San Francisco Bay Area Top Attractions

Though Marin County is host to spectacular sights and attractions, it is also demographically very accessible to all that the greater San Francisco Bay Area has to offer.  When staying at the Marin Vacation Home, break out the map and explore it all, easily.  Here is a summary of special places you can find outside beautiful Marin County:

Bay Area Attractions outside Marin County, but nearby:

From the Marin Vacation Home, get to San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Bridge in a scenic 15 minutes!

• See own link for San Francisco, click HERE.

Click on Links for detailed info on each area (or just scroll down):

• Napa: (20 minute drive):  Wine Tasting, Olive Oil Tasting, Car Racing, Lake Berryessa, Hot Springs, Natural Geysers, Restaurants.
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    • For details on Wineries and nearby Wine Areas - Napa, Sonoma & West Marin, click "Here" or on Winery link at left.

• Sonoma: (20 minute drive):  Wine Tasting, Olive Oil Tasting, Pacific Coastline, Train Town, Lake Sonoma, Lake Sonoma Winery, Petrified Forests, Fish Hatchery, Restaurants.
  •  
    • For more details on Wineries and nearby Wine Areas - Napa, Sonoma & West Marin, click "Here" or on Winery link at left.

• Berkeley: (15 minute drive via Richmond Bridge):  UCBerkley, counter-culture boutiques, Top Vegetarian Restaurants, unique liberal feel.

• Oakland:  (20minutes):  Jack London Square, Ice Skating, Oakland Collisium, Oakland Zoo, Oaksterdam.
  

• Vallejo:(15minute drive): Six Flags Discovery Kingdom- family fun rollercoasters and entertainment!
  

• Santa Cruz:(1.5hr drive): Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, UC Santa Cruz, Pacific Ocean, surfer cultural heaven.  Amazing Pacific Coastline drive from Marin!
  

• Monterey:(2hr drive): Monteray Aquarium, Cannary Row. Pacific Ocean.

• PebbleBeach: (2.5hr drive):  Gorgeous World Class Golf, Pacific Ocean Surf.

• Marin County attractions, click on links to left or click on one of the following links:

Beaches in Marin, Art Galleries in Marin, Farmers Markets in Marin, Golf in Marin, Hiking/Biking in Marin, Marin Annual Events, Marin Spawning Salmon, Marin Wine & Farms, Museums - historical & Learning in Marin, Sonoma & Napa Valley, Tourist Attractions in Marin, Party and Wedding sites in Marin

• Berkeley: 
  

***Berkley is noted as one of the most politically liberal in the nation, with one study placing it as the third most liberal city in the United States.

UC Berkley of California: University of California, Berkeley, the oldest of the University of California system, is located here.

Telegraph Avenue: Telegraph refers mainly to a four-block section just south of the university, from Bancroft Way (which borders the campus) to Dwight Way. As a center of campus and community life, this section of Telegraph Avenue is home to many restaurants, bookstores, and clothing shops, along with street vendors occupying its wide sidewalks. Telegraph attracts a diverse audience of visitors, including college students, tourists, artists, street punks, eccentrics, and the homeless.  A very unique experience and street- great boutique shopping!

• Vallejo:

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.  Vallejo.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.  Vallejo.  (20minutes from home!) Ride Rollercoasters, see animals.  Good Family Fun!

• Website:http://www.sixflags.com/discoveryKingdom/index.aspx

• Oakland:

Oakland Museum of California:  http://museumca.org/

Jack London Square: 

On the waterfront of Oakland, California , this is a popular tourist attraction.  Here, enjoy theatre, shops, dining and a Marina.  If sailing the bay, it makes a great stop.  Also, the Alameda / Oakland Ferry operates ferry service from Jack London Square to Alameda, San Francisco, and Angel Island.

Oaksterdam: A unique cultural district on the north end of downtown Oakland, California.  Unique in that it is an area where medical cannabisis available at competitively priced smokeable and edible varieties.  Prepared and available for purchase in multiple cafes, clubs, and patient dispensaries!

• Monterey: 

Monterey Bay Aquarium:  

One of the most unique and largest aquariums in the world!  Unbelievably large tanks exhibit the special Monterey sealife!  Sealife on exhibit includes stingrays, jellyfish, sea otters, and numerous other native marine species, which can be viewed above and below the waterline.  The Great White Shark has even been on exhibit here for 138 days!  Some of the tanks take water direct from Monterey's Pacific Ocean.  In addition,  three institutions function from here: Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation, the Support Services, which manages the property, and the Research Institute, which operates three ocean-going research vessels. 

Website: http://www.mbayaq.org/vi/

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• Pebble Beach:

  Pebble Beach is a small coastal town in Monterey County, California, best known for its high end, professional, Golf Course.  Also well known is Pebble Beachs beautiful scenery and incredible coastline, as well as the "Lone Cypress Tree", pictured above.

Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Beach,_California

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• Sacramento: California's State Capitol   (** 1.5hr drive from Marin) 

  • California State Railroad Museum, & Old Sacramento State Historic Park:  “Sacramento’s historic role as the commercial center of the California Gold Rush and terminus for the Pony Express and America’s first transcontinental railroad is preserved in Old Sacramento State Historic Park and the California State Railroad Museum” reads the brochure.
    

• California State Railroad Museum:  Open Daily.  More than 20 restored locomotives and railroad cars along with exhibits of smaller artifacts  of interest.