Top choice in Oakland
The Zenter has been called the Bay Area's 'other Asian art museum,' and while that designation is tongue in cheek, it's not entirely inaccurate either. You'll see what we mean if you peruse this vast collection of Asian antiquities, ranging from scroll paintings to full suits of samurai armor to mind-boggling galleries of gorgeous furniture.
As you might expect, nothing here is cheap.
11.45 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…
9.81 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…
7.04 MILES
If you look close today at the clinker-brick buildings lining these narrow backstreets, past the temple balconies jutting out over bakeries, acupuncture…
6.93 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…
6.76 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…
10.38 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…
9.23 MILES
Welcome to San Francisco's sunny side, the land of street ball and Mayan-pyramid playgrounds, semiprofessional tanning and taco picnics. Although the…
1.94 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…
2. Museum of Art & Digital Entertainment
2.06 MILES
If you love video games, the MADE is the heaven you go to when you die and are all out of extra lives. It's a museum of sorts, but more a sort of time…
2.1 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…
2.2 MILES
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,…
5. African American Museum & Library at Oakland
2.39 MILES
Part of the Oakland Public Library, the AAMLO consists of a non-circulating library with huge collections on African American history and culture in…
6. Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life
2.51 MILES
This museum boasts a fine collection – almost 15,000 pieces – of art and cultural artifacts sourced from across the Jewish diaspora, particularly Jewish…
2.51 MILES
This beautifully refurbished 1914 beaux-arts building is a downtown landmark. This was the first high-rise government building in the country, and when it…
2.58 MILES
With a stainless-steel exterior wrapping around a 1930s printing plant, this museum holds multiple galleries showcasing a limited number of artworks, from…