The ultimate college town

Berkeley is a relatively small urban enclave, with a wide range of neighborhoods. Celebrated for its cultural diversity, dynamic academic life and gourmet restaurants, it is the college town sensibility that unites the city into an interesting and exciting place to call home.

Berkeley is famous (infamous) for the heady days of the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, but these days it’s best known as a haven for the epicurean delights that started in the North Berkeley neighborhood known as the Gourmet Ghetto. This is the home of the nationally acclaimed Chez Panisse Restaurant, Peet’s Coffee and Tea, and The Cheese Board Collective.

From the glorious bay views seen from the hills, to the charming Victorians and bungalows in the “flats” and the stately old homes of the Elmwood district, Berkeley is a unique and beautiful town. Many Berkeley homes are notable for their singular architectural styles, some of which were designed by the architects Bernard Maybeck, John Hudson Thomas, and Julia Morgan.

Berkeley has the added advantage of being conveniently connected by BART, bus and bridge with the larger cities of San Francisco and Oakland.

Berkeley boasts numerous neighborhood parks, wonderful walking paths that straddle the hills, and at its easternmost boundary, the 2,074-acre Tilden Regional park, featuring hiking and biking trails, Lake Anza, the historic Merry-Go-Round, Steam Train, and Little Farm Nature Area.