Welcome to Boise

DAY 1

Wander the Capital City Public Market on The Grove. Follow fragrant pathways to fresh-cooked crepes, crispy fried doughnuts and roasting coffee, then pick up a few handcrafted souvenirs before ambling north on 8^th Street for brunch or lunch. Restaurants twisting traditional favorites into new forms include Red Feather Lounge, with its menu of locally sourced modern dishes, and Wild Root, which serves up comfort food like banh mi and mac and cheese, as well as a selection of wines, cocktails and kombucha.

After lunch, sneak a quick detour through Freak Alley Gallery. This rotating spectacle of open-air graffiti art between 8^th and 9^th streets provides the perfect backdrop for that “Greetings from Boise” snapshot. From there, head south toward the Boise River, where whimsical architecture and giant blow-up yard decor warrant a curious pit stop at JUMP on Myrtle Street. In addition to housing the vintage tractor collection of potato entrepreneur and Idaho native J.R. Simplot, this nonprofit community center hosts fun, creative workshops and events.

A few blocks away, Boise’s oldest public green space, Julia Davis Park, abuts the Boise River Greenbelt, Zoo Boise, Boise Art Museum, Idaho Black History Museum and the Idaho State Museum. After a busy afternoon of exploring the city’s museums, head to the Basque Block for dinner at Leku Ona, which prides itself in using Basque ingredients in dishes such as braised lamb shank, petrale sole and bone-in rib-eye. In the mid 1800s, the Basques arrived in Idaho from northern Spain in search of jobs and opportunities. For more experimental flavors, KIN, centrally located on 9^th and Main, offers a prix fixe meal served at a communal table. Expect to see dishes like sturgeon with daikon and seaweed, and a sweet ube pie with beet and orange. There’s also an extensive bar menu for those in the mood for a nightcap.