you'll like your visit anyway. Tourists visit the Menlo Park campus to pose in front of its "like" sign all year long. Unfortunately, the Facebook swag shop is inside its offices so you can't pick up anything else related to the social network.

Address: 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025

And while you're there, make sure to take a look at the back of the sign.

Facebook took over Sun Microsystem's old campus, but left a little bit of legacy behind. It's a good reminder of the cycle of tech companies in Silicon Valley. And if you were a huge fan of Sun, you can always pose with that sign too.