The intellectual, literary, and political nexus of the San Francisco Bay Area, left-leaning Berkeley (pop. 102,743) enjoys an international reputation that overshadows its suburban appearance. The town grew up around the attractively landscaped University of California campus, which, during the 1960s and early 1970s, was the scene of ongoing battles between “The Establishment” and unwashed hordes of antiwar, sex-and-drugs-and-rock-and-roll-crazed youth. Today, Berkeley maintains a typical college town mix of cafés and CD stores, and its site is superb, looking out across the bay to the Golden Gate and San Francisco.
The square-mile University of California Berkeley campus sits at the foot of eucalyptus-covered hills a mile east of the University Avenue exit off the I-80 freeway. Wander along Strawberry Creek, admiring the mix of neoclassical and postmodern buildings. Berkeley’s cacophonous main drag, Telegraph Avenue, runs south from the heart of campus in a crazy array of tie-dye and tarot, lined by a half-dozen good cafés and some of the country’s best bookstores.
There are dozens of great places to eat and drink in Berkeley, including one of the best breakfast joints on the planet, Bette’s Oceanview Diner (510/644-3230), two blocks north of the I-80 University Avenue exit at 1807 4th Street, at the center of a boutique shopping district. Berkeley also has many top-rated restaurants, including world-renowned Chez Panisse (reservations essential; 510/548-5525), birthplace of California cuisine, located in the heart of Berkeley’s gourmet ghetto at 1517 Shattuck Avenue.
