The University of Florida might be in a small town, but don’t let its size or its proximity to the absolute middle of nowhere fool you. Gainesville is jam-packed with things to do, whether you’d rather hike until your feet fall off or drink until you forget you have feet.
Get your bike or bus fare ready for a day to remember in Gainesville.
6:00 a.m. – Stadium workout
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The hardest hour of your life isn’t your 8:30 a.m. class. Doing “stadiums” for an hour definitely trumps that. But hey, you can’t skip leg day, right? Running up and down the steps of The Swamp is one way to avoid the always crowded Southwest Rec. There’s a sweet kind of irony behind sweating to death while passing by rows and rows of chairs. At least you won’t have to worry about finding a place to take a breather.
7:00 a.m. – Breakfast at The Flying Biscuit
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Even though breakfast is served all day, you’ll want to get to this Gainesville breakfast joint early. Nobody can get enough of the pillow-y biscuits that give The Flying Biscuit its name. Make sure you sample their signature cranberry apple butter, and if you’re hankering for protein after doing stadiums, one of the restaurant’s 20 or so different egg dishes are bound to satisfy.
8:00 a.m. – Get free Gatorade
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As you might expect, Gatorade is on tap in its birthplace—or at least it is in the infirmary. Help yourself to pro bono electrolytes right in the lobby to keep yourself hydrated throughout the day. No doctor’s note required. After all, you need something to cool you off as you travel to your next destination.
9:00 a.m. – Splash around in Lake Wauburg
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You don’t have to wait around for July for summer camp-style fun in Gainesville. Florida weather means it’s almost always a great idea to hang out lakeside, as long as you don’t forget your bug spray and sunscreen. You can rent anything from a kayak to a four-person pedal boat to explore the water. When chilling onshore, there’s Frisbee, flag football and soccer, or you could even try braving a rock climbing wall.
10:00 a.m. – Check out the Florida Museum of Natural History
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As long as the butterfly episode of Spongebob didn’t freak you out as a kid, the Florida Museum of Natural History is the place to be. The McGuire Hall portion is the largest butterfly-based research center in the world. The museum’s Butterfly Rainforest exhibit surrounds you with colorful, fluttery wings of over a thousand of the insects. Any woodland princess would be jealous.
11:00 a.m. – Visit the Harn Museum of Art
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Right next door is the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, where you can admire thousands of works from all over the world. When you’re done taking it all in, you can relax in one of the museum’s many gardens. The Asian Rock Garden is complete with raked sand. Talk about zen.
12:00 p.m. – Grab Krishna Lunch
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Making the trek through the busy Plaza of Americas for Krishna Lunch is a decades-long UF tradition. Every weekday, you can score all-you-can eat Indian-inspired vegetarian food for just five bucks. Half the fun is sitting in the grass or on the brick siding of a bike lane with your friends and eating off of bursting plates. The other half is the scoop of halava that comes with every meal.
1:00 p.m. – Say hi to the man in the moon
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Gainesville is home to lots of awesome street art, some pieces creepier than others. As you make your way downtown, you might meet a mustachioed moon known as “Luna” and start walking fast. While you’re at it, you can move on towards the Artisans Guild Gallery for a taste of local paintings and crafts.
2:00 p.m. – Beat the heat with a Hyppo popsicle
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Give in to temptation. Get yourself a popsicle from The Hyppo. With flavors like Blueberry Cheesecake and Champagne Mango, it’s easy to forget they’re made (mostly) out of fruit.
3:00 p.m. – Catch a show at the Hippodrome
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Cross the street to switch from one hippo to another, and meet the gleaming white architecture of the Hippodrome State Theatre. Despite the building’s intimidating Grecian columns, you don’t have to worry about being limited to Shakespearean classics (although you can have your Hamlet). From Broadway shows to foreign films, the Hipp has got your inner drama kid covered.
4:00 p.m. – Hit the books at the Civic Media Center and Wild Iris
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Just a little further down Main Street lies what’s known as the CMC–an alternative library where you can brush up on the subjects that history books leave out. Local activists gather at the CMC for both planning meetings and movie screenings, and the building is also a great venue for concerts and comedy shows. A few steps away is the neighboring Wild Iris, which happens to be the only feminist bookstore in the state.
5:00 p.m. – Relax at Green Pond
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Outside the hustle and bustle of UF’s Reitz Union, you’ll find grassy stairs leading down to a tranquil pond. The Green Pond’s a great place for peace and quiet (if you ignore the nearby bus stop) while studying or snoozing. With a little luck, you might see a turtle or gator in the water.
6:00 p.m. – See bats fly at sunset
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As the sun goes down, the inhabitants of UF’s Bat Barn and Bat House take flight. Look to the sky in the right weather and you might just be greeted with a cloud of bats overhead. And yes, “cloud” is the right word…you’re observing a colony of around 300,000.
7:00 p.m. – Watch a show at Constans Theatre
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A visit to UF’s on-campus theatre is perfect for a musical buff, dance fan or anyone sick of going to the movies. “[Spring Awakening] distracted me during a stressful time, and its songs helped pull me through it,” freshman Meg Cannon said. “The beauty of plays is that they can act as escapism for a while and then linger, changing your perspective.” Even if performing arts isn’t your thing, support fellow Gators rock the stage.
8:00 p.m. – Hear live music at Bo Diddley Community Plaza
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Fridays means free concerts at Bo Diddley–which definitely beats hearing your roommate sing in the shower while she gets ready for another first date. “Usually the music is relaxed and fun,” junior Taylor Baker said. “Most people are sitting in the grass with friends or partners, smiling and laughing in between songs.” Going to the plaza is a great way to get out of your dorm and into the Gainesville community without spending a cent.
9:00 p.m. – Have dinner in midtown
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Hate Midtown for its slight dinginess and constant traffic. But you can’t fault it for its variety. Only on University Avenue can you order a donut, an ice cream cake, a sub sandwich, a sushi roll and print a giant cutout of your own face in the same building…and then walk to class. Sure, the noise on Friday nights coming from the long line of bars can be unbearable sometimes, but there’s a restaurant to account for every taste.
10:00 p.m. – Hit up the nightlife
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Midtown or downtown, clubs and bars in Gainesville are hardly in short supply. The Atlantic Nightspot is a local favorite among the roughly 40 spots to choose from down the road. “If you like music [the Atlantic’s] a good place to go,” Gainesville resident Paul Christian said. “Some nights they do free beer before 10.” Just make sure you skip out on driving to save cash and time. If you think parking on campus was bad, you haven’t seen anything until you’re in downtown Gainesville.
11:00 p.m. – Munch on Cuban pastries at Flaco’s
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Little else can match the joy of digging into a massive burrito or fresh-out-the-oven pastelito at Flaco’s. The bakery’s late-night hours mesh perfectly with *ahem* busy-weekend college schedules. Plus, Flaco’s probably one of the few (if not the only) places in Gainesville where you can order a bottle of Malta.
12:00 a.m. – Indulge in Midnight Cookies
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Splitting a huge order of warm Midnight Cookies with a group of friends is an unwritten UF rite of passage. “It’s the cook-key to happiness,” freshman Logan Kraus said. Of course there’s chocolate chip, but why bother with the same ole when you can try one of their rotating flavors like Hot Chocolate? No matter how late it is, sugar is always a fun way to break up a study session. “[Midnight Cookies] helps de-stress,” freshman Amy Likamwa said. Delivered hot out of the oven, the cookies put the “fresh” in “freshman 15.”
1:00 a.m. – Behold the DNA bridge
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The bridge that overlooks 13th Street, otherwise known as the “DNA bridge,” looks like it’s twisting as it connects Shands Hospital to the apartments on the other side of the street. The bridge is at its best when it’s lit up in neon at night. What better time to visit than the middle of the night when hardly anyone is on the road?
2:00 a.m. – Dunk doughnuts at Gator Baked
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Gator Baked understands college students. Only this bakery provides the experience of biting into a Slim Shady donut—that is, a donut covered in M&Ms—in the wee hours of the morning. Maple bacon and cereal toppings on other flavors make their menu truly Instagram-worthy. And that’s only covering the sweet stuff.
3:00 a.m. – Take the Later Gator back to campus
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Safety first! There’s nothing like being the only kid on the RTS bus and blinking awkwardly in the darkness while the driver is silent. “Once on the 12, I talked to a guy who said he had to leave his house because the police were searching his home for drugs. He said I could call him Thor, on account of his long blonde hair, and that he was a drug dealer,” junior Lissandra Bryan Dyer said. Only in Gainesville.
4:00 a.m. – Recharge at a still-open Starbucks
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Depending on the semester, either Marston Science Library or Library West will be open 24 hours. And at UF, where there’s books on multiple floors, there’s Starbucks.
5:00 a.m. – Watch the sunrise from the library window
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From any upper floor in a UF campus library, you can gaze at the tangle of buildings below glow orange as the sun comes up. Sunrise is one of the few times you’ll ever see Gainesville at a standstill. Take in the quiet while it lasts and appreciate the city you call home.
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