Berkeley
This celebrated university city also hosts superb performing arts and dining
WORLD-FAMOUS as a historic center of free speech and 1960s counter-culture, Berkeley, on the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay, has morphed into a foodie destination and unique shopping mecca. But it’s still Berkeley, proudly offbeat, quirky and fun to visit, especially now. The Downtown Arts District on Addison Street showcases the Aurora Theatre Company and the nationally known Berkeley Repertory Theatre. The Freight & Salvage—which is both a performance venue and folk-music learning center—has recently presented the likes of western swing band Asleep at the Wheel, Canadian singersongwriter Bruce Cockburn, Belgian big band Flat Earth Society, and the UC Jazz Ensembles.
The 83,000-square-foot Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), near the downtown Berkeley BART station, opened in 2016. The station and surrounding BART Plaza, which got a $13 million renovation in the late teens, boasts public art pieces and a nearby visitor information center on Addison Street. North Berkeley, along and near Shattuck, is the city’s prime dining and food market destination, with its jewel in the crown, Chez Panisse, the citadel of fresh, local, seasonal California cuisine. The 1966 original Peet’s Coffee is right nearby, as is the collectively run Cheese Board cheese shop and bakery. Edible Excursions runs guided walking tours of the North Berkeley food scene, as well as downtown Berkeley brunch tours on Sundays.
One-of-a-kind shopping and dining abounds on Fourth Street, in West Berkeley. Long centered north of University Avenue, Fourth Street businesses are expanding their offerings south of University, too.
Gorgeous brown-shingle wooden homes and public buildings by celebrated architects Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan—who adapted Arts and Crafts design to form the Bay Region style in the early 20th century—enrich the city. Morgan’s 1930 Berkeley City Club, an artful mash-up of Gothic and Moorish influences, includes a 38-room hotel, event space, indoor pool, Julia’s Restaurant, Morgan’s Bar & Lounge and a bocce ball court.
On campus, the circa 1903 Greek Theatre presents headliners in its outdoor amphitheater, while Cal Performances brings international acts indoors to 2,700-seat Zellerbach Hall. You can debate the true meaning of art in a plentitude of craft microbreweries and urban winery tasting rooms. Among the urban winemakers are Donkey & Goat, purveyors of unfiltered, minimally processed natural wines. Downtown favorite Triple Rock brewpub, dating to 1986, recently expanded its space by 50 percent for the production of quaffable brews.