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Forever the blue-collar little brother of cosmopolitan San Francisco, Oakland is enjoying a rapid growth phase as the increasingly high cost of living drives San Francisco residents to the East Bay. Redevelopment projects are revitalizing the downtown area, particularly around Lake Merritt and Jack London Square. The city also features an expanding performing arts community, and the Oakland Museum of California and the Chabot Space and Science Center are helping to boost Oakland's burgeoning tourist industry.

Besides the few Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) stations in Oakland that serve the rest of the East Bay as well as San Francisco, the AC Transit bus system ($1.75) is the lone public transportation option in the city. Otherwise, traveling by car is a necessity.

Oakland International Airport is just a few miles south of downtown and offers AC Transit service as well as a $2 shuttle (AirBART) to the nearest BART station, where fare is $1.40 to 12th street in Oakland.

Become a Citizen of Raider Nation
Some of the most infamous fans in sports are at McAfee Coliseum on Sundays during football season, rooting on the Raiders from the "black hole." With armor, face paint, masks and limitless energy, the rowdy rooters are a show all unto themselves.

See What "Moneyball" Can Buy
Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane has won both acclaim and criticism and spawned a string of imitators for his reliance on statistics in assembling a baseball roster. The A's, who share McAfee Coliseum with the Raiders, consistently enjoy a modicum of success despite one of the lowest payrolls in the major leagues.

Find Out Who the Real Fans Are
The Golden State Warriors won a single NBA championship back in 1974-75, enjoyed a brief renaissance in the entertaining "Run TMC" era, and have been largely irrelevant ever since. Yet, with a loyal and supportive fan base, they continue to draw large crowds at The Arena in Oakland, even outperforming superior teams in attendance.

Sail Out on Lake Merritt
Almost completely surrounded by Lakeside Park, Lake Merritt is a tidal lagoon and wildlife refuge right in downtown Oakland, serving as a home for a variety of birds like herons, egrets, ducks and geese. At the park you can rent rowboats, pedal boats or sailboats to get out on the water.

Paddle Around Angel Island
Just off the Tiburon peninsula north of San Francisco lies Angel Island, the largest in San Francisco Bay. Serving as an immigration station for Chinese in the early 1900s, Angel Island is now a National Historic Landmark and state park, and guided kayak tours are available for circumnavigating the island and observing its wildlife.

Oakland Museum of California
100 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94607, 510-238-2200 or toll-free 888-625-6873
This museum is dedicated to all things California: its people, history, art and environment. Don't miss Charles Christian Nahl's paintings, which helped create the image of the archetypal '49er gold miner, or Dorothea Lange's documentary-like photographs. There are meticulous recreations of California habitat, and artifacts from the earliest Native American settlements to Silicon Valley computer chips.
http://www.museumca.org/

Jack London Square
Embarcadero at Broadway, Oakland, CA 94607, 510-814-6000
The most popular tourist location in town, Jack London Square offers plenty of places to eat, shop and stay in a waterfront location in the heart of Oakland. Visit Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon, in operation since 1883, where the square's namesake author is said to have worked on "Call of the Wild." You can also see FDR's presidential yacht, the USS Potomac, aka "The Floating White House," or catch some great music at Yoshi's, one of the country's finest jazz venues.
http://www.jacklondonsquare.com

Chabot Space and Science Center
10000 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland, Calif. 94519, 510-336-7300
This 86,000-square-foot center for science and technology education opened in 2000, and is the product of a public observatory with roots in the Bay Area dating back to 1883. Chabot's highlights include a full-dome digital-projection planetarium, and the MegaDome Theater, which shows 70mm films on its 70-foot dome-screen. Powerful telescopes offer great views of the heavens, and the location in the Oakland hills overlooking the Bay Area provides some of the better views Earth has to offer. Hands-on activities abound for kids of all ages.
http://www.chabotspace.org

USS Hornet Museum
Pier 3, Alameda Point, Alameda, CA 94501, 510-521-8448
You can spend hours touring this decommissioned aircraft carrier, which is most notable for its service in the Pacific in World War II and for its recovery of the astronauts from the first two missions to the moon in 1969 -- Apollo 11 and Apollo 12. Exhibits include an F-14 Tomcat fighter plane, and one of the four original Apollo Mobile Quarantine Facilities (MQFs), which held astronauts briefly after their return to Earth.
http://www.uss-hornet.org

1989 Oakland A's (defeated San Francisco Giants, 4 games to 0).
1981 Oakland Raiders (defeated Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10).
1977 Oakland Raiders (defeated Minnesota Vikings, 32-14).
1975 Golden State Warriors (defeated Washington Bullets, 4 games to 0).
1974 Oakland A's (defeated Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 1).
1973 Oakland A's (defeated New York Mets, 4 games to 3).
1972 Oakland A's (defeated Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 3).