Oakland, founded in 1852, is the eighth-largest city in California and the county seat of Alameda County. It lies on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, nestled against the Berkeley Hills and bordering five of the East Bay Regional Parks. To Oakland's north is Berkeley, home to the renowned University of California, Berkeley, and to its west across the Bay Bridge is San Francisco.

Oakland is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, the fifth most populated metropolitan area in the United States. The metropolitan area has a population of over 7 million. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Oakland's population was 399,484, making it the third-largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area after San Jose and San Francisco.

Oakland is home to the Port of Oakland, one of the three major shipping ports on the American West Coast. The metropolitan area is served by the Bay Area Rapid Transit System from convenient stations for Oakland commuters. Oakland also hosts Oakland International Airport, which serves most of the low-cost air travelers market to and from the San Francisco Bay Area. Travellers on public transportation may exit BART or Amtrak at the Coliseum/Oakland Airport intermodal station to take a connecting AirBART bus to the airport.