Milwaukee Travel Guide

A friendly Midwestern atmosphere prevails in Milwaukee, which is not so much a city as a large collection of neighborhoods situated on the shores of Lake Michigan. Wisconsin's largest city is an international seaport and the state's primary commercial and manufacturing center. Modern steel-and-glass high-rises occupy much of the downtown area, but they share the skyline with restored and well-kept 19th-century buildings from Milwaukee's early heritage. First settled by Potawatomi and later by French fur traders in the late 18th century, the city boomed in the 1840s with the arrival of German beer brewers, whose influence is still present. Milwaukee is known as a city of festivals, the biggest being Summerfest (the "World's Largest Music Festival"), held in late June and early July.