Berkeley Limo Rentals and Wine Tours The city of Berkeley is in west-central California, in Alameda County. It is situated to the northeastern side of the shore of San Francisco Bay. Berkeley is adjacent to Oakland (south) and is towards the east of the Golden Gate. Berkeley has mainly an educational and residential population. The University of California at Berkeley came into existence in 1872. There are a number of outstanding museums in Berkeley. Names worth mentioning are the Berkeley Art Museum, Judah L. Magnes Museum, the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, and Pacific Film Archive.