36 hours in Salt Lake City
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Kim, Erin Hadley and Jessica at East High School. Photo: Jessica Boehm/Axios
When our editors announced they were visiting Axios Salt Lake City, we thought: What would Ferris Bueller do?
- What's the best use of a beautiful spring day (and a half) in our city?
Why it matters: Axios Local is an unusual feat of journalistic efficiency. Our off-site editors have to trust hometown experts to properly cover cities that may be unfamiliar to them.
- We had 36 hours to give Phoenix Jessica and Portland Hadley a chance to better understand our news and see what makes our city unique — a mix of iconic must-dos, new faves and glimpses of our daily lives as Salt Lakers.
Here's what we picked.
The sights
🙏 Temple Square: The new visitors' center is opening May 18 — and we lucked into a soft-open trial run Tuesday afternoon.
- The elaborate temple replica tour was particularly illuminating.
🦖 Natural History Museum of Utah: We ❤️ dinos, but the museum also provided a tremendous sense of place and insights into crucial issues of ecology and land use.
- Highlight: At the earthquake simulation table, you build a toy tower and see how far up the Richter Scale it can stand.
🎶 East High School: Sign up for the student-led "High School Musical" afternoon tours from Monday-Thursday for $8.
- Yes, Shar Pei's lockers are pink, and yes, there are two.
Also seen: The Capitol, the Living Room hike 😮💨, the 9th & 9th Whale, and Wednesday's amazing shooting star.
The tastes
🍝 Cosmica: We couldn't get enough of the Italian diner's famous puffy bread, handmade pastas, creamy gelato and moody lighting.
🥤 Swig: We returned to the womb of the drive-thru dirty soda craze. There was some choking, but the simpler recipes went down easy.
🌮 Kim's cantina: Food is Kim's love language, and Erin has proselytized to our coworkers that hers is the voice of God.
- The prize of prophecy: Steak tacos with blue corn tortillas from scratch, roasted salsa verde and freshly juiced agua de piña.
Also down the gullet: Red Iguana, Urban Hill, Loki Coffee and potions at the Witch House.
The bottom line
💭 Jessica's thought bubble: I loved your green parks and snow-capped mountains, but I loved the way Salt Lakers love their city most of all.
- Everyone I talked to was proud to live there, eager to share their favorite places and excited for me to explore this very special city.
- I got home and told my husband we need to book a family trip to SLC soon. And not just because I can't get the Urban Hill pork chop out of my head!
💭 Hadley's thought bubble: The Living Room hike got my heart pounding, Cosmica's gelato-stuffed brioche was standout and Kim's homemade tacos were such a treat during a heavy travel week.
- Bonus: Getting to and from the airport on Trax was so easy. +1 for public transit.
Tell us: Hit reply and share your ideal "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" itinerary in Salt Lake City!