Pleasanton

Abandoned Railroad

Before being rerouted to the northwest of downtown Pleasanton, the railroad used to run right through the downtown area. You can still see the railroad crossing signs on West Angela Street, for example, in the Farmer's Market. Some of the railroad tracks are still visible near the Firehouse Theater, and a longer section of abandoned railroad can be seen along Sunol Boulevard to the south of downtown Pleasanton.

Alameda County Fair

Alameda County Fairgrounds

The fair has been at Alameda County Fairgrounds every summer since 1912. You can also plan a morning & go behind the scenes to experience the exciting world of thoroughbred racing at the Eddie Rich Racing Stable. There are car shows and horse races at the fairgrounds annually.

Albertos Cantina

Due to the cantina's low prices compared to other Pleasanton restaurants, Alberto's Cantina is a popular Mexican restaurant in downtown Pleasanton.

Inexpensive

Alviso Adobe Community Park

Opened in 2008, this restored community park gives visitors a glimpse of the history of the Amador Valley, including interpretive displays of early Ohlone culture before the Spanish arrival, the years of Ranchos managing herds of cattle on the Rancho Santa Rita Mexican Land Grant, and a replica of an American Meadowlark Dairy in the early to mid-20th century. The star focus of this interpretative park is a rare original American adobe house, constructed in 1854 by Francisco Alviso, that was continuously in use until 1969. The Alviso Adobe is restored and on display furnished as it would have been in the 1920s. Visitor center/dairy has activities for kids; grounds have tables for picnics. Parking at south end.

Wed-Sun 10AM-4PM·Free

Andy & Yu's

The name quite accurately defines the restaurant: it's Chinese-American, with Chinese food but a Western atmosphere.

Most meals in the $10s; however, some cost more

Augustin Bernal Park

This is a Pleasanton city park next to #Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park. It is similar in almost every aspect to its neighbor, except that it's smaller.

Baci

This restaurant is on a street corner in Pleasanton downtown's Main Street; it is one of several Pleasanton restaurants that has outdoor seating along the sidewalk. There are also a few interesting structures outside their restaurant that have fires burning inside them to keep outdoor restaurant customers warm during the late evening.

Pasta dishes are generally $20 or $30; most seafood/steaks are more than $30

Bernal Community Park

Bernal Community Park is part of a larger plan to move the civic center from Old Bernal Avenue to Pleasanton Avenue towards the south of the city. Although this new civic center has not been constructed, the local park has been constructed. It includes a small area of newly-planted oak woodlands, along with a sports park.

Free

Blue Agave

They serve upscale Mexican food in downtown Pleasanton in the building next to Museum on Main. Blue Agave is easily recognized by its large seating area in front of the restaurant and the restaurant building's bright colors.

Brushy Peak Regional Preserve

Brushy Peak Regional Preserve is an EBRPD park northeast of Livermore. The public trails do not lead to the top of the peak, but they go around the general area. There are a few trails in the park, and the main loop is about four or five miles (7 km) in length.

Callippe Golf Course

A golf course, restaurant, and hiking destination in the south of Pleasanton. In the Happy Valley region, the countryside is beautiful. You can also hike in the region.

Callippe Preserve

Callippe Golf Course

Callippe Preserve is known to most Pleasantonians as a golf course; however, there is a nearly 4-mile (6-km) trail around the golf course and local ranching areas. The trail can get muddy in winter, though, and is not easy to find. But it does give those from outside of Pleasanton an idea of the local flora and countryside in general.

Trail is free

Castlewood Country Club

A first-class country club located in the Foothills community in western Pleasanton. For those who have money to spend and to want to have the finest experience possible in Pleasanton, this is the place to go. It is situated on the side of Pleasanton Ridge, not very far from the regional park, although it is not along the road to the park.

Cellar Door

This wine bar serves wine, beer, and some food items, which include flatbreads, chili, and hamburgers. In front of the wine bar is a fairly large patio area, and behind is the wine bar. The wine bar is laid out like a restaurant, and the back part of the wine bar has curtains that can be pulled across to separate the two sections of the business. Sometimes, there is live music, and live music usually takes place behind the front window farthest from the bar.

Concerts in the Park

The concerts are held weekly on Friday nights in the summer. They feature a wide range of musical genres and are open to the public at Delucchi Park. People often come several hours early to get a spot in the park.

Free

Firehouse Arts Center

Opened in 2010, the Firehouse Arts Center is the City of Pleasanton's historic 1929 Fire House One renovated and expanded into an arts center featuring the 230-seat Firehouse Theater, Harrington Gallery of fine arts, two large arts classrooms, and a grand lobby for receptions and events. The transformed facility also offers a pedestrian connection from Main Street to the expanded Lions Wayside Park.

Frontier Spice Indian Cuisine

Frontier Spice serves Punjab Indian cuisine and they take reservations. When you first arrive at the restaurant, you are served Indian bread that is hard and is somewhat similar to crackers. Their main courses are divided into vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries, with the rice and bread separate orders.

Most meals in the $10s; then you pay a few more dollars for rice, Indian-style bread, etc

Hacienda Business Park

This isn't the best place for travelers to visit if they don't have much time on their hands, but it's an interesting place to visit if you do not know what else to do with yourself. Two factors are what make Hacienda Business Park visually interesting: the architecture of the street signs and the business park's history. First, the unusual traffic lights and street signs are gigantic square structures that are built across the roads, and they are accentuated by what immediately surrounds them. Second, the history of the park: Hacienda Business Park was built around the 1980s when Pleasanton began to look like it does today, and Hacienda Business Park replaced ranching and farming country. Within a few years, what is now northern Pleasanton went from being countryside to an important part of the City of Pleasanton. However, the plans of the developers to turn Hacienda Business Park into one of the world's great business parks did not succeed — the wide boulevards in the business park are surprisingly empty, giving the business park a near-abandoned feeling sometimes.

Hap's Original

Hap's has an old-school cocktail sign visible from Main Street. From there you might think it's an old watering hole until you walk up to the restaurant, and the upscale nature of the establishment becomes evident. This is an American Steak House, with fantastic steaks and somewhat pricey side dishes. Meals are ala carte. Stop in the bar for a Manhattan before dinner.

Moderately expensive

India Garden

This is a rather interesting restaurant because it probably is the most aroma-producing eatery in Pleasanton.

In the $10s for an entree - of course, rice and bread would be more

Inklings Coffee & Tea

Inklings Coffee & Tea serves coffee, tea, soft drinks, and some snacks. It's a large coffee shop with many separate sections that are called rooms, including rooms with names like "The Wardrobe" and "The Common Room", where the Jazz at Inklings concerts are hosted, along with other events.

Prices are what you would expect at chain coffee shops

Jazz at Inklings

Pleasanton Jazz Society

In the Events Room (Common Room) behind Inklings Coffee & Tea, jazz concerts are held, generally once a month. Various musicians, from around the Bay Area and occasionally from other parts of the country, perform.

7-9PM on most concert nights·Free

Jim's Country-Style Restaurant

This American restaurant is in the same shopping mall as the Raley's grocery store, which is a fairly short distance south of downtown Pleasanton on Sunol Boulevard.

Ken Mercer Sports Park

This is a more than half-mile-long city park dedicated completely to sports activities. A few summer camps operate here.

Kottinger's Barn

Kottinger's Barn, built in 1852, was once a jail that bandits frequently "visited". The building's thick walls and barred windows are an interesting contrast to the small shop and potted plants which now exist at the location.

Lokanta Restaurant

Lokanta is a fairly high-end restaurant in downtown Pleasanton. Lokanta serves Mediterranean food, primary Greek and Turkish, and is open at both breakfast and dinner. Their restaurant includes four areas where you can sit down and eat: in front of the restaurant, the main part of the restaurant (location of the kitchen), a room behind the front room with a bar and large windows, and an alley next to the restaurant with several tables.

Main Street Brewery

If you're looking for Pleasanton's cosmopolitan side, this is not the place to go, but if you're looking for a lively atmosphere and live music, the Main Street Brewery is a good place to go. Rock, pop, and blues music groups are often live here, along with performances by a local jazz singer, Karen Marguth, and the Moving Parts band.

Main Street Green

There is a statue in this small park at the northern end of downtown. A path goes to the Arroyo del Valle creek that runs alongside the park.

McKay's Beer Garden

Towards the southern end of downtown. In the front is a nice patio area where statues were displayed before the beer garden was established.

Meadowlark Dairy

Ice cream shop that has been in Pleasanton for decades. Vegan options.