All these pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods -- latter-day villages -- offer an intriguing, cosmopolitan variety of shops and boutiques, cafés and restaurants, gourmet take-out, book and CD/record stores, and only-in-Berkeley people-watching. All are served by AC Transit buses. We list a few favorites; you will find many more.

College Avenue/Elmwood
All the amenities of a comfortable, urbane neighborhood just seven blocks south of campus. Restaurant: La Mediterranée (2936 College); Cafe: Espresso Roma (College at Ashby)

Rockridge
Continuing south along College Avenue, action along this lively corridor, just across the border into Oakland, centers on the Rockridge BART station. Rockridge has become one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the East Bay, and the shopping is mostly upscale. Restaurants: Oliveto (in Market Hall, 5655 College), La Crème de la Crème (5362 College); Cafe: Mocha Lisa (College at Alcatraz)

Downtown Berkeley
Though not a fashionable shopping/dining mecca, downtown is the mass transit hub (BART station, AC Transit buses); center of civic life (main post office, city hall, convention and visitors bureau, main public library); and locale of basic necessities (banks, drug stores) and entertainment (Berkeley Repertory Theatre, six movie houses). Restaurants: Venezia (1799 University), La Note (2377 Shattuck), Nakapan (1921 Martin Luther King), Jupiter (beer/pizza/jazz -- 2181 Shattuck)

North Shattuck
Downtown Berkeley transitions into the North Shattuck shopping area once you cross University Avenue. It includes the famous "Gourmet Ghetto" (Chez Panisse restaurant and its new tapas offshoot, César), the original Peet's coffee store, Cheeseboard, Masse's Pastries, Saul's Deli, and two famous bookstores: Black Oak Books and Gaia. Restaurant: Café de la Paz (1600 Shattuck); Cafe: Odyssia (1849 Shattuck)

Solano Avenue
Shops, restaurants, and cafes line this pleasant, one-mile stretch into Albany, with movie houses at each end. Most of the action concentrates at the eastern, Berkeley end. Restaurants on Solano: Rivoli (1539), Sweet Basil Thai (1736)

Fourth Street
People come from miles around to browse this concentrated area of mostly upscale specialty shops in west Berkeley. Restaurants, all on Fourth Street: Ginger Island (1820), O Chamé (1830), Cafe Rouge (1782).

Telegraph Avenue
This world-famous south campus shopping area centers on about five blocks of Telegraph Avenue. Street vendors add to the eclectic, in-your-face urban mix. People's Park is on Haste Street, just east of Telegraph. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better selection of CDs, records, and tapes than at Rasputin's (2350 "Telly") and Amoeba (2455 Telly). Don't miss the four famous independent bookstores on the 2400 block: Cody's, Moe's, Shakespeare & Co., and Shambhala. Of course, there are plenty of good, cheap places to eat. Best frozen yogurt in town: Yogurt Park, 2433 Durant.

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