Start with OMCA, Berkeley Rep, the Lesher Center, Chabot Space & Science Center, the Oakland Zoo if your culture includes a hilltop, and the campuses. First Fridays in Oakland are the street version. Livermore and the regional theaters are the valley version.
Public art and murals in Oakland and Richmond are not a side dish. They are part of how the cities look. Walk before you buy a ticket.
Towns
Inner East Bay
Oakland
The bridge lands here, and so does dinner.
OpenBerkeley & the north hills
Berkeley
Campus, canyons, and a food culture that predates the trend.
OpenCentral Contra Costa
Walnut Creek
The East Bay downtown people drive to on purpose.
OpenWest Contra Costa
Richmond
A working waterfront with a village hiding at Point Richmond.
Open