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This is Berkeley?
VIA Magazine
Sept/Oct 2008
What Every Student
Should Know About Cal
East Bay Express
Aug. 20, 2008
Life in Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay Area
Map of Berkeley | Housing Information
You attend classes at the UC Berkeley Extension Golden Bear Building, in the heart of downtown Berkeley. Berkeley is a diverse and colorful city that surrounds the UC Berkeley campus and is just one part of the larger community known as the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Bay Area nurtures innovative business leaders and the most creative minds in emerging technologies and the arts including Google, Oracle, Levi's, Gap, Siemens, Pixar Studios, Dolby Laboratories, Charles Schwab, and Genentech. This intelligent and active community is an ideal place to expand your horizons and network with successful people from all over the world.
Downtown Berkeley
In just a few dozen square blocks, business people, students, and residents enjoy more than 100 restaurants and cafés, with cuisine from more than 15 different countries. An arts and entertainment district offers dozens of cinemas, live theater, and music. The weekend farmers' market is a good place to sample local organic foods. On warm weekend mornings you can have coffee at a sidewalk cafe; or take a stroll through the Berkeley Rose Garden. On mild nights, you can enjoy a concert outdoors at the Greek Theater.
San Francisco and the Bay Area
The weekend is also a good time to explore San Francisco, just 13 miles west of Berkeley across the San Francisco Bay. Here you can rent a bicycle and ride across the Golden Gate Bridge or take the cable car through Chinatown to Fisherman's Wharf. San Francisco is made up of many different neighborhoods, each with a distinct feel. To experience the city's hip past, visit the coffeehouses and bookstores of North Beach, or the colorful architecture of the Haight-Ashbury district. You can enjoy beautiful views of twinkling city lights, majestic bridges, Pacific Ocean coastline, and extraordinary architecture from one of the many famous hilltops.
California
In northern California, many worlds are within your reach. You can fly to Los Angeles in an hour or drive to Lake Tahoe and ski down a slope in under four hours. IDP students have been known to try their luck in Las Vegas, only 920 kilometers southeast of Berkeley. Napa Valley—with its wineries, restaurants, and shopping—is just an hour from San Francisco. Yosemite National Park—with its spectacular rock formations, hiking trails, and waterfalls—is a four-hour drive to the east.
Links to more information:
Downtown Berkeley InformationBerkeley Convention and Visitors' Bureau
UC Berkeley Events Calendar
UC Berkeley Recreational Sports
San Francisco Chronicle (news)
Craig's List (online community)
Bay Area Rapid Transportation (BART) Information
AC Transit (local bus system)
Public Transportation Trip Planner