Berkeley

Introduction

Berkeley sits on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California. The city takes its name from George Berkeley, the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher. Oakland and Emeryville lie to the south, while Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington sit to the north. To the east, the city's border with Contra Costa County generally follows the ridge of the Berkeley Hills.

Before you go

Berkeley shares the Bay Area's mild climate: winters are wet and mild, summers dry, and highs typically sit in the 60s °F. Because the city sits directly across the bay from the Golden Gate, expect fog most mornings, sunny afternoons, and fog rolling back in at night. Exposed spots — the marina, or a hillside facing the bay — can catch brisk winds off the water, so bring a layer for cool mornings and evenings even in summer.

Before you arrive, look up Visit Berkeley's website for tourist information. Plan your movements with care: West and South Berkeley, especially near Oakland, can be unsafe at night, while the north side is quieter and generally safer. Use common sense, avoid walking alone after dark, and read your surroundings — the more bars on windows, the less safe the area tends to be. Bicycling is generally a safe way to get around at night, and if you'd rather not ride, the University of California police provide free night escorts near campus. Berkeley has a well-deserved reputation for protests, riots, and strikes, so you may encounter a protest during your visit; most are raucous but strictly nonviolent, though it's worth keeping a wide berth of any in-progress police action.

Getting there

Berkeley sits across the bay from San Francisco, and the easiest way to reach it is by BART, the regional rail system. From downtown San Francisco, board a Richmond-bound train and ride to the Downtown Berkeley station at Shattuck Avenue and Center Street, a stop that puts you a block from the UC Berkeley campus and close to restaurants, shops and theaters. Two other stations, Ashby and North Berkeley, also serve the city. If you're flying into Oakland San Francisco Bay Area International Airport, take the BART connector or the AC Transit #73 bus to the Oakland Airport station, then catch a Richmond-bound train. From San Francisco International Airport, BART runs from the International Terminal to Berkeley in just under an hour.

Driving from San Francisco means heading east on Interstate 80 across the Bay Bridge and exiting at Ashby Avenue, University Avenue or Gilman Street; without traffic the trip is short, but congestion can stretch it considerably. From Sacramento, take Interstate 80 west. Coming from Southern California, take Interstate 5 north and then Interstate 580 west. Amtrak serves Berkeley via its own station near the marina at the foot of University Avenue, as well as the Emeryville and Richmond stations; from the Berkeley stop, the #51B AC Transit bus runs frequently into downtown and past the University. AC Transit provides local bus service throughout the city, and during the school year Bear Transit shuttles connect downtown, the BART station and most of campus.

Getting around

Walking is the least expensive and most effective way to get around downtown and near campus; you'll quickly outpace most drivers near campus and in most areas east of Shattuck. For longer hops, BART is the fastest connection to Oakland, Silicon Valley and San Francisco, and the Downtown Berkeley station is usually your best bet as a traveler—the Ashby station sits in a seedier part of South Berkeley, while North Berkeley is in a residential neighborhood near University Ave. AC Transit fills in where BART doesn't, reaching the Fourth Street commercial district and the Rockridge and Temescal neighborhoods; check 511.org for trip planning. During the school year, the university's Bear Transit shuttles connect downtown, the BART station and most parts of campus.

• Weather permitting, a bicycle is the quickest way around downtown and campus. Bike theft is a serious problem, so lock your front wheel as well as the frame. Bikes ride free on AC Transit buses (racks on the front) and are allowed on BART, but not on San Francisco–bound trains during morning rush hour, and not in the first car; folding bikes are always allowed.
• Bike sharing runs mostly through Lyft Bike's docking stations, with LimeBike providing rental scooters; both tend to be pricey, and Lyft Bike limits use to 30 minutes at a time on a day pass or 45 minutes a ride on an annual membership.
• Driving is worth avoiding if you can: one-way streets and parking restrictions make it lackluster, and cars are most useful away from downtown or in the steep hills. Stay on main roads unless you know your way, watch for cyclists and pedestrians, and be extra careful near the university, where students assume the right of way.
• Parking near campus and downtown is difficult and expensive. Garages are the easiest option—the Telegraph Channing Garage is the biggest near campus, and many Telegraph stores offer validation coupons. Most street parking is metered or two-hour, free after 6PM; watch street-sweeping signs, which vary from street to street, and note that even free "unlimited" spots require moving your car every 72 hours.
• Car sharing through Turo, Upshift and Zipcar is available city-wide to account holders, with rates by the hour or day; booking further ahead usually yields better options.

Where to stay

Berkeley offers a wide range of lodging, and its hotels and inns are increasingly eco-travel friendly. If you're looking for chain hotels, look south to Emeryville, which is home to more national brands.

• For budget stays, the nearest camping area is in Tilden Regional Park, and it's for groups only. Note that parking a heavy-duty vehicle such as an RV on city streets overnight is illegal unless you first obtain a temporary permit.
• Among mid-range options, the Berkeley Lab Guest House sits on the LBNL campus on the hill; anyone with a university affiliation can book rooms or sponsor a guest, and its location on university property exempts you from city taxes, with free parking as a bonus. The Downtown Berkeley Inn is two blocks from the Berkeley BART station and offers memory-foam beds and in-room internet access. The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Berkeley Marina sits directly on the marina at the west end of University Ave, with a long list of amenities and accessibility options. The Faculty Club, on the UC Berkeley campus, has cheap rates but rooms can only be booked by active members of the faculty club for their guests, so occupancy is usually limited to visiting scholars and guests of the university. Graduate Berkeley, in the 1928-vintage Durant building with a Spanish Colonial Revival exterior, blends Art Deco and Bohemian interior styles and offers complimentary bicycle rentals and EV chargers.
• For a splurge, the Claremont Club & Spa, a Fairmont Hotel, is a brilliant white landmark visible as far as San Francisco's Coit Tower on a clear day, with many amenities and services. The Hotel Shattuck Plaza is a historic 1910 downtown hotel close to campus and a few steps from the Downtown Berkeley BART station, with upscale linens and furnishings, free wireless internet, and pet-friendly rooms; parking is in the public garage across the street, and the front desk offers free passes to the YMCA gym a block away.

Food & drink

Berkeley has a serious restaurant culture, with choices ranging from casual counters to candlelit dining rooms and a strong spread of cuisines across its neighbourhoods. In the Downtown and University area you can grab bagels with spreads from classic cream cheese to vegan options, Italian favourites at a modest diner near Telegraph, fresh Mexican food with a patio, Thai kitchens, taquerias with salsa selections and sangria, and frozen yogurt in rotating daily flavours. Top Dog is a Berkeley institution with locations on two sides of campus, known for hot dogs and walls covered in libertarian political writings.

• In the Gourmet Ghetto, Cheese Board Pizza is a collective serving a single vegetarian pizza each day, available by the slice or half-baked, two doors down from its gourmet cheese and bread shop; lines run long in the evenings and hours are short, and students and locals often sit on the grassy median of Shattuck to eat.
• North Berkeley has bagel shops with vegan options and Brooklyn-style pizza by the slice with daily specials.
• West Berkeley is anchored by Acme Bread Company, a key player in the Bay Area bread renaissance, along with outstanding Pakistani specials and goat curry at Kabana, taqueria-style Mexican food with homemade tortillas and extensive vegan menus at Picante, an upscale taqueria at Tacubaya, and inexpensive, authentic Indian food in a converted warehouse at Vik's Chaat Corner.
• Mid-range options include Cajun cooking at Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen, seasonal organic dishes and biodynamic wines at Gather, Japanese food and a robata grill at Kirala, Salvadoran plates at Platano, and vegan deli fare at The Butcher's Son.
• On Solano Avenue you'll find Indian food at Ajanta, Chinese cuisine in a dining room with an open kitchen at Kirin, Vietnamese at Vanessa's Bistro, and deep-dish or regular pizza at Zachary's Chicago Pizza.

One local quirk to plan for: the city imposes a 25¢ fee on all disposable cups, even for a cup of water that would otherwise be free. Bring your own water bottle, cup or coffee mug to restaurants to avoid paying it.

What to see and do

Start at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, where art and film share equal billing: the collection leans toward 20th- and 21st-century work reflecting the campus and Bay Area, the building itself is a piece of modernist architecture wrapped around a 1939 Art Deco structure, and the film archive screens year-round series devoted to directors, eras and movements. Up in the hills above campus, the Lawrence Hall of Science offers hands-on exhibits that suit children, plus a planetarium, a 3D theater and an Animal Discovery Zone; its outdoor plaza, with climbable whale and DNA sculptures, looks out over San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, Oakland and the Bay Bridge. For the university itself, student-led walking tours leave from the Koret Visitor Center, and you should expect hilly terrain; on your own, ride the Campanile for sweeping views, or rest in Doe Library's reading room without disturbing the students. The University of California Botanical Garden, also in the hills, holds a wide collection of manzanitas and other California natives across varied terrain.

• Berkeley Rose Garden, a half-hour walk north of campus, is a fine spot to watch the sunset over the bay.
• Indian Rock Park rewards a climb up the carved stairs of its rock outcropping with a broad vista, especially at sunset.
• César Chávez Park, on the peninsula it shares with the marina, draws kite flyers thanks to steady bay winds; a path runs around the water's edge, and there are picnic areas, an off-leash dog area and a wetland sanctuary.
• Tilden Park has hiking trails with views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge, a narrow-gauge steam train, a miniature railroad run by the Golden Gate Live Steamers Club, Lake Anza for swimming and a botanical garden.
• 924 Gilman is a famed all-ages punk club in North Berkeley with a strict no-drugs-or-alcohol policy and a private-club membership requirement.
• Adventure Playground at the marina lets school-age kids build with real tools, paint and play in water and mud — dress them in clothes you don't mind ruining.
• The Aftel Archive of Curious Scents in North Berkeley is a sensory archive of alchemy books, botanical specimens and perfumes that you can touch and smell.
• Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center hosts music and dance from around the world, with veggie-friendly food and kids welcome.
• Berkeley Repertory Theatre sits near Shattuck, a couple of blocks north of the Berkeley BART station.

When to go

Berkeley has a mild Bay Area climate, with wet, mild winters and dry summers, plus frequent fog and brisk bay winds. Winter is the rainy season, though temperatures stay mild rather than cold; expect wet days and cool, foggy mornings, with brisk winds off the bay in exposed spots like the marina or bay-facing hillsides.

Summers are dry, with little rain. Mornings are typically cool and foggy, afternoons turn sunny, and the fog returns at night, so layers help. Highs are typically in the 60s °F.

Three days in Berkeley

Day one: Start in Downtown Berkeley around Shattuck Avenue and Center Street, the city's commercial spine, and use the BART system to orient yourself within Alameda County and the wider Bay Area. The UC Berkeley campus sits just above downtown, and the Berkeley Hills rise behind it, giving you a sense of how the city climbs from the flatlands toward the ridgeline. Berkeley takes its name from George Berkeley, the Anglo-Irish philosopher, a detail worth keeping in mind as you walk the streets named around the university.

Day two: Head west toward San Francisco Bay, where the shoreline opens up views across the water toward the Golden Gate and San Francisco beyond. Bicycling is a practical way to cover ground between the waterfront and the neighborhoods, and you can loop south through South Berkeley or north into North Berkeley, each with its own pace and character. Oakland and Emeryville border the city to the south, Albany and Kensington to the north, so the surrounding East Bay is easy to reach on a short trip.

Day three: Use the BART connections from Downtown Berkeley to reach Oakland, San Francisco, or Richmond, depending on where the day takes you. Closer in, the streets around the university reward a slower wander, and the hills above town offer a counterpoint to the busy flats. Contra Costa County lies just beyond the Berkeley Hills to the east, rounding out the geography of a city that sits between the bay and the ridgeline.