What to do in Wisconsin
 

Hello!

I am heading to Wisconsin for Labor Day weekend. I will be flying in and out of Chicago-O'Hare because the airfare was much better. I will stay Friday night by the airport (Wyndham O'Hare - $45 on Priceline) and then head to Milwaukee and Madison.

What are must sees, must dos and must eats in and around Milwaukee and Madison?

If you go to the destinations section of this website, you can find information about Milwaukee, including side trips to Madison.

www.milwaukee.org has lots of information.

In Milwaukee, I'd suggest both the Art Museum and the Public Museum, the Lakefront, a brewery tour, a baseball game at Miller Park.

What kind of food do you like and in what price range?

We don't eat beef or pork, but anything else is fair game. Also,we don't want to have to dress up to go out to eat.

Eat cheese, tell everyone you are a Viking's fan and that the Wisconsin Badgers are pansies...

then run....
:)

Have a fish fry on Friday night!

The Brewers are in Milwaukee for the weekend. The Badgers are playing in Madison on Saturday. Personally, if sports are your thing, I'd opt for the Badger game. Pre- and post- game time near the stadium are not to be missed.

Madison has a large Saturday morning farmers' market on the Capitol Square.

What things interest you?

Not dressing up will not be a problem! If you come from an area where "frozen custard" sounds exotic, then fersure you will want to partake of same whilst in the dairy state.

The drive from Milwaukee to Madison is pretty prosaic, but if you have a few hours to spare for that journey,get hold of a map and figure out a route that veers north a bit through parts of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. You'll be rewarded with some really nice scenery.

Ten Chimneys, the fully restored country estate of Broadway luminaries Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne is just west of Milwaukee (on the way to or from Madison) and a very worthwhile tour, if that's your sort of thing (it was mine!)tenchimneys.org

Taste of Madison is going on that weekend on the Capitol square. Here's a link for that event:
http://www.madfest.org/taste/index.html

Here's another link that will take you to the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors web site:

http://www.visitmadison.com/events/c...05&month=8

If you are new to Wisconsin, a must see is "THe House on the Rock", kind of a museum, kind of strange collections of everything you can imagine. I think there is a website so you can get an idea of what it is all about. It is close to Madison.

Also if you are a Frank Lloyd Wright fan, Talliesen East is close to Madison as well.

Some good restaurants in Milwaukee, and a fun stop is "The Safe House". It's kind of a theme restaurant, and to get in the door you have to know the password or do a silly stunt. The food is pizza, burgers and it's delivered by pullies to your table. Fun place.

Have a great time.

Does Taste of Madison mean there is no farmers' market that weekend?

The farmers market will most likely be set up going down State Street. I don't think they've ever canceled it.

In Milwaukee, for Mexican, we like La Fuente--their outdoor patio is wonderful, and the shrimp soup delicious.
For Thai, we like Singha Thai.
For casual American, with good people watching, Elsa's.

Meatless in Milwaukee...try Beans and Barley at North & Farwell Sts (tasty menu) ...Barosa on the southside and Roots (great city view) near downtown focus on delicious organic menus. Otherwise, the sites mentioned above will have you covered.

I'd suggest the Milwaukee Art Museum (watching the wings of the Briese Soleil (spelling?) at opening, closing and noon can be quite fascinating), brewery tours are always fun, the Third Ward can be a nice area to walk and shop, Brady Street has more of a gentrified hippie-coffeeshop atmosphere. The few blocks around Cathedral Square toward Wisconsin Ave downtown has a new crop of interesting restaurants and nightlife. The lakefront is always a hit (I like walking the breakwall and stopping for coffee at the Alterra on Lincoln Memorial Drive near the marina).

I have lived in SE wisconsin most of my life. If I had to entertain you for a weekend I would be hard pressed to do so with out knowing what interests you. This is not San Francisco, Montreal or some other place that has the obvious must do things. Do yourself a service by asking leading questions so to speak. Then the person who also likes to ... can chime in with all the secret about that subjesct. Curious - Why Milwaukee and Madison. When perhaps another town nearby may offer something right up your alley?

In Madison I would suggest Bluephies restaurant on Monroe Street. This place is situated in a residential area with some smaller shops adjacent to it. Great menu choices and excellent food! Casual dress.

for great guides, try
onmilwaukee.com
onwisconsin.com
jsonline.com

Are you looking for a specific cuisine or type of activity?

This guy's weekend is already over.

Here are some links to surf through to get some ideas of where to eat and how to spend your time. I'd recommend trying to get to a weekend festival for some live music and local flavor, but I don't think the schedules for this summer have been released yet. Literally every weekend in the summer in Milwaukee, you will find local church festivals or ethnic festivals at the Summerfest grounds on the lake.

As far as restaurants go, check these websites for ideas:

www.onmilwaukee.com
www.jsonline.com
www.digitalcity.com

Mil. is really a nice dining town. It offers quite a bit of ethnic food options and there are many good Mexican restaurants on the S. side of the city heading toward the airport. Some of the neighborhoods are a little funky, but you will find authentic food there.

Good luck