Attractions
Berkeley is the home to many cultural festivals, one of the best known being the one held by the Jewish Community Center (JCC). Each year the JCC holds a Jewish music festival presenting a large selection of skilled Jewish composers and musicians.
History buffs can visit the Berkeley History Center at 1931 Center Street and see exhibitions and archives. Horse racing enthusiasts should take some time to check out Golden Gates Fields to watch the thoroughbreds race. Live races begin at 12:45 p.m. every Wednesday to Thursday from February 8 to May 7 and August 24 to October 15.
Golden Gates Fields is located on 1100 Eastshore Highway off the I-80 at the Gilman Street exit.
Other places to visit are the Hall of Health (2230 Shattuck Avenue), the Laurence Hall of Science (Centennial Drive), the UC Botanical Garden (200 Centennial Drive), and the Takara Sake Tasting and Museum (708 Addison Street).
The Hall of Health is a health museum sponsored by the Children’s Hospital Oakland and offers interactive exhibits of the human body. The Laurence Hall of Science is a museum dedicated to maths and sciences. It offers an assortment of interactive, hands-on family-friendly workshops on anything from astronomy to fossil finding and carving events to planetarium shows.
The UC Botanical Garden is a 34-acre park that features 12,000 types of plants from all over the world. Admission is free the first Thursday of every month, excluding holidays. The Takara Sake Tasting and Museum lets visitors taste test different sake and plum wine products. Guests also get to see the sake-making process as well as a rare collection of old tools and artifacts.
Berkeley also offers a variety of tours. Those who want to travel further distances are encouraged to visit California Tours on 2015 Center Street. Here visitors can arrange for tours of Yosemite National Park, Los Vegas/Grand Canyon, Wine Country, Los Angeles/Disneyland and even Hawaii. Shuttle and charter services are available.
Free daily brewery tours can be experienced at the Pyramid Alehouse and Brewery at 901 Gilman Street. Free public tours are also available at the Scharfen Berger Chocolate Maker factory seven days a week. Here visitors get to see the production of chocolate from fine cocoa beans using vintage European equipment. The factory is located at 914 Heinz Avenue. Visitors are encourage to call to make advance reservations.