Page 48 - 2023-2024 Travel Guide to California

INSIDER’S TIP
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 dinner on Fridays and
lunch on Thursdays and Saturdays
at the Oakland Museum of
California and lunch Monday
through Thursday at Levi's Plaza.
AMUSEMENT PARK, Santa Cruz Beach
Boardwalk, below.
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.
The city is easy to explore on foot, with
the waterfront Embarcadero, Fisherman’s
Wharf, Chinatown and Union Square all
within a short walk of each other. Colorful
vintage streetcars rumble down the Embar-
cadero and Market Street, connecting to
public transportation that carries visitors
to the city’s many diverse neighborhoods
and to Golden Gate Park, the large green-
belt 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,
bayfront 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.
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 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 highlights
are the majestic Marin Headlands and San
Francisco’s Presidio and Crissy Field, a pop-
ular walking area and restored wetlands
that also draws kiteboarders 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
shorebirds and ducks, whales that are
easily seen off the coast in migration
season (mid January to mid March) and a
herd of tule elk.
There also is no lack of wide-open
spaces in the East Bay, where the regional
46 2023-24 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
GAGLIARDIPHOTOGRAPHY/SHUTTERSTOCK