MOCHA, Museum of Children's Art

Downtown Oakland's big full-service hotel with an outdoor pool, direct BART access, and suites that fit a travel crib. Walkable to Old Oakland restaurants.

A playable video game museum with thousands of games on their original hardware, plus kids' classes.

A Chinatown restaurant known for family-style plates served on lazy susans.

Indoor skating all year downtown, and rentals start at a toddler size 6, so the very small ones are genuinely included rather than just watching.

A fenced tot lot with a gate that latches for toddlers, and the bigger helix-shaped climbers just outside it for school-age kids.

An indoor playground where kids can run, climb and play on soft play structures.