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Here's some advice on sights to see and family-friendly places to stay in this vibrant Bay Area city in northern California.

Sports fans know Oakland in northern California for its teams--baseball’s A’s, basketball’s Warriors and football’s Raiders. Business travellers know Oakland for the Oakland International Airport – the alternative to the more congested airport across San Francisco Bay. More recently, family vacationers visiting the Bay Area have discovered this revitalised city on the East Bay with its quaint ethnically diverse neighborhoods.

Walking (and Boating) Into History

Downtown Oakland is best seen by foot. There are lots of places to walk, so bring comfortable shoes. In fact, the Oakland Tours Program (510/238-3234) offers free 90-minute guided walking tours of many historic points of interest, including everything from art deco architecture to places of worship to political hot-spots.

If you like architecture, be sure to stroll down Preservation Park (510/874-7580) to see sixteen Victorian houses now occupied by non-profit and creative enterprises. The restored Camron-Stanford House (510/874-7802), built in 1876, is the last remaining Victorian home overlooking Lake Merritt. At this salt lake, you can actually board an authentic Venetian gondola operated by Gondola Servizio (866/737-8494), hear an historic guided tour, and be serenaded in Italian. If you like your tours on water, bay cruises are available on the U.S.S. Potomac (510/627-1215), once "The Floating White House" of Franklin D. Roosevelt and later owned by “The King” (Elvis). Your tour will take you around the Port of Oakland, the nation’s fifth busiest container port, and on a clear day you can get a great view of San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate Bridge.

Other places to see include Old Oakland, the newly renovated City Hall, and the contrasting modern architecture around City Center. The Pardee Home Museum (510/444-2187), built in the 19^th century by former California governor Enoch Pardee, is close to Preservation Park, and the newly opened African American Museum and Library of Oakland (510/637-0200). At the Pardee Home, visitors can tour the main residence's many rooms and the carriage house. The African American Museum houses a wealth of information about African Americans from this community, including the Black Panthers, a politically left-wing group that created headlines in the 60’s.