Places to Explore In The Bay Area

Discover the best places to explore in The Bay Area with curated recommendations from our travel experts.

Año Nuevo State Reserve

A beautiful park year-round, Año Nuevo State Reserve bustles during elephant seal mating season, from mid-December through March...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 1 Things To Do

Berkeley

Berkeley is the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement, the radical hub of the 1960s, the home of arguably the nation's top public university, and...

  • 24 Restaurants
  • 9 Hotels
  • 34 Things To Do

Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Home to some grand redwoods and terrain that varies from rocky coastal coves to dense forestland, the 18,000-acre Big Basin has a human history that...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 1 Things To Do

Bolinas

The tiny town of Bolinas wears its 1960s idealism on its sleeve, attracting potters, poets, and peace lovers to its quiet streets. With a funky...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Menlo Park

Not to be confused with lightbulb inventor Thomas Edison’s New Jersey hometown, this bedroom community centers on a small downtown strip of restaurants and shops...

  • 6 Restaurants
  • 4 Hotels
  • 4 Things To Do

Mill Valley

Chic and woodsy Mill Valley has a dual personality. Here, as elsewhere in the county, the foundation is a superb natural setting. Virtually surrounded by...

  • 17 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 14 Things To Do

Mt. Tamalpais State Park

The view of Mt. Tamalpais from all around the bay can be a beauty, but that’s nothing compared to the views from the mountain, which...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 1 Things To Do

Muir Beach

Except on the sunniest of weekends, Muir Beach is relatively quiet, but the drive to this community and beach is a scenic adventure...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 1 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Muir Woods National Monument

Climbing hundreds of feet into the sky, Sequoia sempervirens are the tallest living things on Earth—some are more than 1,800 years old. One of the...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 0 Things To Do

Oakland

In contrast to San Francisco's buzz and beauty and Berkeley's storied counterculture, Oakland's allure lies in its amazing diversity. Here you can find a Nigerian...

  • 27 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 37 Things To Do

Palo Alto

Despite being a midsized residential community, Palo Alto enjoys an outsized reputation as one of the premier cities to live and work in—with eye-popping real...

  • 7 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 5 Things To Do

Peninsular Coastline

With steep, chiseled cliffs and frequently enormous waves that are popular with surfers and whales, the peninsular coastline is one of the great road trip...

  • 14 Restaurants
  • 8 Hotels
  • 17 Things To Do

Point Reyes National Seashore

With sandy beaches stretching for miles, a dramatic rocky coastline, a gem of a lighthouse (Point Reyes Lighthouse: closed at this writing, but check online)...

  • 13 Restaurants
  • 7 Hotels
  • 9 Things To Do

San Jose

California’s third-largest city, San Jose is often thought of as a smaller Los Angeles because of its relentless sprawl and valley setting surrounded by mountains...

  • 4 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 4 Things To Do

Santa Cruz Mountains AVA

Napa Valley and Sonoma County might get most of the winery tourists, but the massive Santa Cruz Mountains AVA is often cited by locals and...

  • 4 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 11 Things To Do

Sausalito

Bougainvillea-covered hillsides and an expansive yacht harbor give Sausalito the feel of an Adriatic resort. The town sits on the northwestern edge of San Francisco...

  • 13 Restaurants
  • 5 Hotels
  • 10 Things To Do

Stanford

Few names are as recognizable in higher education as Stanford University—or technically Leland Stanford Jr. University, named for the deceased son of its founder, a...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 7 Things To Do

Stinson Beach

This laid-back hamlet is all about the beach, and folks come from all over the Bay Area to walk its sandy, often windswept shore. An...

  • 3 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 2 Things To Do

Sunnyvale and Mountain View

Originally a stagecoach stop on the Peninsula for travelers between San Francisco and San Jose, Mountain View’s technology certainly has evolved in the century and...

  • 1 Restaurants
  • 3 Hotels
  • 3 Things To Do

The Marin Headlands

The term "Golden Gate" has become synonymous with the world-famous bridge, but it was first given to the narrow waterway that connects the Pacific and...

  • 0 Restaurants
  • 0 Hotels
  • 6 Things To Do

Tiburon

On a peninsula that was named Punta de Tiburón (Shark Point) by 18th-century Spanish explorers, this beautiful Marin County community retains the feel of a...

  • 9 Restaurants
  • 2 Hotels
  • 8 Things To Do

Explore The Bay Area

Sights 106

Shopping 27

Nightlife 37

Performing Arts 17

Restaurants 152

Hotels 58
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