Three Days in Oakland

Day 1: Nature and Sports

Start your visit to Oakland by sampling some of the city's magnificent views. Enjoy a latte on the waterfront at Jack London Square and watch the parade of pleasure and commercial craft go by the Oakland Estuary. If you feel like joining them, rent a kayak and paddle, or catch a ferry. After working up an appetite, take a picnic lunch to Redwood Regional Park, where you can take in the spectacular Bay Area views amidst the towering redwoods. Afterwards you can take in an afternoon hike or bike ride through the hundreds of miles of East Bay Regional Parks. If golf is your game, tee off at the Lake Chabot Municipal Golf Course or the Metropolitan Golf Links near Oakland International Airport. In the evening, sit back and be a spectator for a change. Oakland is the only California city with three professional teams -- the Oakland A's, the Golden State Warriors, and the Oakland Raiders.

Day 2: Arts & Culture

Get ready to be overwhelmed with the beauty and the diversity of Oakland's cultural offerings. Start with the award-winning Oakland Museum of California, which hosts major exhibits showcasing California art, science and social history. Next, travel to Italy with a ride in an authentic Venetian gondola at Lake Merritt. You'll feel like you're in Hong Kong when you pick up lunch at one of the many shops and restaurants in Chinatown. Take a stroll through downtown to look at the city's art deco heritage, including the famous Paramount Theatre, which hosts the Oakland East Bay Symphony, popular music concerts, and classic movies. For those who consider shopping an art form, there are boutiques lining the quaint streets of Montclair Village, Piedmont Avenue and the Rockridge neighborhoods. For dinner, you can sample cuisines from around the world at Oakland's many fine ethnic restaurants, including Asian, European, Latin American, and African. Oakland is known for its music scene, and options include world-class jazz performances at Yoshi's, or live music in bars and restaurants throughout town.

Day 3: Historic Properties

Oakland's skyline is dotted with gleaming modern high rises, but signs of yesteryear also abound. Historic homes such as Dunsmuir House and Gardens Historic Estate, the Cohen-Bray House, Camron-Stanford House, Pardee Home Museum, and Preservation Park offer fascinating glimpses of how the wealthy lived in the 19th Century. For history made modern, have lunch in the downtown Old Oakland Historic District. Once the hub of the city's business district, this thriving four-block area of restored Victorian commercial buildings is home to shops, galleries, and restaurants, and a bustling farmers' market Friday mornings. A few blocks away, The African American Museum and Library offers exhibits and research archives in splendid surroundings. In the afternoon, head down to Jack London Square for a walk through one of the nation's few floating museums. Affectionately called The Floating White House, the USS Potomac was Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidential yacht. For an authentic sip of history, there's Jack London's old drinking hole, Heinhold's First and Last Chance Saloon. End the day by enjoying modern dining at one of the many fine waterfront restaurants.

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