Set between Pacific foothills and the San Francisco Bay, Berkeley is a vibrant and spirited city that will surprise those who still see it as the counter-culture center of the Sixties. Free Speech and flower power are forever in the city's “DNA,” but Berkeley has evolved into a culinary and cultural destination with a “green” soul.

Across Berkeley's 18 square miles, a visitor can hear a symphony, rock concert or   jazz quartet, take in a Broadway-bound play or first-run film, stroll through a redwood forest or a rose garden, shop for handmade jewelry or organic sportswear, play a round of golf or take a yoga class, embark on a sport fishing excursion or listen to a poetry reading.  And that's just for starters. 

Consummately Californian in its setting but international in cultural perspective, Berkeley is home to the University of California, Berkeley, which lends a college-town vibe to the entire city.  With its wealth of cultural and social diversity, culinary and shopping opportunities and recreational pursuits, Berkeley is a small city with a world-class range of visitor options.

The Setting

Berkeley is just a few miles east of San Francisco.  From the shore of the San Francisco Bay, through its Pacific flats, and rising sharply to a foothill range, Berkeley occupies a classic stretch of coastal California.  Its twists and turns of terrain enabled Berkeley to develop a sylvan integration of shops, parks, streets and greenbelts.  Leafy avenues and craggy hillsides cradle a vibrant metropolitan city core. 

In many ways, the University of California campus has evolved into a verdant urban “central park” in the heart of Berkeley. The architectural legacy of Julia Morgan, Bernard Maybeck and John Galen Howard is evident in Berkeley's many stately homes and public buildings.

A Brief History

While the San Francisco Bay Area was "discovered" by the Spanish in 1769, for thousands of years previous Berkeley's original habitants were a Native American people known as the Huichin, part of the larger Ohlone nation. The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought an unprecedented influx of people to the Bay Area, and by the mid-1850s a small community of settlers began to cluster near the shores of the Bay in an area of Berkeley known as Ocean View. The city was christened "Berkeley" in 1866 after Bishop George Berkeley, the English poet who penned "Westward the course of empire takes it way."  The site for the University of California was dedicated in April 1860 and in 1873, U.C. Berkeley opened its doors.

The development of downtown Berkeley began in 1876 when Francis Kittredge Shattuck, one of the founding landowners in Berkeley, persuaded Southern Pacific Railroad to run a spur line through his property that served as the impetus for new commercial growth.  Berkeley was incorporated in 1878 and began a population boomlet that saw its residential rolls rise from 2,000 people in 1880 to 13,000 at the turn of the century.  But the true boom was to come, as population climbed to 50,000 by 1912 from improved transportation systems and an influx of 1906 earthquake-displaced San Franciscans. 

Berkeley continued to grow and evolve to its present-day status.  The national spotlight focused on the city during the turbulent 1960s when the U.C. Berkeley campus became a lightning rod for the political awareness and activism of the day.  The “Free Speech Movement” left a legacy that is still very much a part of contemporary Berkeley.

Today Berkeley is a city of nearly 120,000 residents and hundreds of business entities.  It is also a city unlike any other in the world.  The contrasts of Berkeley are energizing and contribute to its civic vitality and cosmopolitan air.  Its outlook is international, while it retains distinctive hyper-local color and keen civic consciousness. 

Cultural Life

Berkeley offers a comprehensive array of year-round cultural attractions.  A natural hub for the arts, Berkeley's Downtown Arts District is an arts destination and model for “arts led” downtown revitalization.  The Arts District is centered on Addison Street, between Shattuck Avenue and Milvia Street. Once filled with auto body shops, Addison Street now “rolls” with live theatre, live music, and performing arts education.  It is also the new home for the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, Aurora Theater Company, Jazzschool, Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and The UC Theatre.

Cal Performances, on the University of California campus, presents international touring artists in a stellar program of dance, theater, jazz, symphonic, folkloric and contemporary musical performances.  Citywide, intimate nightclubs cater to jazz, blues, rock and folk fans. 

Neighborhood Shops and Stores

Berkeley is a lively, “Buy Local” marketplace with an atmosphere wonderfully conducive to the art of retail.  Here, shopping is always an engaging, open-air experience where window-shopping and walking complement the thrill of discovery.  

Shopping in Berkeley is defined by districts of distinct mantra and mood.  At the northern edge of the city lies Solano Avenue, a leafy boulevard-style district lined with restaurants, cafés, boutiques and importers.  Gourmet Ghetto in North Shattuck has a bounty of shops, artisans, sidewalk cafés and restaurants including its flagship and the cradle of California cuisine, Chez Panisse.

West Berkeley's Fourth Street shopping district is the place for fashion, design, art, books, gifts and fine dining.  Downtown Berkeley is a vibrant mix of shops, restaurants, pubs, and nightspots.  Books, clothing outlets and interesting shops define downtown's lively core.

Along Telegraph Avenue, visitors can get into the groove of “Flower Power” and experience shades of the '60s by trying on a tie-dyed T-shirt or pair of handmade earrings crafted by local street artisans.

University Avenue is the place for a unique collection of shops, restaurants and bazaars filled with Indian imports.  Sari boutiques, works of Indian art, markets with exotic spices and more are found on the avenue, definitely worth an afternoon's exploration.

The Elmwood District stretches along College Avenue to Berkeley's southern edge.  This sunny area is an old-time Berkeley neighborhood with hardware stores, delicatessens, boutiques, bookstores, restaurants and open-air cafés.

Berkeley's “Counter” Culture

Berkeley is a culinary wonderland where the roots of local/sustainable/organic dining took hold in the 1970s at Chez Panisse.  Today, “Alice's restaurant” remains iconic and stellar, a wonderful choice both for fine dining downstairs and slightly more casual fare at its upstairs café.  It shares its North Shattuck location with a variety of specialty shops, cafés and delicatessens offering fresh baked goods, cheeses, handmade chocolates and fine wines. 

In downtown Berkeley and extending in every direction, the visitor can discover restaurants featuring the cuisines of Thailand, India, Mexico, Japan, China, Vietnam, Burma, the Mediterranean, Nepal and North Africa, to name a few.  The Berkeley Marina is the place for a table on a picture window with a bay view; don't miss the opportunity to catch a sunset over San Francisco and the Golden Gate from one of the marina's fun and festive restaurants. 

Berkeley has a long and storied history of brewing, from the Gold Rush days to the present. The modern Bay Area craft-brewing renaissance began in Berkeley in the early 1980's with the establishment of Triple Rock Brewery, one of the nation's original brewpubs.  Jupiter serves signature handcrafted beers and ales along with award-winning wood fired pizzas, sandwiches, salads and more.  Sierra Nevada Brewing Company opened its first taproom outside of its Chico headquarters in West Berkeley in late 2013, and several more distinctive Berkeley beer properties now form the “Berkeley Brew Trail.”

Berkeley's wonderful food markets reflect the city's legacy as the “cradle” of California Cuisine. Berkeley Bowl, Andronico's Market, Whole Foods and the Monterey Market offer a dazzling variety of locally grown and organic produce, exotic imports and fresh-baked delicacies.  These "destination markets" are superbly staffed and worth a wander around for some travel nibbles, or just for fun.

Ready to Play

Berkeley's mild, Mediterranean climate and synthesis of nature and city make it a great place to be outdoors.  While a case can be made that its pedestrian-friendly avenues elevate shopping to a form of outdoor recreation, Berkeley's regional parklands, more than 50 city parks, numerous public tennis courts, biking paths and public gardens serve as more traditional venues for enjoying the great outdoors. 

Tilden Regional Park is Berkeley's top nature retreat. Tilden's Lake Anza is the place for summertime swimming and the park's tangle of cycling and hiking trails afford magnificent bay views as they slope through redwood, cypress and eucalyptus forests.  An interpretive trail encircles hidden Jewel Lake, and the path to it continues through Tilden to adjacent Wildcat Canyon, a local favorite for hiking and mountain biking.  The Tilden Park Golf Course, an 18-hole championship affair built in 1937, wends its way through the park's redwoods and pines, and features a multi-tier driving range.

Down by the bay, waterfront walking and cycling paths are popular aerobic attractions, and the nearby Berkeley Aquatic Park offers an exercise par course and disc golf course. 

Berkeley has three large public gardens.  The U.C. Botanical Garden's specialized gardens and greenhouses include the Chinese Medicinal Herb Garden and Rainforest House.  The Berkeley Rose Garden is a serene place with an ever-blooming collection of, yes, roses. It also offers four excellent public tennis courts with Golden Gate Bridge views that might prove distracting to keeping your eye on the ball.  The Botanic Garden at Tilden Regional Park grows the largest collection of California native plants in the world, and is tucked neatly into the stately Berkeley Hills. Walking through it is akin to touring the entire state's plant life. 

Charter sport fishing excursions depart daily from the Berkeley Marina and head out the Golden Gate for salmon, halibut and other tasty catches. Watching world-class sports can be accomplished in Berkeley as well, without the high-ticket costs that mark today's pro sports scene.

Family Ties

Tilden Park is one of Berkeley's leading centers for family fun.  Besides the Lake Anza swimming complex, there's a classic, antique merry-go-round, pony and miniature steam train rides, and a demonstration animal farm with animals to meet and greet.  

In Downtown Berkeley, Habitot Children's Museum creates a special place for children to experience hands-on discovery play and learning.  The award-winning Lawrence Hall of Science is located just up the hill from U.C. Berkeley and is an interactive, must-visit attraction for kids as well as adults. 

Looking west, the Marina Experience Program is a great way to explore and learn about the fragile bay ecosystem.  It's where visitors will find the Shorebird Nature Center and Adventure Playground.  The shoreline of the Berkeley Marina features a walking path and grassy areas that may offer some of the best kite-flying conditions on the planet.

Lodging

Berkeley's visitors have more places to stay and play than ever before, from certified green hotels and charming boutiques to well-known national chains.  Groups will discover a climate of thought leadership that fuels innovation, great ideas and productive meetings.  Accommodations cater to all types of travelers, offering a variety of categories and price options to choose from, ranging from budget motels to chic boutique and San Francisco bayfront convention hotels.  All are located within easy driving distance of either Oakland or San Francisco airports, and both airports offer single-ticket rail connections to Berkeley.  For top Berkeley lodging options and to make reservations, see http://visitberkeley.com/stay.

For More Information

Visit Berkeley's website is the destination for official information; see http://www.visitberkeley.com.  Travelers can also call toll-free, (800) 847-4823.  Already here?  Stop by the Visitor Information Center at 2030 Addison Street in Downtown Berkeley, right across the street from the Berkeley Rep.

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