Boise - Downtown

A growing urban center, Downtown Boise is more than a gracious western city with a river running through it. It’s a great place to live, work and play, no matter what your interests may be. Fine dining, shopping in BoDo, visiting museums and historic sites, taking in films or concerts at the Egyptian or the Flicks, or people watching at the Saturday Farmer’s Market, you’ll find plenty to do in Idaho’s capital city.

There are many opportunities to live downtown, whether it is in one of the new high-rise condominium complexes or along the tree-lined streets of homes that surround the downtown core, many dating back to the late 1800s. Downtown you will also find the historic Basque Block, part of the Old Boise District, where the oldest commercial and residential buildings in the city are located. The Basque Block is home to the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, as well as Basque restaurants and stores that pay tribute to the large population of Basque residents that have called Boise home for more than a century. Boise has the largest Basque population in the world, second only to the Basque region of Spain from where they originate.

On the edge of the downtown core lies Julia Davis Park, which stretches east along the Boise River across from Boise State University, between Capital Boulevard and Broadway. The park plays host to many of the city’s most popular events. The Boise Art Museum, Zoo Boise, the Idaho State Historical Museum, the Idaho Black History Museum, and a rose garden, band shell, picnic shelters, a playground, ponds, restrooms, and a footbridge to the university across the river are among its many features. The Boise River Greenbelt also runs along the park’s boundary with the river.