Something for Everyone in Milwaukee

Discovering Milwaukee, Wisconsin

There is so much more to Milwaukee than beer. This vibrant arts and foodie heaven college town offers something for everyone. You will have a hard time choosing how to spend your day in Milwaukee!

Learn something new at a local museum

So many museums, so little time. The city is filled with unique museums that make it hard to choose:

• The Jewish Museum includes a tapestry by Marc Chagall.
• The Harley Davidson Museum includes a riverside Motor Bar & Restaurant on their 20 acre campus
• The Grohmann Museum with its focus on human ingenuity is located at the Milwaukee School of Engineering
• The Milwaukee Public Museum dedicated to natural history. Walk into a solarium filled with butterflies.
• American Black Holocaust Museum – a memorial museum covering the history of the Black experience in America
• Charles Allis Art Museum housed in a 1911 Tudor style villa

Get out on the water

Milwaukee sits at the confluence of three rivers as well as being on the edge of the Great Lakes. It is no wonder there are plenty of options to be on the water:

• Rent a Donut boat – a circular party boat
• Join a Happy hour tour boat – there are tour boat themes such as Margarita Mondays, Tiki Tuesdays, and themed sunset cruises all week long.
• Pedal Power bar crawl – pedal your own boat
• Swan Boats – rent a swan-shaped pedal boat at Veteran’s Park
• Rent a stylish electric Duffy Boat – they say it’s as easy to drive as a golf cart

Soak up some history

The history of Milwaukee’s beer making heritage is just one of the many areas to explore:

• North Point Lighthouse
• Basilica of St. Josaphat is one of the most beautiful you’ll find anywhere.
• Admire the Pabst Theater with its baroque architecture. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The Pabst Mansion offers free guided tours where you’ll see remarkable Flemish Renaissance Revival style architecture and interiors
• The Pabst Brewery – where they made all the money for the mansion and theater is now closed, but the history lives on. You can take a history tour of the Pabst Brewery on the site and have a drink in the old German-style beer hall.
• If you love architecture, you’ll love the  Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. This is one of the more unusual churches you’ll ever see.

Taste your way around town

Milwaukee is a foodie heaven. Much more than cheese (although they are still proud of their cheesemaking heritage) you can find many options that are a little out of the ordinary for enjoying all that Milwaukee has to offer:

• Try some local brews or take the hour long Miller Brewery Tour
• Try the unique Churches and Chocolate Bus tour
• Take a class by one of the top local chefs: Local chefs teach classes or give demo classes. Sign up to  learn how to make fresh pasta, use local cheeses, or perhaps how to make the perfect sangria
• Visit the Milwaukee Public Market where you can find a wide variety of foods all available in one place. You are in Wisconsin, so make this your cheese-tasting destination!
• Hop on board the Pedal Tavern where you can sip with friends under your own pedal power.
• Enjoy an elegant afternoon tea from the 23rd floor of the historic Pfister Hotel overlooking Lake Michigan

Experience the arts scene

Milwaukee has a vibrant arts scene and has a fabulous art museum on the waterfront. Whether you like modern art, classical art, or fiber arts,  there is something for you to love:

• Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts
• Lynden Sculpture Garden
• Look up after dark to experience the stained glass water tower at Coakley Brothers Co. 400 S. 5th St
• Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum
• That amazing piece of architecture on the waterfront is the Milwaukee Art Museum – a piece of art in its own right and filled with art from around the world.
• The Haggerty Museum of Art has many old masters in its collection located at Marquette University

Be out and about

When the sun is shining, you might be ready to head outdoors for a day under bright blue skies. Enjoy a sports game, or go for a bike ride. Perhaps a round of golf if you have time? Get out and enjoy the natural beauty of this city surrounded by water:

• Go on a search for the Bronze Fonz statue. Did you know on the the t.v. show Happy Days the Cunninghams supposedly lived in Milwaukee?
• Enjoy an outdoors Milwaukee Brewers baseball game
• Golf at Sand Valley Resort with its unique colorful hole #14 designed by a winner of Golf Digest contest
• Rent a bike and ride the many level biking trails
• Visit the Mitchell Park Conservatory with its three gigantic glass domes containing tropical and desert plants