Where to spend a few hours around OAK in-between flights? [closed]

I will fly in to OAK [Oakland International Airport, California, USA] on a Thursday and have a flight to Europe on the next day at 15:00 (from OAK). I will probably pick a hotel in the vicinity of the airport.

is it possible to do the check-in and drop my luggage in the morning? (= what is the expected check-in time for a flight to Europe?)
is there something to do around OAK if I have 4-5 hours to spare?

EDIT following answers and comments: this question is specifically for a short (pre-flight back home) stay at OAK, and not an opportunity to visit San Francisco (which I will do before, and have done in the past)

FINAL EDIT: We ended up going to Park Street in Alameda, a 15 min ride (~15 USD with Uber) from the airport via roads which were not loaded. A nice place to eat and have a walk.

usa oak

Best Answer

The Oakland Museum of California is at the Lake Merritt BART (subway) stop, and is the closest major tourist attraction to OAK. Probably because it is in Oakland, it’s underrated. Note it opens at 11:00.

San Francisco museums near BART include SFMOMA and the Asian Art Museum. They are about 15 minutes further each way.

I think some detail about your interests would sharpen the question.

Also, Zach Lipton is correct that you do not want to be walking around the neighborhood either of the airport or of the nearest station, Coliseum. Lake Merritt, however, is perfectly safe and makes a nice walk if the weather is decent.