Things to Do

Places to Visit

East Madison

Olbrich Botanical Gardens
3330 Atwood Avenue
Madison, WI 53704 


This garden is just the right size. Not too big to take over your entire day yet big and diverse enough for a very pleasant visit. There's a gorgeous Thai pavilion that is worth the trip out to east Madison.

Chocolaterian Cafe
2004 Atwood Avenue
Madison, WI 53704

 

For a touch of France in Madison, enjoy a cup of coffee or hot chocolate with a sweet treat after burning off calories walking around the Olbrich Gardens!

Exploring "Willy" Street
Williamson Street (around 805 through 1402)

Willy Street is like the South 1st Street/South Congress/South Lamar of Austin, TX. In other words, hipsterville with delicious food options! You can park on any of the residential streets around Williamson street. start looking for parking around 805 Williamson (Chez Nanou French Cafe). 
Manna Cafe and Bakery *Mike and Sandra's Favorite*
611 North Sherman Avenue
Madison, WI 53704
http://www.mannacafe.com/

Whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner, Mike and I will find any excuse to come here. It's a homey restaurant that's a hidden gem in Madison. It's located in what appears to be a sketchy strip mall, but the ambiance on the inside is warm, friendly, and bustling! More about Manna on my food blog: http://food-dilettante.blogspot.com/2013/11/manna-cafe-and-bakery.html.

Downtown and UW Campus Area

Memorial Union Terrace
800 Langdon Street
Madison, WI



This is a great place to go to wind down at the end of the day. Check out the website as we head into the summer for their music line up.

State Street
Between North Lake Street (Memorial Library) and the State Capitol
Madison, WI
http://www.state-st.com/alphalist.html

If you're from Austin, this street is equivalent to Guadalupe ("The Drag") on the edge of the University of Texas at Austin campus. State Street is a pedestrian zone with lots of shops, bars, and restaurants. We recommend walking from the Capitol to the Memorial Library on campus. Try out one of the many food trailers for lunch outside the Memorial Library square if you're there on a weekday!

One of the best food find off of State Street is Paul's Pel'mini (203 W Gorham St http://www.yelp.com/biz/pauls-pelmeni-madison). It's a Russian dumpling house that has a simple menu but extremely addictive food. Get the half potato and half ground beef bowl of dumplings with "the works" (butter, yellow curry, chile sauce, cilantro, and sour cream),


State Capitol
2 E Main St
Madison, WI 53703
http://tours.wisconsin.gov/pub/Content.aspx?p=Capitol%20Tour

 The Capitol is open to the public weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and weekends from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. They offer free tours to the public. Check out their website for times of guided tours. For folks coming from Texas, the Wisconsin State Capitol is modeled after the Texas State Capitol. This was one of the points HR made to me when I first moved to Madison.

 The best part about the Capitol for me is that on Saturdays, the most gorgeous farmers market (www.madisonfarmersmarket.com) opens to the public around the entire Capitol Square. The market is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Try to find Stella's hot and spicy cheese bread.

 I highly recommend a morning stroll around the market the day of the wedding. Start by going to the pastry cart outside of Graze (1 S Pinckney St #107, Madison, WI 53703) for the best croissants and iced coffee in town ("magic coffee").

 Marigold Kitchen
118 S Pinckney St
Madison, WI 53703
http://marigoldkitchen.com/

 If you're looking for a Sunday brunch place after the wedding, stop by my favorite downtown brunch option. They get really busy by 10 a.m, so I recommend getting there before the rush! Locals and visitors might point you to the Great Dane or The Old Fashioned around the Capitol, but Marigold is much cozier and has better food.

West Madison

Epic Systems Headquarters
1979 Milky Way
Verona, WI 53593
http://www.yelp.com/biz/epic-systems-corporation-verona

This place was the reason why I moved to Madison in the winter of 2011. Although I don't say that with reverence, the campus is really unbelievable. It's probably the most interesting place to visit in Madison in all honesty. Wear comfortable shoes when visiting. The campus is huge and every floor of every building has something cool to check out. Be ready to spend a whole morning or afternoon here! If you would like to visit the grounds on a weekend, let me know so I can see if one of my Epic friends is willing to give a tour.

Photo of the Epic campus taken on a flying date with Mike

My favorite tunnel feature on campus

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