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Making your way through Madison, with its boisterous campus life, celebrated dining scene, and outdoorsy sprawl, can feel as complicated as navigating the one-way streets circling the Capitol. (Yes, you have passed the same block three times, and yes, you did miss your turn.) But station yourself on Madison’s northeast side — the Moxy Madison Downtown, a compact but stylish hotel where check-in comes with a complimentary cocktail (need we say more?) is a good choice — and much of what you came for will be right outside your door.

First, some advice: Be choosy about how much time you spend fighting the throngs around the Capitol, but don’t skip it entirely. The Dane County Farmers’ Market, held on the plaza every Saturday morning spring through fall, is best approached with a mission. Nab a loaf of cheese bread from Stella’s Bakery before it sells out, then move along. You’ll find campus energy in quieter doses down State Street at Singlestitch, a vintage shop packed with collegiate sweatshirts and broken-in denim, and the Soap Opera, which has been perfuming coeds since the 1970s with imported soaps, essential oils, and bath bombs.

A brisk walk west of the Capitol you’ll find Allen Centennial Garden, a meticulously tended teaching garden tucked behind the Agricultural Dean’s House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its heirloom vegetables, prairie plantings, and secluded paths feel worlds removed from downtown. Locals also know to hit the Mansion Hill Historic District, a hilly residential pocket dotted with stately homes, and the hidden Period Garden Park, where you can settle in with a book and a latte from a nearby café and tune out the buzz of Johnson Street below.

Madison bakeries are the first ones up in the morning, and the early birds get the sourdough. On Williamson (a.k.a. Willy) Street, Batch Bakehouse tempts with impossibly flaky croissants and grandma-recipe apple cake, while Madison Sourdough turns out naturally leavened country loaves you’ll be dreaming about. Bloom Bake Shop is on the other side of town, but this line-out-the-door spot is worth the short drive. The in-the-know move: Order Japanese milk bread and eat it on the spot before popping across the street to Strictly Discs for a basement vinyl dig.

If the sun is shining, wander the 16 acres of themed outdoor gardens at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in the Atwood neighborhood. In the summer, a maze of lush pathways leads to the Royal Thai Pavilion, a grandiose gilded gift from Thailand and one of the city’s most photographed spots. If you want to read while you bask, two bookshops are just a few blocks away: A Room of One’s Own Bookstore, among the country’s most respected feminist bookstores, has a deep inventory of social justice and gender-studies titles, and the lesser-known Madison Paperbacks, across the street, is a cramped treasure-trove of vintage paperbacks that feel rescued from attics and estate sales.

For a sweet afternoon snack, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream is a local institution (there are five locations in town, including in Atwood, plus two more opening soon) where you order a scoop of Blue Moon without apology. Of course, drinks are an apt substitute (this is Wisconsin, after all), and a wave of cocktail bars on Johnson Street delivers. Public Parking Bar is known for cheeky riffs on classics, like Mary Berry’s Soggy Bottom, a mix of gin, navy-strength rum, rhubarb-orange marmalade, Earl Grey, cashew-ginger butter, and egg white. At the Robin Room, a block over, a serious mezcal collection sits beside draft rosé sangria made with neighbor-sourced tea, but the real draw is the quiet barstool in the corner where you can read under lamplight.

For dinner, the Deliciouser, a five-minute walk from Moxy, is a spice lab turned restaurant where cocktails are named for their main seasoning and every dish is finished with a custom blend. Afterward, take a five-minute drive north to Lola’s Hi/Lo Lounge, a restaurant and bar built around sound, with a state-of-the-art DJ booth, curated vinyl, and an audio system tuned so you can still hear the room. Or farther afield, Le Tigre Lounge, a 15-minute drive southwest, hides behind a nondescript exterior but bursts with kitschy tiger-themed decor inside. One thing to know: The bar has a no-swearing tradition. Break it and you will be chided.

Nearby Atomic Antiques will likely be closed for the day by then (shutting time is 6), but it’s worth returning to this area for the store’s glorious hodgepodge of architectural salvage, industrial finds, vintage clothing, and general oddities. It’s the kind of place, with so many unexpected finds, that keeps you coming back — a bit like Madison itself.