Getting to (and from) Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley campus is situated in downtown Berkeley. Participants arriving from either San Francisco International Airport (SFO) or Oakland Airport (OAK) can take the local metro system, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), from the airport to Downtown Berkeley. Click here for train schedules and a system map. BART is also the easiest way to travel between Berkeley and downtown San Francisco.
Accommodations and getting around
Rooms are available for congress participants at The Berkeley City Club, within easy walking distance of the several conference venues. See the conference map for the location.
Campus and the conference venues
Dwinelle Hall is the largest building of our campus, even though it doesn’t look like it from the outside. The two main venues of our conference are 370 (7th or G floor), and the amphitheater 142 (4th or D floor). It takes one to two minutes to move from 370 to 142 or vice versa (including taking the elevator). Coffee and food will be served in the public space next to 370 or in Ishi Court if the weather is nice.
There are several points of entrance to Dwinelle Hall. If you want to go to 142 from outside we recommend that you enter Dwinelle through the main (east) entrance, which leads you to the lobby where casts of sections of the Parthernon frieze are on display. 142 will be immediately to your left. For 370, it is easiest to enter Dwinelle from the north side (entrance facing the Valley Life Sciences Building and California Hall), and take the lift to the top (7th or G floor).
Enjoying Berkeley
We have a full schedule for our congress, but we hope you'll find a bit of time to explore Berkeley. This small city is one of the gourmet capitals of the US, and the visitor is spoiled for choice. North Berkeley (a 15 minute walk from campus), popularly known as the Gourmet Ghetto, is home to the renowned Chez Panisse Restaurant and Cafe. Booking well in advance is virtually a requirement. Nearby César is a wine bar with excellent tapas. The Cheese Board sells a bewildering array of fresh cheeses and irresistible pastries, and its next-door annex sells delectable thin-crust vegetarian pizza by the slice or the pie; enjoy it while listening to live jazz. A meal at Saul's Deli (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) might fool you into thinking you were in New York but for the very pleasant service. The whole neighborhood is filled with great options, most welcoming walk-ins.
Downtown Berkeley also has numerous dining options. Upscale restaurants include Gather, which offers organic Northern California cuisine and extensive vegetarian options; Five, a New American restaurant in the Shattuck Hotel; and Comal, for modern Mexican food, on Shattuck Avenue. The Great China on Bancroft Way offers excellent Chinese food, and it was a favorite of our own Sara Aleshire. There are of course dozens of smaller food institutions covering a wide range of cuisines from Japanese and Thai to Italian and French.
For bibliophiles: if you have a chance you should take a look at University Press Books on Bancroft Way, or Moe's on Telegraph Avenue, south of campus. Both feature thousands of academic titles. Books Inc. on Shattuck Avenue in North Berkeley is "the west's oldest independent bookstore."
Coffee addicts have many options. On campus you can visit the Free Speech Movement Café, commemorating the student protests of 1964/65 that led faculty and administrators to overturn a ban on political activities on campus. It is attached to Moffitt Library and very close to Dwinelle Hall. On Bancroft Way at College Ave. try the open-air Caffe Strada (next to the Bancroft Hotel), or Musical Offering (between Dana and Telegraph), which is also home to an excellent Classical-music CD shop.