My sister (80) and I (68) spent May 1-4 in Boise as tourists. We stayed in the North Boise neighborhood a couple blocks from Camels Back Park and Hyde Park. We didn't rent a car so were depending on the bus initially. The stops had changed in North Boise so we had to walk about nine blocks to our AirBnB. The weather was nice and the neighborhood is very pleasant.
We had dinner at the Hyde Park Pub, obviously a community favorite, and visited the toy store across the street. Although we didn't stop in Goody's ice cream and candy shop, we learned of its history from locals and would have loved one of their ice cream specials.
We walked from 9th and Brumback to the Capitol Bldg. passing a charming grade school with quotations on the sidewalk just outside the entrance. A couple large churches had us pause, too. We had breakfast on 6th near the Capitol. The Capitol is beautiful and surprisingly open to the people EVERY day 7:00 am to 7:00 pm! School groups, a graduation, and a self-guided tour were fun in such a gorgeous setting. A friend picked us up for a great catch-up conversation and dropped us back at the Basque Block. We toured the museum and missed the Friday paella, but got some leftover vegan paella to take home for dinner.
The bus is a super bargain Monday-Friday with an all day senior pass for $1.25! The downtown hub has friendly staff and we rode to an Albertsons to get some food essentials for the apartment. We walked over three miles each day. The buses don't go everywhere on Saturdays and Sundays, so we had Ben, a Lyft driver take us home. First time for us, but great service.
Portland, OR suffers from graffiti and so many tents and garbage from the homeless. Not Boise--I didn't see a single tent, beggar, or garbage mound. The only graffiti was where spray paint murals reign in Freak Alley downtown. Would also recommend Mixed Greens, a gift store downtown and Moon's Kitchen Cafe for breakfast until 1:00 pm-ish.
The airport is nice, too. You don't need to be there two hours ahead to catch your flight. Don't try to pass inspection with yogurt. Love you, Boise!!! read more