Oakland travel tips + maps

Explore Oakland
Hipsters and hip hop, passionate activists and grassroots entrepreneurs—it takes time to peel back all of the layers that make up the city. To truly appreciate Oakland’s diverse culture, spend some time exploring its neighborhoods. You’ll find prideful locals around every corner, whether it’s at the farmers market in Chinatown or a theater in Uptown. Don’t settle in one spot for too long—there’s a lot of ground to cover in Oakland. Read on for your cheat sheet to The Town’s best.
Dimond District. This quiet, residential stretch at the base of the Oakland Hills has a strong Latino culture and refreshingly unpretentious vibe, with almost zero craft cocktail bars or bicycle-powered coffee machines. More maps of Oakland California can be found here.

Downtown Oakland
To say Downtown Oakland is eclectic and diverse would barely skim the surface of this melting pot. You’re just as likely to bump into a scholar, a Federal judge, a tech entrepreneur and a civil rights activist in a one-block...

Glenview
A sweet neighborhood of California bungalows in the lower Oakland Hills, Glenview feels more like a very quiet Rockridge with a couple good restaurants and well-manicured gardens
Grand LakeOakland’s Grand Lake neighborhood is in the northeast area of Lake Merritt, named after the communities of Grand and Lakeshore Avenues. There is plenty of shopping and restaurants in the area for visitors and families.

Oakland is changing fast. Once known merely as San Francisco’s rough-and-tough neighbour – the birthplace of the Black Panther movement and home of the Hell’s Angels – it is rapidly becoming the most fashionable place in northern California. Those who can’t afford the tech-boom prices across the Bay are making their home in the city and, greeted by an array of new restaurants and bars, a thriving arts scene, and a strong sense of energy and community. Gertrude Stein might have said about her childhood hometown that “There is no there there”, but, these days, Oakland’s residents and visitors are more likely to shout “Come here here!”
Unlike 21st-century San Francisco, Oakland hasn’t been emptied of its soul by money and gentrification. It’s valued for its cultural and class diversity – 150 languages are spoken within its borders – and the locals’ pride in their town is infectious. There’s lots to brag about: as well as offering the glimmering ocean and wonderful Redwood forest hikes, and the sun is often shining here even as the chill fog rolls in over San Francisco.
Starting 12 May, there are direct, cheap flights to Oakland from London Gatwick with Norwegian that make a trip to the “Brooklyn by the Bay” easier. And, should you have more time, there’s always that other pretty good city to visit 30 minutes away, across the bridge.
In the hip (and still a bit gritty) Temescal neighbourhood are two pedestrian streets that will satisfy most cravings for things handmade or vintage. Standouts are Esqueleto for jewellery, Book/Shop for trinket treasures and Ali Golden, a studio-store, with a sewing machine at its centre, selling bespoke designs. Those in need of a hipster beard trim will find the celebrated barber shop there right up their alley (off 49th Street).
Piedmont Avenue and the main thoroughfare of Rockridge are crammed with good shops, while just down the road into Berkeley, Oakland’s other famous neighbouring city, Berkeley Bowl (2020 Oregon St) is – thanks to its range, quality and character – one of the best food shops anywhere. Special mention should be made of Oaklandish (1444 Broadway), a store that promotes civic pride in its specially made clothes and accessories.
Although Oakland and San Francisco are neighbors, located just minutes apart across the Bay, the two cities could not be more different. Oakland has its own distinct history, sounds, tastes, its own social movements. While San Francisco’s flower children were dreamily Summer of Love-ing all over the place, the youth in Oakland were forming the Black Panthers and the Chicanos, declaring that Black is Beautiful and uniting to protect Latinos from being drafted into the Vietnam War. When the hippies returned home to work for the man, Oakland kept fighting: a handful of Black Panthers can still be seen running drills in Oakland today, their work – protecting people of color from racial injustice and police brutality – not yet finished.
San Francisco sometimes feels like the future of American capitalism, but Oakland feels like the future of American populism.
And so while visiting San Francisco is its own kind of rad, visiting Oakland is completely, totally different – and just as awe-inspiring. We encourage anyone visiting the San Francisco Bay Area to spend a few days exploring Oakland, too!
I’ve lived in Oakland for over 6 years now, and I’m still discovering new things to fall in love with daily. I’m thrilled to finally have a chance to introduce my adopted home and to showcase Oakland in all of its glory. In this post you’ll find all of my favorite things to do in Oakland. We also included some Oakland history, both because we’re big history nerds, and because we think understand Oakland’s history will make you appreciate your visit even more!

How to Get to Oakland

Oakland has the best airport in the Bay Area. There, I said it. But no, seriously, I absolutely adore Oakland Airport! It’s conveniently located close to the freeway, accessible by train, un-crowded enough so that you won’t get honked at 83 times while you’re trying to unload your luggage, there’s rarely a line, everyone who works there is super friendly, and there are always a plethora of budget-friendly flights.