Ever since I was a student at UC Berkeley, I thought the best Bay Area views of the Bay Area were from the Oakland/Berkeley hills. From these East Bay vistas, you look back to San Francisco landmarks over the expanse of the bay, the hills come into focus and perspective, from Mount Sutro to Mount Tamalpais above the Marin Headlands, and the San Francisco skyline takes a more distant but consolidated shape.

Take Euclid Avenue in Berkeley to Marin and head straight up the hill. Keep climbing until you read Grizzly Peak, make a right, and then veer off at Centenial Drive where you'll find the parking lot at the Lawrence Hall of Science. Try to keep your eyes on the road along the way, and save the treat of feasting your eyes for when you can gather in the entire expanse of the Bay Area in one gulp.