Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Oakland Museum of California
MUSEUM
adult/child 9-17yr $15/6, 1st Sun each month free; 11am-5pm Wed-Sun, to 9pm Fri; )
Near the southern end of the lake and one block from the Lake Merritt BART station, this
museum has rotating exhibitions on artistic and scientific themes, and excellent permanent
galleries dedicated to the state's diverse ecology and history, as well as California art. Ad-
mission is half-off on Friday nights, when DJs, food trucks and free kids' art workshops
made it a fun hangout spot.
Children's Fairyland
AMUSEMENT PARK
10am-4pm Mon-Fri, to 5pm Sat & Sun Jun-Aug, off-season hours vary; )
Lakeside Park, at the northern end of the saltwater lake, includes this 10-acre attraction,
which dates from 1950 and has charming fairy-tale-themed train, carousel and mini Ferris-
wheel rides.
Lake Merritt Boating Center
WATER SPORTS
hour $12-24; daily Mar-Oct, Sat & Sun only Nov-Feb)
Rents canoes, rowboats, kayaks, pedal boats and sailboats.
Piedmont Ave & Rockridge
North of downtown Oakland, Broadway becomes a lengthy strip of car dealerships called
Broadway Auto Row. Just past that is
Piedmont Ave
, wall-to-wall with antique stores,
coffeehouses, fine restaurants and an art cinema.
One of Oakland's most popular shopping areas is
Rockridge
, a lively, upscale neighbor-
hood. It is centered on College Ave, which runs from Broadway all the way to the UC
Berkeley Campus. College Ave is lined with clothing boutiques, good bookstores, several
pubs and cafes, and quite a few upscale restaurants - maybe the largest concentration in
the Bay Area. BART at the Rockridge station puts you in the thick of things.
