Oakland, CA

An elevated California take on soul food in Temescal, plating refined versions of the chef's family recipes on vintage Pyrex with national acclaim from Food & Wine and the SF Chronicle. The city's marquee dinner destination.

A Temescal counter with a genre-defining fried-chicken sandwich on a jalapeño-slaw bun, served to a line at sidewalk ironing-board tables. Cheap, beloved and worth the wait.

A Cal-Italian institution in Temescal from a Chez Panisse alum, doing blistered wood-fired pizzas and market-driven pastas in a warm, worn-in room. The neighborhood's reliable special-but-casual dinner.

The Oakland outpost of the Bay Area's beloved Burmese kitchen, famous for the hand-tossed tea-leaf salad and coconut-chicken noodles. A flavor profile you won't find on every block.

Oakland's Michelin-starred tasting-menu destination on Piedmont Avenue, a tiny counter-and-dining-room doing precise, seasonal Californian cooking. The city's fine-dining pinnacle.

A Piedmont Avenue ice cream parlor scooping its own since 1894, piling enormous sundaes the whole city grew up on (and that opened the movie 'Up'). Pure multi-generational nostalgia.

A Rockridge trattoria from a Piedmontese chef rolling dozens of handmade pasta shapes daily, served in a warm bottega setting. The most authentic Italian in the East Bay.

A modern Uptown ramen shop doing rich, balanced bowls and creative izakaya snacks from a Bay Area chef. The go-to for a soulful bowl downtown.

A seafood brasserie in the restored 1909 boathouse on Lake Merritt, with a long bar, raw oysters and a deck right over the water. The view is the reason; the oysters and crab hold up.

A North Oakland soul food institution serving breakfast and lunch since the 1950s, where regulars queue for the fried pork chop plate, chicken and waffles, and legendary house-made pies. Counter service, cash preferred, and a line that tells you everything you need to know about how good it is.

A Fruitvale taqueria (grown from a truck) turning out some of the East Bay's best al pastor and carne asada tacos to a constant local crowd. Cheap, smoky and the real deal.

A Black-owned Oakland coffee roaster with a bright Fruitvale flagship café, serving carefully sourced single-origin brews with a strong community ethos. The city's homegrown coffee with a conscience.

The flat 3.4-mile path circling the tidal lagoon, passing the bird sanctuary, the boathouse and the lit pergola — the city's most-used walk and run. Easy, social and central.

A canyon of towering second-growth coast redwoods in the Oakland hills, with the shaded Stream Trail running flat along a creek beneath the giants. A startling pocket of deep forest minutes from the city.

A wooded hillside park of redwoods and eucalyptus with a web of trails and pocket viewpoints over the Bay. The most accessible hill-forest hike from central Oakland.

A ridge-top preserve on the remains of a 10-million-year-old volcano, with trails past exposed lava formations and a hand-built rock labyrinth. Big East Bay ridge views and unusual geology in one.

A big reservoir in the hills above town with a long shoreline loop for walking and biking, plus boat rentals and quieter back trails. A regional escape for a longer, leg-stretching day.

A flat waterfront park on the old naval base with lawns, a small beach and a close-up view of the Port of Oakland's giant cranes and the San Francisco skyline. An easy, breezy, distinctly Oakland walk.

A terraced modernist museum devoted entirely to California's art, history and natural science, with a beloved Friday-night food-truck-and-music series in its gardens. The city's flagship cultural institution.

A hilltop science center with planetarium shows, hands-on exhibits and big public telescopes open for free weekend night viewing. A family favorite with a Bay-view perch.

A storybook-themed kids' park on Lake Merritt, open since 1950 and said to have inspired Walt Disney, with low-key rides and fairy-tale sets built for small children. Pure, gentle nostalgia.

A well-regarded zoo in the hills above the city, with a gondola sky ride to a ridge-top California Trail exhibit of native wildlife and Bay views. A solid half-day with kids.

A lavishly restored 1928 movie palace in Uptown, now one of the Bay Area's best mid-size concert venues, with exotic-deco interiors and great sightlines. The anchor of Oakland's nightlife revival.

A breathtaking 1931 art-deco theater, a National Historic Landmark, home to the Oakland Symphony and classic-film nights. As much an architectural marvel as a venue.

A world-class jazz club and Japanese restaurant at Jack London Square, drawing top touring musicians to an intimate room. The Bay Area's premier place to hear live jazz with dinner.

A 1926 movie palace near Lake Merritt with a dazzling neon marquee and a Wurlitzer organ played before weekend shows. A beloved independent cinema and neighborhood landmark.

A monthly arts-and-street festival that closes Telegraph Avenue in the Uptown/KONO district for galleries, food vendors, music and crowds. The city's biggest regular block party.

FDR's restored 'Floating White House,' a 1934 presidential yacht docked at Jack London Square, open for dockside tours and occasional Bay cruises. A specific, well-told slice of history.

A cavernous Uptown cocktail bar with indoor bocce courts, a fireplace and a strong drinks program. A fun, social anchor before or after a show at the Fox across the street.

A tidal lagoon ringed by a 3.4-mile path right in the middle of the city, strung with the 'Necklace of Lights' and circled by joggers, drummers and birdlife. The social and geographic heart of Oakland.

The revived estuary waterfront where Jack London hung out as a young man, now a strip of restaurants, a Sunday farmers market and a working port view. The city's front door to the water.

An 1883 waterfront bar built from an old whaling ship, its floor permanently tilted by the 1906 quake, where a young Jack London read and drank. A tiny, gas-lit time capsule of old Oakland.

A serene 1863 cemetery laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park, with a grand 'Millionaires' Row' of mausoleums and a hilltop with sweeping Bay views. An unexpectedly beautiful place to walk.

A terraced 1930s amphitheater of roses tucked into a residential canyon, with a cascading central fountain and thousands of blooms. A hidden, free pocket of calm few visitors find.

A striking 2008 cathedral of glass and Douglas-fir louvers on the shore of Lake Merritt, its luminous interior glowing with filtered light around a pixelated image of Christ. The city's boldest piece of modern architecture.

A compact district of restored Victorian commercial buildings around Swan's Market, home to a Friday farmers market, indie shops and restaurants. The prettiest pocket of the city's 19th-century downtown.

The heart of Oakland's Mexican and Central American community along International Boulevard, with taquerias, panaderías and one of the country's biggest Día de los Muertos festivals. The most flavorful, festive corner of the city.