WHEN YOU THINK of visiting Oakland, and what to do there, the first activities that spring to mind may not be sipping red wine on a yacht, lounging on an antique sofa in a historic mansion, or reading the paper in a solarium surrounded by a hundred lovebirds. And yet all these things are possible – and breakfast is included.

"People think Oakland's a slum," laughs Don Tyler, owner of Redwood House Bed and Breakfast, situated in the Oakland hills. We're sitting at a lavishly spread table, near a window that overlooks a lovely, seemingly endless garden and, in the distance, the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges. The room is filled with the sound of lovebirds from four aviaries.

Tyler has fixed me a typical breakfast for guests, who must often be sumo wrestlers, judging from the quantity of food. Served on china replicating dishes from a Vanderbilt summer home, the meal consists of a melon omelette, shrimp toast, fruit, fresh-squeezed orange juice, potato bread, hummus, a fruit tart, and coffee. We while away an hour and a half discussing Howard Dean, the Oakland school system (where Tyler taught history for 38 years), how to make baked Alaska, and past guests with whom he has became close friends.

Tyler is many things – a gourmet cook, a retired schoolteacher, an Oakland tour guide – but he's no minimalist. Thousands of noteworthy objects are arranged thematically throughout the inn, in the Egyptian bathroom, the Pennsylvania Dutch bedroom, the sitting room decorated with Native American art, and the bordello-themed powder room. The solarium has hundreds of plants; the stairwell displays fans from all over the world; the living room houses a collection of nutcrackers, the master bedroom a collection of Santa figurines.

Collecting and B&Bs seem to go hand in hand. Joe Ware, proprietor of the Bates House, the only black-owned bed-and-breakfast in Oakland, likes to tell his guests that when he opened his Adam's Point inn – huge and, like Tyler's, filled to the brim with antiques – he didn't have to buy a thing. While renovating, Ware discovered two locked storage closets full of antiques, which he used to complement his own collection. (Though the Bates House lacks the themed decor of the Redwood House, one room does contain an eerie assortment of masks, paintings, and figurines depicting sad clowns.)

Ware says he's happy "to share a wonderful space with people, which ties in with my feelings about Oakland. I moved here about 15 years ago and just fell in love with it." It's fitting, then, that his house, built in 1907, is a historical Oakland landmark. The architect, Charles Dickey, also built the Claremont Hotel, and the first owner, Charles Bates, was the treasurer of Oakland. The architectural design remains intact, and other hints of the Bateses linger, such as the master bedroom's original wallpaper. The family probably never suspected their home would one day be an inn that proudly waves not only California and U.S. flags but also a rainbow one, and yet it seems appropriate: it's the true face of Oakland.

Then again, Oakland's got a lot of faces. Situated on the Jack London Square waterfront, the Dockside Boat and Bed provides a new slant on the standard B&B setup. Owners Rob and Mollie Harris offer rentals of docked sailboats, yachts, and trawlers – most more spacious than you'd think, though less so than your average B&B room. But who cares? Most of the boats have roof decks where you can relax and watch over the entire bay as if you own the place.

"You can sit up here on the deck with a beer and watch the sun set," Mollie tells me as we lounge on a boat called the Sandcastle. "And when someone walks by and says, 'Nice boat!,' you can nod and smile like it's yours."

Two boats are available for charter with a captain, meaning you can take your beloved on a romantic sunset cruise around the bay. Other options on the Oakland waterfront include listening to jazz at Yoshi's or barhopping via water taxi.

So visit exotic Oakland! Impress good-looking passersby with your "very own" yacht. Ride a gondola across Lake Merritt and return to your 100-year-old mansion, or sit next to a private aviary and listen to lovebirds while eating shrimp toast and flower-gazing. A visitor writes in the Redwood House guest book, "Oakland is a lovely city and not the dirty crime infested place portrayed by ... those who have not experienced [it]." Well, in all honesty, we do have some crime over here, and a little bit of dirt – but not where you'll be staying.

If you go

Redwood House Bed and Breakfast Oakl. Call for address and rates. (510) 530-6840, www.bbonline.com/ca/redwoodhouse.

Bates House Bed and Breakfast 399 Bellevue, Oakl. Double rooms $95-$175. (510) 893-9401, www.bateshouse.com.

Dockside Boat and Bed 57 Clay, Oakl. Double rooms $125-$210. (510) 444-0420, www.boatandbed.com.