With the expansion of the Bay Area’s population and infrastructure, the East Bay has grown to include all of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and even some farther outlying cities. This expansive area includes some of the best cultural attractions the Bay Area has to offer – great food, music, sporting events, and museums.
The East Bay is the birthplace of many musical acts, and counts The Pointer Sisters, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Counting Crows, and Green Day among them. The region is also home to a number of music and sports venues, including the Oakland Oracle Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors; McAfee Coliseum, home of the Oakland A’s and the Oakland Raiders; and the Oakland Paramount Theater, venue for the Oakland East Bay Symphony.
The communities that make up the East Bay boast some of the most charming downtowns in the Bay Area. You can stroll the impressive array of restaurants, cafes, antique shops, and boutiques in historic downtown Pleasanton, or enjoy luxury shopping in Walnut Creek. Visitors and residents of the East Bay can enjoy many of the restaurants central to the creation of California Cuisine, including Alice Waters’s iconic Chez Panisse. The East Bay also boasts major museums, with the Oakland Museum of California, the Lawrence Hall of Science, and the Chabot Space and Science Center all calling the East Bay home.
Like many parts of the Bay Area, the East Bay is a mecca for innovation. The region is served by a number of both public and private universities including Saint Mary’s College, Mills College, and the University of California, Berkeley, and the area is also headquarters to a number of highly notable businesses, including Disney’s Pixar, Kaiser Permanente, Chevron, and Safeway.
With San Francisco just a short BART ride away, and Sonoma and Napa wine country close by, the East Bay truly enjoys a location at the heart of it all. Whether you live and work in the East Bay or commute to Silicon Valley or the city, those who call the East Bay home enjoy the secret treasures that it has to offer.
