Palo Alto's sister cities

Palo Alto's links abroad began in the Kennedy era and have grown slowly ever since. The city now lists eight official sister cities, one American sibling city and one friendship city. The partnerships are run mostly by volunteers, which is why they show up in small, specific ways: a choir trip to France, a tree planted at a middle school, a camera club swapping photographers with a Dutch city.

This page lists every partnership as the City of Palo Alto publishes it, with the year each began. Details of the exchanges come from Neighbors Abroad, the nonprofit that directs the program. We note where a source does not explain how or why a pairing started.

The list at a glance

Years come from the city's visiting delegations page, which the City Manager's office maintains. Check the city's page for changes.

How the program began

The movement started nationally in 1956, when President Eisenhower launched a town affiliation program to build friendships between American and foreign cities. Palo Alto's City Council started a sister city organization along those lines and Neighbors Abroad was founded on January 18, 1963. The city describes it as a volunteer community organization that directs the activities of the officially recognized sister city program. Its stated purpose is to promote international and intercultural understanding.

The first pairing came the same year, with Palo on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. The shared word palo is an obvious link between the two names, but the city's page does not say why Palo was chosen and we did not find a reliable account. Oaxaca followed in 1964. After that the pace slowed to roughly one new city a decade until the 2000s.

Neighbors Abroad works from 355 Alma Street. The city says the group has received thirteen awards from Sister Cities International and that its projects have been recognized by the United Nations and the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce.

The early partners: Palo and Oaxaca

Palo, Leyte, Philippines (1963)

Palo is the oldest of the partnerships and still active. Neighbors Abroad lists a 2025 delegation from Palo among its recent programs. The details of that trip are on the group's website rather than the city's.

Oaxaca, Mexico (1964)

Oaxaca is the partnership most visible in Palo Alto's arts life. The Palo Alto Art Center has shown contemporary art from Oaxaca among its past exhibitions. Neighbors Abroad also lists the Yaxe Rainwater Capture Project among its programs, a water project tied to the Oaxaca region.

The European cities

Enschede, Netherlands (1980)

Enschede, a textile center with a university in the eastern Netherlands, has one of the busiest exchanges. Neighbors Abroad says student exchanges between Enschede and Palo Alto high schools have run for decades. Music travels too: in 2005 the Enschede Fraggles Jazz Orchestra gave concerts in the area and the Enschede Music School's high school chorus has also visited. Palo Alto hosted a delegation of Enschede municipal leaders in May 2022.

Two newer projects stand out. The Palo Alto Camera Club and Enschede's Fotoclub de Zoeker began with an online exchange of photos and in October 2025 the Palo Alto club hosted two Enschede photographers for a week. The Leendert Overduin Essay Contest asks students to learn about a little-known World War II hero from Enschede. It led to a June 2023 trip in which teens from Palo Alto and Bloomington, Indiana met Holocaust survivors, lived with host families and visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

Linköping, Sweden (1987)

The city lists Linköping as a sister city since 1987. Neither the city's page nor the Neighbors Abroad pages we checked describe recent programs, so ask the group directly if you want to get involved.

Albi, France (1994)

Albi became Palo Alto's sixth sister city in 1994. Exchanges have included shows by Albi artists, student exchanges, classroom pen pals and homestays for cyclists, artists, hikers and chefs. A long partnership links Palo Alto's Aurora Singers with Albi's Chorale Assou-Lézert, with joint concerts in both cities. An Albi delegation visited in 2023 and in summer 2024 city officials, students and Neighbors Abroad members spent three days in Albi for the 30th anniversary. If choirs interest you, our choral music guide covers local groups.

Heidelberg, Germany (2017)

Heidelberg came in through technology. The two cities formed a Smart Cities Alliance in 2013 and the relationship became a full sister city partnership in 2017.

The Asian cities

Tsuchiura, Japan (2009)

The friendship with Tsuchiura is older than its official date. In 1993 parents on both sides of the Pacific started a middle school exchange that still runs. Neighbors Abroad counts about 250 Japanese students and chaperones who have visited Palo Alto and about 200 from Palo Alto who have gone to Japan. The cities became sister cities in 2009.

Recent visits show how the ties work in practice. In October 2023 three delegates from the Tsuchiura International Association came for Neighbors Abroad's 60th anniversary, visited Palo Alto middle schools and spoke on a panel at the group's SustainCity Summit. In October 2024 Mayor Mariko Ando led a visit for the 15th anniversary that included a tree planting at JLS Middle School and a stop at the Mitchell Park Library.

Yangpu District, Shanghai, China (2018)

Like Heidelberg, Yangpu began with a technology tie. The city says it started as a Smart City partnership in 2012 and became a sister city in February 2018, the most recent of the eight.

Sibling and friendship cities

In 2022 Palo Alto added a different kind of partner. Bloomington, Indiana became its first American sibling city through Sibling Cities USA, which pairs cities within the United States from different political and geographic settings. Bloomington students have already joined Palo Alto teens on the Overduin trip to Enschede.

In 2024 the City Council approved a three-year friendship city relationship with Narok, Kenya. The city describes friendship cities as shorter-term relationships between cities in different countries. Neighbors Abroad has hosted a Narok delegation.

Getting involved

• Join or volunteer. Neighbors Abroad relies on members to host visitors, plan trips and run events. Our volunteering guide lists other civic groups too.
• Host a student. Exchanges depend on host families, especially for the Tsuchiura middle school program and the Enschede high school exchange.
• Visiting delegations. Groups from abroad who want to meet city staff fill out a visiting delegation form and send it to the City Manager's office, as described on the city's page.
• Culture at home. For year-round ways to connect with the communities behind these partnerships, see our guide to cultural centers near Palo Alto.

Planning an exchange trip? A travel eSIM keeps students and chaperones connected without roaming charges.

Frequently asked questions