For more information on any of these attractions and activities, visit www.sanfrancisco.travel


Local attractions in Berkeley

For more information on attractions and events in Berkeley visit http://visitberkeley.com. For a calendar of events in Berkeley visit http://www.berkeleyside.com/BerkeleysideCalendar/events/

  • University of California, Berkeley - The Visitor Services Center has info and leads free campus tours (reservations required). Cal's landmark is the 1914 Sather Tower (also called the Campanile), with elevator rides ($2) to the top. The Bancroft Library displays the small gold nugget that started the California gold rush in 1848. For more information visit http://visitors.berkeley.edu/tour/general.shtml
  • University of California, Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) - The museum has 11 galleries showcasing a huge range of works, from ancient Chinese to cutting-edge contemporary. The complex also houses a bookstore, cafe and sculpture garden. For more information visit www.bampfa.berkeley.edu
  • Berkeley Marina - Located on the western most edge of Berkeley, CA, the marina is home to yachts, hotels, and restaurants.

Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf (www.fishermanswharf.org) is the most visited section of San Francisco.

  • Alcatraz (http://www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm), the former federal prison, once housed some of the most notorious criminals. Today it's a national park, reachable by a brief boat ride. For more information visit www.alcatrazcruises.com.
  • Visit the sea lion colony on the west side of Pier 39 (www.pier39.com) home of the Blue & Gold Fleet Cruises (www.blueandgoldfleet.com) and Aquarium by the Bay (www.aquariumofthebay.org).
  • Enjoy street performers, fresh seafood, unique shops and visit the Boudin Museum & Bakery Tour (www.boudinbakery.com/Museum/Bakery_Tour) to see loaf after loaf of San Francisco's famous sourdough French breadbaked.
  • Hyde Street Pieris home of the world's largest collection of historic ships by tonnage, where visitors can board several National Landmark vessels, including the schooner Alma and the 1890 ferryboat Eureka. From here you can also visit the San Francisco National Maritime Museum (www.nps.gov/safr/index.htm).

Golden Gate Bridge

Explore on foot or by car, bicycle, tour bus or fire engine tour. Travel under the bridge on a bay cruise or soar over it by helicopter or seaplane. For more information about the bridge visit www.goldengate.org.

Nature trails nearby

Very next to the Berkeley Marina hotel, Cesar Chavez Park offers several kilometers of trails for you to walk, jog or bike. Breathtaking views of the Bay create a great open room to discuss your favorite science.

     
                 

Chinatown

The entrance to Chinatown at Grant Avenue and Bush Street is called the "Dragon's Gate." Inside are 24 blocks of hustle and bustle, most of it taking place along Grant Avenue, the oldest street in San Francisco. This city within a city is best explored on foot; exotic shops, renowned restaurants, food markets, temples and small museums comprise its boundaries. For more information visit www.sanfranciscochinatown.com

Union Square, shopping and museums

The landmark park is the heart of the city and is known for fantastic shopping. Sporting new granite plazas, a new terraced stage on Post Street, light sculptures designed by artist R.M. Fischer, a café, the TIX half-price ticket center, and four grand entrance corner plazas bordered by the park's signature palms, the remodeled square pays tribute to the Square's distinctive history and captures the unique flavor and beauty of San Francisco. For more information visit www.unionsquareshop.com

  • San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art - See the iconic works of Warhol or Rauschenberg or the latest exhibitions in the architecturally stunning South of Market structure. For more information visit www.sfmoma.org

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park includes the following sights: MH de Young Museum , California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco Botanical Garden, Japanese Tea Garden, Garden of Shakespeare's Flowers, Conservatory of Flowers and Stow Lake.

  • California Academy of Sciences - The California Academy of Sciences, home to an aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum, is a groundbreaking research and educational institution. The interactive natural history museum boasts a collection of over 18 million scientific specimens, including plants animals, fossils and artifacts. For more information visit www.calacademy.org.

Tour the city by Cable Car

There are three lines for this famous transportation system, Powell-Hyde, Powell-Mason and the California Street Line. For more information visit the San Francisco Municipal Railway website at www.sfmta.com.

Tours

Find out about the city's hippie history with the Haight Ashbury Flower Power Walking Tour (www.haightashburytour.com), follow the Barbary Coast Trail (www.barbarycoasttrail.org) or view the murals in the Mission on the Precita Eyes Mural Arts (www.precitaeyes.org/tours.html). The architecturally inclined can view the Painted Ladies on the Victorian Home Walk (www.victorianwalk.com), or gain access to hard-to-find rooftop gardens and some of San Francisco's most famous buildings on the San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour (www.architecturesf.com). The home of the San Francisco Giants (http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com), AT&T Park, is also very fan friendly with tours offered of the dugout, the visitors' clubhouse and field. For Open Top Bus Tours visit  www.city-sightseeing.us. Click here for a more tour options including helicopter, bus and walking.

Napa Valley Wine Tours

For more information on the Napa Valley visit www.visitnapavalley.com. Wine tours can be booked through www.winecountrytourshuttle.com.