3 Best Museums in Oakland, CA

I love planes, so as soon as I found out about this place, I wanted to go. There is a large variety of planes from the wright brothers plane to one person drones, to flying boats. If you like planes or any mechanical stuff, you would love getting up close with all of these planes. It took about 2 hours to look at all of the planes. But we didn't use any of the interactive things such as the flight simulator or checking out the interior of the planes that supported tours.

This is a great museum. They’ve got a brilliant collection of aircraft and well as other aviation artefacts, as well as exhibitions on Amelia Earhart and other aviators. The staff here were fantastic too. Only downside was the lack of public transit, to get here without a car you’ll need to take an Uber, but that’s not the museum’s fault!

The Oakland Aviation Museum offers a history of airplanes in a hangar setting near the old Oakland Airport. This is a wonderful place to take your family and friends. Plenty of parking is available out front and there are clean restrooms inside.

Parse Family Museum was like a time capsule with incredible detailing and collections inside. Our work group was able to secure a private garden afternoon tea with 3 courses of goodies and all the english breakfast tea you could ask for. The women there were lovely and patient with us and even gave us each a thank you gift to take home. Following the tea and treats we took the tour which lasted a little over an hour sharing the homes history across 3 floors of unique treasures and facts. There is plenty parking both free and paid on both ends of the street just not directly out front. The ease of access as you come across the overpass made it all the better to get too! Definitely a place I will return to with family.

The volunteers at Pardee Home put such care into providing a wonderfully indulgent experience. Delicious tea with beautiful touches such as fresh flowers and good variety of tastefully decorated dishes. They even surprised me with a lovingly prepared birthday cake! Loved the interesting tour of a historical home.

Great home museum but the true highlight was the afternoon tea and the lovely ladies who served us and gave us the right amount of sass!