Things To Do
Temescal Alley
Cute alleyway with a few jewelry shops, a gorgeous plant shop, bangin' ice cream and a bunch of other unique shops and stops. Around the corner on Telegraph Ave, we also love: - Pizzaiolo (dinner) - Doña Tomás (dinner) - Rose's Taproom (pints and snacks, and a beautiful interior!) - Burma Superstar (lunch & dinner) - Bakesale Betty's (cookies, pies and fried chicken sandwiches)
Oakland Museum of California
Beautiful museum! Has a great permanent collection and food trucks Friday evening which is fun. It's close to the Lake Merritt and Downtown Oakland areas. Mad Oak is nice for a drink and snack and has a huge outdoor space. Lake Chalet is close by as well, a bit more formal for lunch or dinner but is right on the lake.
Downtown Oakland
Downtown Oakland is a great spot to explore for an hour or two in the day or to go out for dinner and drinks in the evening. Loads of yummy restaurants and a wide variety of bars. If you're there during the day - Preservation Park (a spooky little historical district between 12th and 14th) is cute and interesting if you're in the area but don't go out of your way to see it. - Beauty's Bagels (A++ Montreal-style bagels) - Sweet Bar (casual lunch, dinner & treats - I think the owner may have been Michael Jackson's personal chef?) - Mua (nice dinner & drinks, a very trendy) - Classic Cars West (vegan food, bar and art gallery) - Calavera (really nice Mexican lunch, dinner & drinks) - Liba Falafel (falafel sandwiches) - Lost and Found (nice beer garden with big outdoor space) - Woods Bar (great selection of brews on tap) - Flora (cocktail bar) - Drakes Dealership (brewhouse with pizza and lots of outdoor seating) - Cafe Van Kleef (eclectic bar, have a really tasty greyhound)
Lake Merritt
Saturday is a perfect day to visit the Lake Merritt area! The farmers market (across from the Grand Lake Theater) is fun to explore and has a bunch of lunch options! As for walking the lake, we recommend starting at the Lake Merritt Pergola and walking counter clockwise (north west?) to the Oakland Bonsai Garden. Give yourself about 1.5 hours if you plan to walk the 3 mile perimeter of the lake. If you are walking the whole lake, we HIGHLY recommend stopping at Tacos Mi Rancho. This is our absolute favorite taco truck in the Bay Area - we actually stopped in just before we popped into City Hall! ;) Other faves close by: - Oaktown Spice Shop (spices...) - Boot and Shoe Service (cafe, dinner & cocktails) - Penrose (nice dinner & cocktails) - Arizmendi Bakery (sweet treats & pizza) - Grand Lake Kitchen (brunch, lunch & dinner) - Shakewell (lunch & dinner) - Urban Indigo (fun home store) - Jong Ga House (Korean dinner) - Aisle 5 (casual brew pub with great food, good for groups)
Elmwood
Very cute area to walk around - lots of good restaurants and fun shops to pop into. Not close to public transportation but a nice walk from Rockridge BART! A few favorites if you need suggestions (though most places are pretty good on this two block stretch!): - Summer Kitchen Bakeshop (casual lunch & dinner) - Gordo Taqueria (tacos & burritos) - Baker & Commons (upscale diner) - Timeless Coffee (cafe and sweet treats) - Manpuku (Japanese lunch & dinner) - La Mediterranee (meze lunch & dinner)
Fourth Street
Fun area to lunch and shop. A bit out of the way but can easily spend an afternoon here! So many great boutique shops as well as the big guys - Apple, Benefit, Madewell, Anthropologie, Kiehl's, MAC, Aveda, CB2 and so on. - The Gardener (beautiful garden and home shop) - Castle in the Air (eclectic shop for gifts, home and stationary) - Three Twins Ice Cream - Melissa Joy Manning (jewelry) - Betty's to Go (good sandwiches and pizza, also Betty's Diner for bigger menu) - Tacubaya (Mexican) - Market Hall (great lunch, bakery and fancy snacks)
Rockridge
Rockridge is a good option at any hour. Its center is the BART station which you can take directly to San Francisco or SFO, and there are a bunch of great restaurants, cafes and shops along College Avenue. Here are a few faves: - Market Hall (bakery, coffee, gourmet deli & perfect for an easy breakfast, take-away lunch or picnic goodies) - Ben n' Nicks (casual lunch, dinner & drinks, Corie's favorite pub!) - Mitama (Japanese lunch & dinner) - Wood Tavern (nice dinner and an epic burger) - Mikkeller (fancy pints) - Southie (lunch & dinner) - Zachary's Pizza (Chicago-style deep-dish pizza - it's totally worth the wait) - Ramen Shop (ramen and cocktails, also worth the wait!) - Cactus Taqueria (clean Mexican food - good for a quick bite) - Rockridge Cafe (brunch) - Filippo's (dinner) - Barney's Burgers (beyond the basic burger and has veggie options)
Ferry Building & the Golden Gate Bridge
Great on Saturdays. Take BART from the east bay and get off at Embarcadero (the first San Francisco stop). Take a short walk to the Ferry Building - lots of fun foodie shops. We recommend continuing on down the Embarcadero (you can also take a scooter, bike or car) to Crissy Fields where there is a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge. If you're walking it's about 4.5 miles, and you'll pass Fisherman's Wharf which is super touristy but has good SF clam chowder and sourdough bread bowls. Or you can take a break in North Beach for an espresso and biscotti!
Lafayette Reservoir
A beautiful and relaxing walk! Lafayette Reservoir is about 3 miles and much more "low key" than the Lake Merritt walk. Also a great spot for a picnic. Don't forget to pay for parking, they are fierce!
Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve
One of Corie's favorite Bay Area hikes! Beautiful views and not too intense of a hike.
Golden Gate Park
Check out the De Young Museum, the California Academy of Sciences, the Japanese Tea Garden or Botanical Gardens! Height-Ashbury is also close by - sort of a hippie street that ends at the east end of Golden Gate Park. Lots of vintage clothing, record shops, bookstores, bars and casual restaurants. The neighborhood surrounding is beautiful too - lots of colorful Victorian homes!
San Francisco
A few ideas if you want to explore SF beyond my previous thoughts. My knowledge of the city is limited but hope this helps! - The Castro & The Mission: A cool area to spend an afternoon and easily accessible by BART, great shops and restaurants and Dolores Park is right between them - on a sunny weekend day the park will be humming! La Taqueria and Mission Pie are my go to stops but there are so many great eats. The main streets to explore are Market and Valencia and Mission. This page gives great directions - http://www.hiddensf.com/castro-district-best-things-to-do.html - Pacific Heights & the Fillmore: more high end neighborhood with nice restaurants, boutiques, bars and music on Fillmore Street. - Sutro Baths: a bit hard to get to but a cool ruins of a bath house and great views. - Union Square: the big shopping area, Maiden Lane is cute. - Chinatown: Fun to walk through if you're in the area! - North Beach: A neighborhood with Italian roots, lots of yummy food and cafes.