Want more to do while in Greenville for the USC women SEC tournament game? Here are some top ideas

Wondering what to do in Greenville after attending the University of South Carolina women’s basketball game Friday?

It’s not hard to find suggestions since Greenville has been named in so many ‘best of’ lists in recent years from most romantic restaurant (Passerelle overlooking perennial favorite Falls Park on the Reedy) to city on the rise to best small Southern city.

Most often cited are Greenville’s many restaurants. Despite the closing of several downtown restaurants after COVID, Greenville still has more per capita than most any city — 200 or so, including all manner of cuisine.

Sid Evans, the editor in chief of Southern Living, has said of Greenville,“The food here is adventurous, and the chefs have embraced the global influences shaping the modern South.”

It all began with a guy from New England opening an upscale restaurant, Soby’s, in the not yet redeveloped downtown. Carl Sobocinski’s Soby’s is still serving dinners from what was once Cancellation Shoe store. The company has grown to include four other restaurants, such as Nose Dive, which is open for lunch and dinner.

Cited by national magazines recently are the second location of Charleston’s Lewis Barbecue, Mr. Crisp for seafood, Keipi for Georgian khachapuri and ancient wines; Aryana for Afghani, Califas for Mexican birria tacos, and Kitchen Sync for farm-to-table food.

Greenville also has a fairly lively bar scene, including rooftop bars SIP, Up on the Roof and Juniper.

Greenville’s Main Street is easily walkable from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, known as The Well.

Not to be overlooked as you’re searching for a restaurant, are the many pieces of public art, most especially the bronze mice known as Mice on Main. It’s a scavenger hunt to find the nine tiny creatures.

The statues honor many who shaped Greenville, including Max Heller, who as mayor began what long-time current mayor Knox White calls the Greenville story of renewal, and Shoeless Joe Jackson, the legendary baseball player banned from baseball due to the Black Sox scandal of 1919. A museum in his honor is located close to the Greenville Drive baseball stadium designed to mimic its affiliate the Boston Red Sox.

Greenville has two large public parks — Falls Park on the Reedy, which includes Reedy River Falls in the Historic West End and the recently opened Unity Park, a sprawling 60-acre park to the northwest and also on the Reedy.

Also downtown is the iconic Mast General Store known for general merchandise and outdoor gear and M. Judson, an eclectic independent bookstore owned by author Ashley Warlick and her business partners. They have a book talk Friday at 7:30 p.m. with author J.T. Ellison and a Sunday sit down supper with Jill Santopolo at 6:30 p.m.

If you’re looking for physical activity, there is the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail, which extends some 20 miles to Travelers Rest (and its many unusual restaurants). Reedy Rides offers bike rental and the trail is easily walkable.

The Broadway touring show of Beetlejuice the Musical is being staged this weekend at the Peace Center for the Performing Arts, a sprawling complex resurrected from what was once a carriage factory manufacturer and the first home of Duke’s mayonnaise.

Farther afield but not in any way far are state parks: Paris Mountain, Table Rock and Caesars Head.

And if you haven’t had enough basketball and can stand going to the state rival, the Clemson University men’s team plays Notre Dame at 5 p.m. Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum.