Sitting just a 20-minute drive over the Bay Bridge from San Francisco is one of the most culturally vibrant and historically significant locales in the Bay Area. Home to the first school of California’s U.C. system, Berkeley is a fascinating, if rather jarring, marriage of academic prestige and charming suburban sensibilities with bustling nightlife, radical political zeal, and wide cultural diversity. These distinct worlds, each coexisting alongside the other, make Berkeley an incredibly dynamic space to explore and uncover the myriad secrets of.
A Berkeley day-trip is the ideal opportunity to acquaint yourself with those facets of the city’s cultural dynamism and enjoy its many sights, sounds, and flavors. The following collection of activities and points of interest is a loose guide that we hope will help you organize the perfect Berkeley visit.
See also: Our Ultimate Tourist Route For Optimally Sightseeing All Of San Francisco
Hike the Fire Trails
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Berkeley rests idyllically between the San Francisco Bay and the East Bay Hills, between the water and the mountains. Thankfully, the hills bordering the city are eminently explorable thanks to a robust network of trails weaving through the pines and streams; locals call them the fire trails.
Though the plethora of trailheads means that there are countless route variations, there are some paths that are proven winners, one of which is the Stonewall Panoramic Trail. This 1.5-mile out-and-back excursion is physically demanding, to be sure (with almost 1,000 feet of elevation gain), but the flooring panoramic views you encounter upon reaching the summit will instantly erase the near-vertical hill climbs you just endured from your memory.
We recommend getting to the trailhead in the morning to beat the afternoon heat and to ensure you have the trail to yourself.
Coffee at Cafe Strada
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After the strenuous hike (and maybe a quick shower), your energies will need some help replenishing themselves. Fortunately, a short walk from the trailhead and right across the street from the UC campus is the city’s most popular coffee spot: Cafe Strada. With most of its seating outdoors under the shade of its many terraces and tree canopies, Strada is a delightful spot for lattes, pastries, and people-watching.
If the hike hasn’t enervated you entirely, take your latte to-go and stroll over to campus to check out the university’s iconic clock tower (dubbed the campanile) and Memorial Glade (the most scenic lawn on campus).
Lunch at Mezzo
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After coffee and a stroll through campus, head down the always lively Telegraph Avenue to Mezzo, Berkeley’s quintessential brunch/lunch spot. Mezzo offers a delicious array of filling soups, sandwiches, and fresh salads all prepared in front of you and served in quite massive portions. If you get there before 11 in the morning, be sure to try one of their hearty breakfast burritos or their loaded avocado toast.
Peruse a Record Store
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Right across the street from Mezzo are two classic rival storefronts, both an ode to an era gone by. Amoeba Music and Rasputin’s are charmingly old-school record stores that boast an impressive musical selection spanning countless genres and decades. If the analog era of film and television tickles your nostalgia chord more so than music, Rasputin’s also features a respectably sized DVD collection.
Stroll Through the Berkeley Rose Garden
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Just north of the Cal campus is the prototypical Berkeley Tinder date location. The Rose Garden is home to over 250 rose varieties, all of which are spread out amongst a picturesque terraced amphitheater overlooking the San Francisco Bay.
See the Sunset at Grizzly Peak
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In case the views of the Panoramic Trail and the Rose Garden have proved insufficient, watching the sun fall below the Golden Gate Bridge, all while casting a sublime orange glow on the water, is sure to assuage even the pickiest of sunset chasers. Drive up Centennial Drive behind the campus, park at Grizzly Peak Vista Point, and admire the spectacle.
Dinner/Shopping in Elmwood
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Elmwood is Berkeley's prime shopping strip, with a lineup of boutiques, restaurants, coffeeshops, and possibly one of the quaintest theaters to ever grace a neighborhood (Rialto Cinemas) making this stretch of road easily walkable and disarmingly charming. Some standout storefronts include the Japanese dining spot Manpuku (their sushi is truly out-of-this-world) and the revered Boichik Bagels (a must-visit for bagels and lox lovers).
The Berkeley rabbit-hole could certainly be scouted more thoroughly, but we hope this guide serves as an appealing appetite-wetter for those overdue for an East Bay excursion.
See also: These Family-Friendly Hikes Are Perfect For Kids Of Any Age
Photography by: Jeremy Huang/Unsplash
