East Bay

Berkeley and Oakland are what most San Franciscans think of as the East Bay, though the area includes numerous other suburbs that swoop up from the bayside flats into exclusive enclaves in the hills. Many residents of the ‘West Bay’ would like to think they needn’t ever cross the Bay Bridge or take a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train through an underwater tunnel. But a wealth of museums and historical sites, a world-famous university, excellent restaurants and bars, a creative arts scene, offbeat shopping, woodsy parks and better weather are just some of the attractions that lure travelers from San Francisco over to the sunny side of the Bay.

Explore East Bay

Tilden Regional Park
This 2079-acre park, up in the hills east of town, is Berkeley’s best. It has nearly 40 miles of hiking and multiuse trails of varying difficulty, from…
Chabot Space & Science Center
Stargazers will go gaga over this kid-oriented science and technology center in the Oakland Hills with loads of exhibits on subjects such as space travel…
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John Muir National Historic Site
Naturalist John Muir's former residence sits in a pastoral patch of farmland in bustling, modern Martinez. Though Muir wrote of sauntering the Sierra…
Oakland Museum of California
Every museum has an educational mission, and this one is dedicated to California. You'll find rotating exhibitions on artistic and scientific themes, and…
M
Museum of Art & Digital Entertainment
If you love video games, the MADE is the heaven you go to when you die and are all out of extra lives. It's a museum of sorts, but more a sort of time…
C
Crown Memorial State Beach
Along the western shore of Alameda Island, Robert W Crown Memorial State Park sees flocks of East Bay locals on a sunny day. The sandy beach stretches 2.5…
Lake Merritt
An urban respite, Lake Merritt is a popular place to stroll or go running (a 3.5-mile paved path circles the lake), with bonsai and botanical gardens, a…
Campanile
Officially called Sather Tower, the Campanile was modeled on St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The 307ft spire offers fine views of the Bay Area, and at the…
USS Potomac
Franklin D Roosevelt’s ‘floating White House,’ the 165ft USS Potomac, is moored at Clay and Water Sts by the ferry dock, and is open for dockside tours…

Tilden Regional Park
This 2079-acre park, up in the hills east of town, is Berkeley’s best. It has nearly 40 miles of hiking and multiuse trails of varying difficulty, from…
Chabot Space & Science Center
Stargazers will go gaga over this kid-oriented science and technology center in the Oakland Hills with loads of exhibits on subjects such as space travel…
J
John Muir National Historic Site
Naturalist John Muir's former residence sits in a pastoral patch of farmland in bustling, modern Martinez. Though Muir wrote of sauntering the Sierra…
Oakland Museum of California
Every museum has an educational mission, and this one is dedicated to California. You'll find rotating exhibitions on artistic and scientific themes, and…
M
Museum of Art & Digital Entertainment
If you love video games, the MADE is the heaven you go to when you die and are all out of extra lives. It's a museum of sorts, but more a sort of time…
C
Crown Memorial State Beach
Along the western shore of Alameda Island, Robert W Crown Memorial State Park sees flocks of East Bay locals on a sunny day. The sandy beach stretches 2.5…
Lake Merritt
An urban respite, Lake Merritt is a popular place to stroll or go running (a 3.5-mile paved path circles the lake), with bonsai and botanical gardens, a…
Campanile
Officially called Sather Tower, the Campanile was modeled on St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The 307ft spire offers fine views of the Bay Area, and at the…
USS Potomac
Franklin D Roosevelt’s ‘floating White House,’ the 165ft USS Potomac, is moored at Clay and Water Sts by the ferry dock, and is open for dockside tours…

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout East Bay.

See
Tilden Regional Park
This 2079-acre park, up in the hills east of town, is Berkeley’s best. It has nearly 40 miles of hiking and multiuse trails of varying difficulty, from…
See
Chabot Space & Science Center
Stargazers will go gaga over this kid-oriented science and technology center in the Oakland Hills with loads of exhibits on subjects such as space travel…
See
John Muir National Historic Site
Naturalist John Muir's former residence sits in a pastoral patch of farmland in bustling, modern Martinez. Though Muir wrote of sauntering the Sierra…
See
Oakland Museum of California
Every museum has an educational mission, and this one is dedicated to California. You'll find rotating exhibitions on artistic and scientific themes, and…
See
Museum of Art & Digital Entertainment
If you love video games, the MADE is the heaven you go to when you die and are all out of extra lives. It's a museum of sorts, but more a sort of time…
See
Crown Memorial State Beach
Along the western shore of Alameda Island, Robert W Crown Memorial State Park sees flocks of East Bay locals on a sunny day. The sandy beach stretches 2.5…
See
Lake Merritt
An urban respite, Lake Merritt is a popular place to stroll or go running (a 3.5-mile paved path circles the lake), with bonsai and botanical gardens, a…
See
Campanile
Officially called Sather Tower, the Campanile was modeled on St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The 307ft spire offers fine views of the Bay Area, and at the…
See
USS Potomac
Franklin D Roosevelt’s ‘floating White House,’ the 165ft USS Potomac, is moored at Clay and Water Sts by the ferry dock, and is open for dockside tours…

Guidebooks

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