Boise wins praise for its connection to nature, its cultural opportunities and its budget lifestyle in a major article titled “It Was Friday Night, and I Had to Get Out of Town – That’s Why I Went to Boise,” in the March 2006 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine. 

The article, subtitled, “How Low-Fare Airlines Can Help You Discover an America You Didn’t Know,” highlights Boise as an example of notable, less-traveled cities that are perfect for short, spontaneous trips. Andrew Nelson, contributing editor to National Geographic Traveler, describes how weekend wanderlust leads him to search for last-minute travel bargains online – and ultimately lands him in the City of Trees.

Within a few hours of leaving San Francisco, Nelson has flown to Boise Airport, rented a car, checked into the Owyhee Plaza Hotel and is enjoying a local craft beer at Bittercreek Alehouse. His weekend stay includes a tour of local sights, a raft trip on the Payette River, dinner at Richard’s in Hyde Park, a visit to the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, brunch at Le Café de Paris, a milkshake at Moon’s Kitchen Café, a dip in a local hot spring, tapas at Mosaic and some late-night jazz from the Frim Fram Fellas at the Milky Way restaurant.

“I’d expected to find more steak houses and less ethnic food,” photographer Susan Seubert says in the article. “The ranger of dining options was another surprise about this multilayered city.”

By the time he departs, Nelson says he has picked up a real-estate guide to the city. “Maybe that’s the secret to living large affordably – do it in a small city like Boise,” he writes. “Despite its diminutive size, I conclude, this city has star quality.”

Nelson urges travelers to “use low fares to expand your travel horizon to include places that you might otherwise overlook.” In addition to Boise, the author cites Burlington, Vt.; Columbus, Ohio; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Des Moines, Iowa, as worthwhile “off-the-tourist-trail” destinations.