Hanging out is the preferred Berkeley pastime, and the best place to do it is Telegraph Avenue, the street that leads to the campus's southern entrance. Most of the action lies between Bancroft Way and Dwight Way, where coffee houses, restaurants, shops, great book and record stores, and crafts booths (with vendors selling everything from T-shirts and jewelry to I Ching and tarot-card readings) swarm with life. Pretend you're a local: Plant yourself at a cafe, sip a latte, and ponder something intellectual, or survey the town's unique residents.
Bibliophiles must stop at Cody's Books, 1730 Fourth St. (tel. 510/559-9500; www.codysbooks.com), to peruse its gargantuan selection of titles, independent-press books, and magazines. If used and antiquarian books are your thing, stop by Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. (tel. 510/849-2087; www.moesbooks.com). After exploring four floors of new, used, and out-of-print books, you're unlikely to leave empty-handed.
