Neighborhoods

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. Part of the 94-acre Dimond Canyon bookends this immigrant community, giving the area a pleasant urban-nature balance.

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. The main strip of Park Boulevard is pretty much where anything happens now and where it happened then.

Not to be confused with Piedmont, a small city in Alameda County, Piedmont Avenue is one long badass sidewalk of restaurants, shops and home bric-a-brac, stacked side by side, with nearly nothing vacant.

Perhaps one of the biggest signposts of being in Montclair and the Oakland Hills is the squiggly (dare we say, hairpin?) roads and scenery re-set from urban to forestry. This wealthy outpost, just off Highway 13, contains some of the most coveted real estate in the Bay Area. You won’t find industrial restaurant décor or mustachioed baristas in this pedestrian-friendly village, exuding a Bavarian mountain town vibe.

The Oakland Arena and Coliseum are iconic East Bay venues for world-class concerts, sports, and events. The Coliseum is home to the Oakland Roots soccer team, adding to its legacy as a hub for community and excitement. Conveniently located, these landmarks embody Oakland’s vibrant spirit.

Oakland’s Airport neighborhood isn’t just a place for arrivals and departures—although it may be famous for one departure in particular, Amelia Earhart’s in 1937. On a knob of land, almost island-like and just south of Alameda Island, the Airport is sandwiched by the central artery of I-880 on one side, but on the other it’s marshland.

Nestled in the 525-acre Knowland Park in the Oakland Hills, the zoo houses more than 700 native and exotic animals. The exhibits are organized geographically and reflect the ecosystems of the animals' native habitats.

This urban stretch at the base of the Oakland Hills that once a land of, you guessed it, fruit trees, became a center for the Chicano Movement in the late 1960s and 70s, including the Brown Berets.

It has that Saturday-by-the-lake relaxed vibe. Geese quack, joggers loop the perimeter and rowers plunk their oars into the water.

Location. Location. Location. That’s Jack London’s selling point. It’s got Bay views, the call of seabirds, and the ferry as public transit. Enjoy the peace of the waterfront, or head a few paces onshore and down European styled walkways to a booming bar and restaurant scene.

West Oakland has long been the cool-cat neighborhood of Oakland with strong African American roots that earned it the nickname Harlem of the West.

To say Downtown Oakland is eclectic and diverse would barely skim the surface of this melting pot.

It has that Saturday-by-the-lake relaxed vibe. Geese quack, joggers loop the perimeter and rowers plunk their oars into the water.

Immigrants populated Temescal as did artists from California College of the Arts lured by the lower cost of living and bungalows. It draws the young, hip and former pop-up business.

At the foot of the Oakland Hills, Rockridge is a lovely burby-like haven where Cal Berkeley grads come to live when they exit their 20s and start yearning for historic cottages, nice gardens, and a 99 walk score.

Once a shopping district in the early 20th century, Uptown is the hottest neighborhood in Oakland. A new restaurant, indie boutique, or bar seemingly opens every other week, with nearly 125 opened in the past decade.

One of the oldest Chinatowns in the United States, Chinatown Oakland was settled in the 1850s, shortly after the gold rush. No longer just Chinese, this 16-block area is Pan Asian, with Koreans, Vietnamese and Japanese.

Though there are Victorians sprinkled throughout Oakland, this slice of preserved late century architecture is brochure-perfect. Many of the buildings within this six-block stretch look fresh off an 1870s remodel.