Page 68 - 2018 Travel Guide to California

INSIDER’S
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The Bay Area’s renowned food
can be sampled best at FARMERS
MARKETS and food truck gatherings.
SAN FRANCISCO’S FERRY BUILDING
is arguably the area’s top market.
Other awesome markets are held in
Berkeley, Healdsburg, Mountain
View and at Marin Civic Center.
FOOD TRUCKS serve up a mouth-
watering array of choices all around
the bay, including Fridays at the
Oakland Museum of California and
Sundays at San Francisco’s Presidio,
with spectacular views of the
Golden Gate Bridge.
SAN JOSE CITY HALL, below; California
Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate
Park, San Francisco, opposite.
66 2018 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
attractions, including parks and wineries
in its redwood-covered mountain range,
and laid-back beaches where surfers polish
their technique.
East Bay: Berkeley & Oakland
On the eastern side of the bay lies the col-
lege town of Berkeley, with its history of
political idealism, University of California
academic prestige and coffeehouse intel-
lectualism. Berkeley is almost synonymous
with Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse and the
movement to organic, local and seasonal
food. Berkeley’s larger neighbor, Oakland,
is a culturally diverse city with vibrant
neighborhoods, a booming downtown and
lovely Lake Merritt, whose three-mile path
draws joggers and walkers.
City & Town
Even though it was surpassed in population
by San Jose long ago, San Francisco remains
the region’s cultural hub. The city draws
more than 25 million travelers each year to
its dense 49 square miles containing its
famously steep hills, thousands of restau-
rants offering an astonishing variety of
cuisines, fascinating neighborhoods, parks,
Victorian-era houses and world-class
museums and cultural activities.
The city is easy to explore on foot, with
the waterfront Embarcadero, Fisherman’s
Wharf, Chinatown and Union Square (the
largest shopping area in the western U.S.)
all within a short walk of each other. Col-
orful vintage streetcars rumble down the
Embarcadero and Market Street, con-
necting to public transportation that
carries visitors to the city’s many diverse
neighborhoods and to Golden Gate Park,
the large greenbelt that extends to the
Pacific Ocean.
The region’s other major cities are San
Jose, where revitalization has brought an
urban vibe, restaurants and museums
downtown, and Oakland, which attracts
visitors with the Museum of California,
bay-front Jack London Square and a trendy
dining scene. Its college town neighbor,
Berkeley, is home to the striking Berkeley
Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
The Great Outdoors
One of the world’s largest urban parks—
the Golden Gate National Recreation
Area—stretches over 60 miles of Bay Area
coastline. The area encompasses beaches,
historic sites, biking and hiking trails and
vast open spaces to savor the Bay Area’s
varied natural beauty. Among the high-
lights are the majestic Marin Headlands
and San Francisco’s Presidio and Crissy
Field, a popular walking area and
restored wetlands that also draws kite
boarders to the white-capped waters at
the Golden Gate.
Rolling green hillsides dotted with Cali-
fornia golden poppies make spring an
especially ideal time to explore Mount
Tamalpais and Muir Woods in Marin
County. Point Reyes National Seashore’s
beautiful coastal terrain contains an abun-
dance of wildlife, including migrating