Today I want to bring you my guide to taking a day trip to Berkeley. It’s hard not to love this city in the Bay Area. Not only does it epitomize Northern California’s hippie culture and counterculture, but also its food culture and innovation culture. Berkeley is a great place to spend a day discovering some of the most unique things about this part of the Golden State. I’m here today and I’m excited to show you around. I’ve included a map, too.
Day Trip to Berkeley
Berkeley has always been one of my favorite day trips from San Francisco. With a variety of things to do and see, great restaurants and cafes, and a beautiful university campus to explore, there’s a lot to love about this city in the East Bay.
How to Get to Berkeley
It’s easy to get to Berkeley from places like Oakland and San Francisco. You can take the Red Line of the BART train to a number of stops in Berkeley.
It’s also a quick drive from either city, and from other places in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can use the map below to plan your route.
Brunch
I’m starting my day trip to Berkeley on a Saturday morning, and I know exactly where I’m going first: La Note. I’ve heard legendary tales about this restaurant’s brunch, and I can’t wait to try it.
I’m determined to get here before long lines form in the late morning, so I arrive early. I’m fortunate to get a parking spot right outside, and I show up two minutes before they open (even then I’m third in line). I’m seated at a table by the window, and I don’t hesitate to order La Note’s iconic French toast.
Soon thick slices of cinnamon brioche soaked in orange-flower-water batter arrive. They’re covered in a heavenly dusting of powdered sugar. I take a bite. It’s light, sweet, and worth the effort to get here.
Coffee in Berkeley
After brunch I seek out the best coffee in Berkeley. Having gotten up early to drive here, my body is in need of extra caffeine. Thankfully my savior is a quick drive away.
Rasa Caffe in South Berkeley is a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop where amiable baristas chat to me as they craft my latte. The cafe was founded by the son of two high-profile Black Panther activists. He spent time in India when he was growing up, and his cafe is as well-known for its chai as it is for its coffee drinks.
My coffee lives up to Rasa Caffe’s reputation, and I sit at a table outside to enjoy it in the Northern California sunshine.
Telegraph Avenue
From the coffee shop, my day trip to Berkeley continues with a drive to Telegraph Avenue. This is one of the most famous streets in the city, not least because of its associations with the 1960s counterculture scene.
Today Telegraph Avenue is as famous for its vintage clothing stores and record shops as it is for its college students (the road leads right up to the University of California, Berkeley campus).
I park on a side street and walk over to check out the street. Market vendors are busy setting up their sidewalk stalls with hippie jewelry and crystals, and a token VW camper van makes for a classic Berkeley scene.
I take it all in, then pop into a bookstore called Moe’s Books. This family-run indy shop has been a Berkeley institution since 1959. Its founder was famous for his anti-authoritarian ways. He made a habit of defying city ordinances by smoking cigars indoors, and he offered his own “Moe Dollars” for used books.
As I browse, I find not much has changed since the 1960s. Titles like Feminist Weed Farmer: Growing Mindful Medicine in Your Own Backyard take pride of place by the cash register, and the shelves hold every kind of countercultural book one could need.
University of California, Berkeley
Leaving Moe’s Books, I admire the street art as I make my way along Telegraph Avenue. I catch snippets of political conversations—one man can’t stop talking about “Red China”—as I walk down to the UC Berkeley campus.
This place is known for its world-class research facilities as much as it is for its 1960s student protests. I’m not here for either, though. I’ve come for the aesthetics. I’ve always enjoyed the way the Berkeley campus blends old and new architecture into natural surroundings.
Groves of trees sit next to The Campanile tower, and oaks frame buildings with Neoclassical columns. This being Berkeley, posters for an exhibition on the world of mind-altering substances adhere to the lamp posts.
North Berkeley
I meander around the campus for a while, then continue my day trip with a drive over to North Berkeley. This place is known for its food scene, and Shattuck Avenue is home to some of the best restaurants in the Bay Area.
The most famous of these is Chez Panisse. It’s not only chef Alice Waters’ flagship restaurant, but also the birthplace of California Cuisine and farm-to-table dining. Upstairs is the more casual cafe, which is also known for its quality.
When I moved home to the Bay Area after college, I came to this area for meals with friends who were studying at UC Berkeley. We would eat our fill at Cheese Board Pizza, which always has a line down the street, and Gregoire, a gourmet take-away restaurant with outdoor seating.
I beat a path to the latter to indulge in their famous potato puffs. The golden rounds are light as air and rich in flavor. I burn my tongue (I always do), but it’s impossible to be patient when something so delicious is set in front of me.
After lunch, I continue my walk down Shattuck. The Epicurious Garden food hall is packed with sushi counters, Mexican stalls, Indian places, and ice creameries. There’s even a sunny secret garden in the back.
Victorian Houses
Leaving Shattuck Avenue, I explore the shops on the side streets in North Berkeley. I then wander over to the residential parts of the area to take in the pretty Victorian houses.
These brightly-colored homes never cease to amaze me. Their whimsical architecture and cheerful details keep my eyes looking up the whole way.
Normandy Village
But the real treat is Normandy Village (aka Thornburg Village). This place is a historic landmark, and it’s a prime example of storybook architecture in Berkeley from the 1920s.
Normandy Village is hiding in plain sight on an ordinary street (Spruce) between Virginia and Hearst. It’s worth a special trip to take in the fairy-tale houses, and I can’t stop photographing and filming it.
Dinner in Berkeley
When dinner o’clock rolls around, I meet friends at Chez Panisse for a meal in the upstairs cafe. After an excellent experience in the main restaurant a while back, I’m excited to try its casual counterpart.
The food is every bit as good as I’d hoped, and I love the laid-back atmosphere. It’s the perfect way to end my visit to the city.
Day Trip to Berkeley
As I drive back to San Francisco after dinner, I can’t help but be sad to leave the East Bay. I’ve had an amazing day trip to Berkeley. This city of food culture, coffee culture, counterculture, and student culture is one of my favorite places to get a dose of everything I love about Northern California.
Berkeley Day Trip Map
If you want to follow my travel itinerary for a day in Berkeley, you can find my interactive Google map of all the places I mentioned here. I hope it helps you get a feel for the city so you can plan your own trip.
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