Self Guided Tours and Itineraries
City Center area
Oakland's skyline is dotted with gleaming modern high rises, but signs of yesteryear also abound. Historic homes such as Dunsmuir House and Gardens Historic Estate, the Cohen-Bray House, Camron-Stanford House, Pardee Home Museum, and Preservation Park offer fascinating glimpses of how the wealthy lived in the 19th Century. For history made modern, have lunch in the downtown Old Oakland Historic District. Once the hub of the city's business district, this thriving four-block area of restored Victorian commercial buildings is home to shops, galleries, and restaurants, and a bustling farmers' market Friday mornings. A few blocks away, The African American Museum and Library offers exhibits and research archives in splendid surroundings. In the afternoon, head down to Jack London Square for a walk through one of the nation's few floating museums. Affectionately called The Floating White House, the USS Potomac was Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidential yacht. For an authentic sip of history, there's Jack London's old drinking hole, Heinhold's First and Last Chance Saloon. End the day by enjoying modern dining at one of the many fine waterfront restaurants.