Palo Alto sits in the heart of Silicon Valley along the San Francisco Peninsula, bordered by Stanford University to the south, Mountain View and Los Altos to the southeast, and Menlo Park to the north. The city's economy revolves around technology companies, venture capital firms, and Stanford's research ecosystem, with University Avenue and California Avenue serving as the main commercial corridors. Residential neighborhoods like Old Palo Alto, Professorville, and Barron Park house a mix of longtime residents and tech workers, while the Baylands Nature Preserve marks the city's eastern edge along San Francisco Bay.