Experience the best of Oakland

Oakland lies across San Francisco Bay from San Francisco, a port city of hills, neighbourhoods and waterfront. Lake Merritt, a tidal lagoon in the middle of the city, is ringed by a path and gardens, and Jack London Square, on the estuary, recalls the writer who spent his youth on these shores. The Paramount Theatre is an Art Deco landmark in the downtown, and the modern Cathedral of Christ the Light stands beside Lake Merritt.

The Oakland Museum of California traces the state's art, history and natural environment. Redwood Regional Park and Joaquin Miller Park in the hills hold groves of coast redwoods above the city, and the Chabot Space and Science Center has telescopes among the trees. Mountain View Cemetery has paths laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted. Berkeley is next door, and ferries and trains link it to San Francisco.

Oakland's food reflects its mix of communities, with tacos from Fruitvale, Ethiopian restaurants, Chinatown dim sum and barbecue. Dry summers are cooled by coastal fog, and a wetter winter runs from November to March, when the hills turn green.