70 First Date Ideas to Make a Lasting Impression

First Dates can be nerve-wracking, but knowing where to go on a first date, and choosing the right activity from the multitude of possible first date ideas can make all the difference. There are countless approaches to finding the perfect first date idea, depending on what kind of experience you’re looking to share. Whether you prefer the excitement of an outdoor adventure, the charm of a cultural experience, or the simplicity of a low-key outing, the possibilities are endless. With over 20 years of experience in the dating industry we’ve helped millions of singles find love and we know how the right choice can set the tone for a successful relationship. Take a look at our extensive list of first date ideas based on your mutual interests, or the kind of memory you’d like to create for you two.

10 Outdoorsy first dates

1. You’ve probably seen some nature spots in and around your area that you’ve been curious about. Why not do some research on safety in the area, then go on a walk to explore?
2. Make a day of scouting for a perfect new picnic spot for just the two of you to share. Plus, as exercise leads to an endorphin release¹, both of your moods will benefit and inspire good conversation during your search.
3. Take a bike ride out of town and explore some of the sights surrounding the city. You never know what new things you might discover, even in a hometown you’ve lived in your whole life. Plus, not many fun activities match cycling’s health benefits².
4. If you’re looking for date ideas for first dates, nothing beats the iconic aesthetic and ambiance of those old amusement parks. Don’t forget to stop by a Ferris wheel!
5. It may be too early to camp together, but it can be fun building a small, safe bonfire on a beach – one that permits them – and go camping for the day.
6. Out of good picnic spots as a day date idea? You could try to find a secluded private beach or swimming location to cool off in, and have a nice picnic in the summer.
7. If you’ve never seen your city by water, then it’s time to take your date on a boat tour. Do it at night to see your city’s skyline in a whole new way. 
8. In terms of first date ideas, ziplining lets you enjoy the rush of sailing over the treetops but at a relaxed pace, so you can take in the magnificent views along each stage.
9. Give you and your date a new perspective on the bounty of edible plant life teeming in your local forests through a guided foraging trip. Cook your findings together after to create a unique bonding experience.³
10. If you’re looking for cool first date ideas where you get to enjoy Hollywood classics while being served gourmet food in a bean bag chair, then an outdoor cinema night is what the two of you need.

10 First date ideas full of cultural experience

11. You don’t have to go to a big concert to listen to good music. Take your date to the gig of one of your favorite local bands. Plus, live music has been shown to accentuate emotional responses in the brain, making concerts the perfect date location.⁴
12. Show each other your favorite museums. It can help expand your horizons, and can also give you insights into each other’s personalities and interests more succinctly than polite date conversation ever could.
13. You could act like a tourist in your own city, but you might find being an actual tourist in a nearby city a little more fun for you and your date.
14. As first date ideas go, this one can be a bit alternative, but attending a performance art show is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for art lovers. Exhibits tend to be intense, thought-provoking and often unsettling 
15. It doesn’t have to be Broadway for you to enjoy taking in a show. Go and support your local theater troupe. You and your date can always slip out during intermission if their interpretation of The Iceman Cometh gets a bit too avant-garde. 
16. Attend an experiential art event and lose yourself in the exhibits. The eclectic exhibits are often like playgrounds for adults, and can be a visually sumptuous atmosphere to get to know someone or lose yourself in.
17. Music festivals aren’t for everyone, particularly if you just want to relax together. However, an alternative festival like the WNC Bigfoot Festival in North Carolina⁵, for example, can be just the right mix of strange and laidback.
18. You likely visited your city’s most popular museums and galleries a few times before you even left school, so why not try a tour of all those strange galleries you sometimes see in downtown areas?
19. Similarly, if you’re looking for things to do on a first date that are a little unusual, check out a few of those really small, overly specific museums you see around town.
20. If your city has a rich street art scene then spend the day exploring the scene. They may offer guided, tours but if your city is safe, you can often find alternative tours online for most cities fir free on apps.

10 classic food and drink first date ideas

21. Cocktails at sunset are such a classic date idea. They’re the new dinner and a movie, and not much can beat the view of most patio cocktail bars. 
22. Skip the starters, salads and entrees and go right for the indulgent section with a 100% dessert food date.
23. Going to an unfamiliar bar in a strange part of town isn’t always a first thought when finding places to go on a date. But do your research and you could end up finding a new date night gem that’s off the beaten path.
24. Brewery tours are always a fun first date option. The tour guide takes a lot of the conversational pressure away, and the taste testing at the end always tends to leave tour goers in a generally better mood.
25. Organize a fancy picnic, but you have to make each other’s food. Not only does it give you a chance to share your tastes, but the act can contribute to a more solid attachment style early on in a relationship⁶
26. Hit the rooftops for a party in the sky. This is similar to the cocktail bar idea, with one key difference: you can get beer and bar food here without decimating your weekly budget.
27. More first date ideas with a spontaneous element, that can also introduce you to new cuisines, involves finding all your nearby food trucks. Have your date pick one at random. Wherever they land, that’s where you two are eating dinner. 
28. See how well you can guess each other’s tastes by ordering for each other all day. Even if you don’t get their order exactly right, if they enjoyed it anyway, it’s a very good sign you have solid chemistry.
29. The great thing about tapas is getting to try lots of different things. With two people, it means you can try even double that. As an extra challenge, try and see if you and your date can work your way through the whole menu.
30. Take a cooking class together. It’s a hands-on experience that not only breaks the ice, but also gives you the chance to create something delicious as a team. Plus, it’s a great way to see how well you work together, and you get to enjoy the meal you’ve made at the end.

10 Adventurous or active first dates

31. It may be a youth dating classic, but racing bikes at the arcade on the boardwalk and getting ice pops on the promenade afterward is still one of romance’s greatest hits – and a perennially reliable spot – in terms of first date tips.
32. If you want to get your date’s pulse racing while remaining in a completely safe environment, then indoor rock climbing might be the place for your romance to play out.
33. Whether it’s a relaxing kayak ride, stand-up paddle surfing along the lagoons or just hitting the waves, a date on the wide, open waters is a surefire winning date idea for outdoor lovers.
34. If you both quietly long for some fantasy tabletop games, many comic book stores host monthly Dungeons & Dragons game nights. There are also tables set up for eager beginners who are just learning to play.
35. Explore the city as an inseparable duo by renting a tandem bike. Yes, people will stare, and you’ll probably regret the decision after only an hour, but you’ll have laughs and an Instagram post of it to share for a lifetime.
36. Experience the sensation of falling weightlessly through the skies without ever having to be in any real danger with indoor skydiving. This is a great way to set your date apart from other experiences and make you stand out as a potential partner.
37. Mini golf has become a little worn down as a date idea through the ages. Crazy golf simply takes the silliness of mini-golf and turns it all up to eleven. The result is a visually crazy and colorful mini-golf odyssey that’s guaranteed to leave your date stunned and entertained.
38. While bungee jumping certainly isn’t a great idea for the faint of heart, when it comes to crazy first date ideas, you won’t find a more extreme option that could be the perfect option for the right kind of couple.
39. Go-karting has an eternal appeal to couples, one that even the invention and mass distribution of the common automobile couldn’t stymie, which should tell you all you need to know about how fun this activity can be on a date night.
40. If it’s the right season, try a fruit-picking day if you’re looking for first date ideas that are idyllic. Then make a pie or dessert out of what you picked.

10 Relaxing first date ideas

41. For a tranquil first date, nothing beats a visit to the aquarium. A study published in The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health⁷ found that regular visits improve mood, relaxation and anxiety, which seems like an emotional tone you’d aim for on any good date.
42. Enjoy supreme relaxation and being pampered with a couple’s spa day.
43. When it comes to a first date, fun ideas can even include a board game cafe, where you can have a battle of wits over Battleship, or work with your date to solve a murder in Clue.
44. You never know what hidden fashion and decor treasures your city potentially holds until you hit your local thrift stores. Even if it’s just to try on moth-hole-ridden Chanel coats from the 60s, thrifting is never a bad date idea.
45. Do a winery tour. Like brewery tours, winery tours offer the promise of many free samples and delicious tastings; it’s the rustic, almost Mediterranean setting of wine vineyards that are what really defines its inimitably romantic ambiance  
46. Pack some light snacks, a thermos of coffee, your telescope – and perhaps a bottle or two of wine – and head for anywhere with minimal light pollution to enjoy a romantic stargazing experience just for two. 
47. While a trivia night may not seem like a relaxing environment, having fun is more about having the right team and not taking things too seriously. So order a couple of beers and just learn to enjoy the festive vibe with your partner.
48. While couple’s yoga may sound like something you once read about in a blog, thinking it was just a fad, it’s actually as popular as ever. A recent finding from a study in the International Journal of Yoga Therapy found that it helps enhance partners’ emotional intelligence in relationships⁸
49. Visit a pottery or art studio. Spend the day getting creative together in a pottery or art studio. The relaxed atmosphere allows you to engage in a fun, hands-on activity while also enjoying some light conversation. Plus, you’ll both have a keepsake to remember the day by.
50. Go for a scenic train ride. If your area has a scenic or heritage train route, this can be a unique first date idea, and is a calming way to spend a first date. You can sit back, enjoy the picturesque views, and have plenty of time to chat in a comfortable setting.

10 Unique first date ideas

51. Explore the spooky side of your city with a ghost tour. Not only do they give you a lot of time to get to know each other better as you make your way to various haunted locales, but you also get to learn a lot about (admittedly morbid) crimes that you never knew made up the history of the city you live in.
52. For more vintage first date ideas, go to the events section of your local government’s website and you’ll probably find an event calendar. Pick a local event at random and ask your date if they’d like to accompany you. Whether it’s a Murder Mystery Party, or a senior singles disco mixer.
53. Organize a scavenger hunt for your date, to help them find the final location of your date. Make sure it’s not too hard or long-winded, or you may find yourself stood up because your date got lost among the clues. 
54. Laser tag! Team up with your date to take others down, or use this opportunity to go head-to-head and battle it out for the ultimate prize: getting to tease your date the rest of the night while they try to enjoy their chili fries.   
55. Take a road trip to a surprise location. While this may not be the ideal first date idea for someone you don’t know well, if you know and trust the person already, it can give you some interesting insight into what their general sentiments are – and how compatible they are with yours. 
56. Trampoline parks don’t really have a deeper relationship meaning. They’re just really fun to play in. The only possible red flag here could be if your partner is incapable of enjoying the simple notion of being weightless on a trampoline. 
57. Using just charcoal and paper, do portraits of each other simultaneously. You get to build intimacy through sustained eye contact and get a good idea of how the other person sees you by the aspects of your features that they pointedly hone in on. While it can be a lot of fun to compare your poor efforts, it can also be an indication that you’re literally not on the same page.
58. Go on a graffiti or street art tour. Explore the vibrant street art scene in your city with a guided tour. Discover hidden murals and learn about the artists and stories behind them, making for a visually stimulating and engaging date.
59. Attend a live TV recording. Check out a live recording of a TV show you both enjoy. It’s a fun way to engage with content you like while experiencing a behind-the-scenes look at how TV-shows are made.
60. Try a mystery dinner theater show. Enjoy an interactive dining experience where you and your date participate in solving a mystery during the meal. The combination of a meal and entertainment creates a dynamic and engaging date.

10 Low key first date ideas

61. Sometimes, when you’re short on time or don’t want to waste money going on another failed date, you can always decide to go on a walk. This phenomenon is known as free dating, and according to a recent survey of eharmony users it was found that 56% thought a walk or hike was a suitable or preferable date activity⁹, showing that this trend is only rising.
62. Coffee dates are in the same realm of cheap first date ideas, which people opt for to determine compatibility before deciding to move up to more elaborate dates.
63. For something a little more exciting than a flat white, you could always show your date your favorite gelato place. It keeps the vibe casual, but adds a slightly more personal touch to the date.
64. Even if you’re not a sports fan, watching a sports game live is a unique community experience. A study from Waseda University found watching live sports enhances general well-being¹⁰, so it’s good for the date too.
65. We’ve gotten so busy tossing axes at walls, playing candlepin bowling and whacking at giant Jenga pieces with hammers at bars now, we’ve forgotten that bars already had games before all of this. So take your date to a quiet pub, enjoy a few rounds of pool or darts, and remember the simple joys of dating in bars, sans flying axes. 
66. Visit your local botanical garden together. You not only get to enjoy all the biodiversity on display, but also help ensure it’s still here for all future singles who grow sick of dating in bars and bistros to enjoy.
67. Sit by a scenic viewpoint. Relax and chat while taking in a beautiful view. It’s a peaceful way to connect and enjoy the moment together.
68. Explore your favorite library or bookstore together. Pick a book, get two copies, and read together. Literature doesn’t always have to be a solitary experience.
69. Go to a market together. Whether it’s a craft goods market selling your favorite artisanal honey, or a food market where you get to explore all the different types of fresh vegetables and street foods on sale, the energy and vibrancy are enough to make for a dozen exciting first date ideas.
70. Go to a pet café. Spend a short time interacting with cute animals while enjoying a drink. It’s a charming way to relax and bond over furry friends.

When it comes to good first date ideas the key is to make them memorable

Ultimately, whether it’s something adventurous, unique or relaxed, the best first date ideas are the ones that you come up with as you get to know the person better. It’s all to do with how their unique and colorful facets are slowly revealed through intimacy and really, a bit of hope that it’s the right type of experience for your date, when it comes down to it.

Also remember that the day is about your experience and seeing whether this compatibility runs deeper. At eharmony, we make the pathway on that journey a bit clearer, by only connecting you with compatible singles who share your dating goals of finding a genuine, lasting connection built on your shared personality and interests. So come explore your dating potential today on eharmony.