Milwaukee very rarely makes “must-visit” or “must-see” lists, but that’s probably for the best, because this “Genuine American” city is full of things to see and do, but never feels crowded like New York, sprawling like LA or tough like Chicago. It’s the perfect place to relax for a weekend while still enjoying great restaurants, museums and events.
Milwaukee’s traditional attractions included some of America’s favorite pastimes, including baseball, beers and bikes. Tours of the city’s famous breweries and Harley-Davidson factory are still a thrill for of-age adults and big kids of any age, but the city has added more cultured attractions as well. The Milwaukee Art Museum is a Santiago Calatrava-designed architectural marvel. Its wing-like brise soleil shades the building from the sun, but folds up at night and in inclement weather. Its newest wing, opened in 2015, blends right into Lake Michigan and highlights photography, videography and new media.
The Milwaukee Museum of Art
The city’s numerous brewpubs (Wisconsin has the most per-capita in the US) offer a range of takes on brews, bar food and cheese, from modern to traditional to dive. For a complete immersion, the Brewhouse Inn & Suites offers rooms in the original Pabst Brewery. There is, of course, a well-regarded Pub in the lobby.
But modern Milwaukee has added some spice to its traditional hearty German-immigrant influenced culture and cuisine. The city’s historic Third Ward is home to dozens of innovative restaurants, art galleries and indie boutiques. It’s also the most welcoming area of the city for LGBTQ+ visitors.
The Third Ward
Anytime is a great time to visit Milwaukee, but the city really comes alive in the summer as crowds flock to Bradford Beach, one of the world’s best freshwater urban beaches. July also brings EAA Airventure, the country’s busiest airshow, where the latest Boeing and Air Force jets share the skies with homebuilt “experimental” planes. Unless you’re planning to fly your latest kitplane to the Oshkosh airport, you’ll find it easier to fly to Milwaukee then rent a car for the hour-long drive. If tenting on the tarmac doesn’t appeal to you, you’ll also enjoy one of the city’s boutique or luxury hotels.
In the fall, the city makes a great jumping-off point for attending a Green Bay Packers game. The legends about this community-owned team are second only to the legends about their die-hard fans, who are known for selling out every game in the 81,000 seat Lambeau field, even in the middle of December.