If you’ve found someone you enjoy spending time with enough to plan (and show up for!) a third date, then may we offer you our congratulations. (Along with a warning not to mess this one up!) (And some great and/or clever ideas for how to mix it up a little) Here are a few great & clever third-date ideas!

Third dates are (or at least should be) more exciting than the first and second dates, which is why we suggest doing something a bit more unique.

Here are some ideas:

If it’s nice outside, you may want to:

• Plan a hike up Stone Mountain or the four-mile Indian Seats Trail up to Sawnee Mountain.
• Take a casual stroll to Lullwater Park near Emory.
• Rent bikes, start at Piedmont Park, and pedal the Beltline; and, if you want to make a day of it, stop at various places along the way or finish up by grabbing a delicious bite at Krog Street Market.
• Go stargazing at the Fernbank Observatory on a Thursday or Friday night.
• During the summer, you can go to a concert at the Chastain Park Amphitheater. If it’s one of the concerts where you’re allowed to bring in your own food and beverages, pack a cheese plate and a bottle of your (date’s!) favorite wine.

If both you and your date like drinking, you might want to:

• Do a mini bar crawl. (NOTE: a “mini” bar crawl is not the same as a “mini-bar” crawl, which is not advisable until at least the fourth date.) Have an appetizer and a drink at each location – all within walking distance. (You might also want to have Uber or Lyft on speed-dial.)
• Choose from one of the interesting neighborhoods Atlanta is known for. Hotspots include Virginia Highlands, Inman Park, and Ponce City Market. If you’re “OTP,” try to the Avalon in Alpharetta.
• Try putting the names of several fun restaurants into a bowl and picking one for drinks, another for dinner, and a third for dessert and/or a night-cap.

If it’s going to be chilly (or downright freezing) outside, consider opting for:

• An indoor activity like a cooking class at one of The Cook’s Warehouse locations.
• Bundling up for a Gladiators’ hockey game in Duluth.
• Live music at one of Atlanta’s world-class blues clubs. 
• Comedy clubs can also be good; but you’d better be sure what your date’s tolerance for “blue” material is – otherwise, you may end up singing (or wishing you had gone to listen to) the blues!

All these great ideas aside, you may prefer holding off on a more activity-based date, which can be more intimate, until you’re sure this person is a good match. If you want to have more of a conversation-based date, switch it up from the first and second dates by picking a terrific brunch place on a weekend, like Haven, Two Urban Licks, La Tavola Trattoria, Murphy’s, and Café Lily.

The bottom line is that you want to set yourself – and the date – up for success by planning unique and/or exciting dates. Not only will your date be impressed with how active, fun-loving, and open to new things you are; but – win/win – by putting yourselves in different atmospheres, you’ll find out whether you really do have a strong connection.

Have you discovered other great and/or clever third-date ideas? Please share them with us in the comments section or contact us at One on One Matchmaking!