Berkeley
At the west end of University Ave is the marina, frequented by squawking seagulls, silent types fishing from the pier and, especially on windy weekends, families flying colorful kites. It offers sweeping waterfront views from paved walking, cycling and running paths.
The marina was originally built in the late 19th century, then replaced by a ferry pier in the 1920s (its unusual length dictated by the bay's extreme shallowness).
11.07 MILES
When Frederick Law Olmsted, architect of New York's Central Park, gazed in 1865 upon the plot of land San Francisco Mayor Frank McCoppin wanted to turn…
9.62 MILES
Was it the fall of 1966 or the winter of ’67? As the Haight saying goes, if you can remember the Summer of Love, you probably weren’t here. The fog was…
6.81 MILES
If you look close today at the clinker-brick buildings lining these narrow backstreets, past the temple balconies jutting out over bakeries, acupuncture…
6.66 MILES
No one could have predicted the cultural force City Lights would become when it first opened in 1953. Sure, it had a proletarian ethos suggested by its…
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
7.04 MILES
When the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art expanded in 2016, it was a mind-boggling feat that nearly tripled the institution's size to accommodate a…
6.4 MILES
If you want to really see San Francisco, head to Coit Tower, a 1933 art deco beaut designed by Arthur Brown, Jr. and Henry Howard that sits high up on…
9.47 MILES
Few cities boast a structure so iconic as the Golden Gate Bridge, commemorated in everything from films like The Maltese Falcon to not one but two emojis…
9.33 MILES
Welcome to San Francisco's sunny side, the land of street ball and Mayan-pyramid playgrounds, semiprofessional tanning and taco picnics. Although the…
0.14 MILES
At the Berkeley Marina, this is one of the coolest play spaces in the Bay Area – a free outdoor park encouraging creativity and cooperation where…
0.98 MILES
Stop in to see the traditional wooden tools used for making sake and a short video of the brewing process. Tours of the factory aren’t offered, but you…
3. Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life
2.79 MILES
This museum boasts a fine collection – almost 15,000 pieces – of art and cultural artifacts sourced from across the Jewish diaspora, particularly Jewish…
2.81 MILES
With a stainless-steel exterior wrapping around a 1930s printing plant, this museum holds multiple galleries showcasing a limited number of artworks, from…
3.07 MILES
Despite the title, this isn't a museum, but rather a research facility that's closed to the public. With that said, the location within the Valley Life…
3.19 MILES
The frenetic energy buzzing from the university’s Sather Gate on any given day is a mixture of youthful posthippies reminiscing about days before their…
7. University of California, Berkeley
3.19 MILES
'Cal' is one of the country's top universities, California's oldest university (1866), and home to 40,000 diverse, politically conscious students. Next to…
3.2 MILES
Telegraph Ave has traditionally been the throbbing heart of studentville in Berkeley, the sidewalks crowded with undergrads, postdocs and youthful…