<p>So im going to the campus this Friday, I land at 9 AM, hopefully checked in at the hostel by 10, and my tour and info session is at 12 30 and i think it lasts for 1 1/2 hours. I leave the next day around noon. Just wondering, what should i see, do, eat, visit in my spare time to really get the jist of what it will be like to live in the city. Ill be using the bus to and from the hostel and airport, and between the campus and hostel, so ill kind of get an idea of the pub transport in madison. </p>
<p>I am not the best person to answer this, as a parent who has visited twice only. But your info session and tour probably starts at the Union South, so you could go there earlier for lunch/coffee before session begins. Lots of great food choices there, including organic etc. After your tour, I would imagine on a afternoon Friday students will be out on the terrace on the Memorial Union. Check out the university website and student newspapers to see what films, concerts etc going on Friday. I don’t have any info about best restaurants on State St etc, others will need to chime in there. </p>
<p>Definitely check out the Terrace (behind Memorial Union), perhaps even walk along the Lakeshore Path and/or Observatory Drive (for the magnificent view of lake Mendota). The new Union South and the Institutes for Discovery will likely be part of your tour. Visit the University Bookstore and Library Mall. Walk along State Street up to the Capitol (and definitely go inside the Capitol to look at the rotunda ceiling – even the Capitol tour is worthwhile). If you have time on Saturday morning, go to the Dane County Farmer’s Market (located all around the Capitol). You might consider visiting a class in an area your interested in (if you can find one, perhaps late Friday morning).</p>
<p>Here’ is the Union schedule of events for Friday, April 27:</p>
<p>Plan on 2.5 hours for the info session and tour. UW’s walking tour, about 1.5 hours, is the longest tour I’ve been on during a planned visit but very pleasant if the weather is nice. I suspect by the time you catch a bus and get to campus you won’t have a lot of time before the start of the info session, so probably lunch at Union South would the best plan. If you have a little extra time before hand I suggest a short walk around the engineering campus and Camp Randall, both of which are nearby the Union.</p>
<p>If the tour doesn’t show you the view of Lake Mendota from Observatory Hill (they sometimes don’t even though they walk nearby as they travel near Elizabeth Waters dorm) it is worth taking the time to see on a clear day.</p>
<p>If you’re staying at the hostel on South Butler Street, you can easily walk from there to the Capitol Square, if you prefer, then down State Street to campus. You can also easily rent a bike – this is our second season with Trek’s “B-Cycle” program ([Madison</a> B-cycle | MadisonMadison Bike Sharing Program | B-Cycle | bcycle.com](<a href=“http://madison.bcycle.com/]Madison”>http://madison.bcycle.com/)). Also, you might be able to share a cab with someone from the airport.</p>
<p>If you get your Babcock Hall ice cream at Babcock Hall (it’s available at both Memorial Union and Union South, too) – that is, if you’re down at that part of campus – you might want to stop by the Allen Centennial Gardens. With our early spring this year, I imagine they’re lovely about now. When you’re at Union South, check out the bowling alley and game room downstairs.</p>
<p>Don’t bother with the zoo on the way to the arboretum- it is a shadow of its former self. Walking from campus through the arboretum and back is a long trek- the area with flowering trees and shrubs must be beautiful now as we’ve had an early spring.</p>
<p>A walk on State St near campus is worth your while- good restaqurants there of many kinds. Do take time to check out University Bookstore, a major private store with textbooks et al- grab any free magazines/newspapers near the entrance. A walk along the lakeshore path from the Memorial Union to the Lakeshore dorms and beyond to Picnic Point is nice.</p>
<p>Dropping in on any libraries around campus or classroom buildings in fields that interest you- perhaps the Memorial, Helen C White (College), Steenbock and/or Engineering libraries depending on which end of campus you might live on or which major you have in mind. You might catch the Computer Science DoIT (dept of information technology) center on Charter/Dayton end of the building before 5 pm weekdays for any questions about computers.</p>
<p>Observatory Drive from behind Bascom Hall to the Lakeshore dorms gives you a great view of Lake Mendota. </p>
<p>Art at the Chasen in Elvejem- near Park and University or other museums if you need indoor time killers.</p>
<p>A lot of my post is a repeat of Descartesz- you can get Babcock ice cream at hthe Unions if it is closed.</p>
<p>Spend some time with a campus map to familiarize yourself with it. You can get walking distances from dorms to various campus places on the housing dorm web pages.</p>
<p>Finally, if you’re going to eat pizza while you’re in town, make it Ian’s. Not only is it the best, it’s also local. FYI, people all around the world paid for orders of Ian’s pizza for the thousands of the protesters at the Capitol last year.</p>
<p>"If you have AND A BIKE–reading 101 anyone? You go right through the zoo on the way to the Arb and back through Monroe area. Great part of town to see outside campus. And apprently most people agree with me rating it (zoo) the 4th best attraction in town. Right behind----the Arb</p>
<p>Hassles with renting a bike- too much to do walking to bother. I agree the arboretum is far with limited time. Glass Nickle pizza was on son’s radar- perhaps because the math dept provided it for undergrad meetings? The zoo is terrible- I was shocked on a recent visit. Too many things gone, poorly maintained.</p>
<p>That NYT article- as I recall when I read it a while back, he missed so many good things I wouldn’t use that as a reference for spending time in Madison. There is enough to see without the bother of renting a bicycle. Remember that the focus here is on the campus area for a student. First hand knowledge generally trumps online research for this.</p>
<p>Different is fine as long as they are well-founded or don’t attack mine without reason. Say walking is fine-fine. But saying renting a bike is too hard–not really true. It’s easy, experts recommend it, and you can see much more. The UW campus and nearby student neighborhoods cover an area of around 25 sq miles. Unless you are an Olympic runner you can’t see that much but you can cover 10 miles on a bike around Madison very easily and really get a feel for more than State Street and campus proper. The student neighborhoods and local shopping near them (Willy Street, Monroe Street, East Johnson, Old University etc) are one of the coolest and unique things about Madison. Very hard to see that much on foot.</p>
<p>Taking advantage of “B-Cycle” and renting a bike are not the same thing, folks! Click on the link I provided above (I was actually the first to mention bicycles) and you will see what I mean. At each of 20 - 30 locations on and near campus, there are groups of distinctive red bicycles locked into stalls. Using a credit card, you can rent one for as long as you want … and return it to any other B-Cycle location. It’s a little like “Community Car” and “Zip Car” (both of which we now have in Madison), but with bikes.</p>
<p>Capish?</p>
<p>Unfortunately for the OP, rain is in the forecast during his visit.</p>