Top 10 Reasons Why Milwaukee Is Americas Best Kept Secret

When people think of Milwaukee they usually associate it with Hollywood stereotypes involving The Fonz, Lavern & Shirley and maybe, if you were paying attention, That 70’s Show — all multi-cam TV sets depicting a rust belt-ish life that is missing many important details.

SummerFest

It’s literally ‘The World’s Largest Music Festival,’ making other festivals like Coachella seem really cute. The festival happens for 11 days across 11 stages but has dedicated grounds on the lakefront with a chair lift running across. Everyone is on the lineup.

The Accent

The Architecture

Milwaukee architecture is gorgeous. Okay, so we all know it’s a thing that every city build a Calatrava, but the Milwaukee Art Museum is kind’a better than all the Calatravas. Does it look familiar? That’s because it’s in the background of every major car commercial. Not to mention Frank Lloyd Wright is from there, thus his work is peppered all through town. The whipped cream on top? A 19th-century building fad used a type of clay from the local Menominee River Valley, resulting in Cream City Brick, a light brick color unique to Milwaukee.

Lake Drive

Piggybacking on the architecture here, Lake Drive is the fairy tale of all commutes. If you work downtown and live in one of the northern burbs, why take the freeway when, with an add-on of only seven minutes, you can drive along one of the prettiest roads in America? Even if they don’t commute, locals will get in their car and cruise along Lake Drive just cuz it’s so darn dreamy.

Beer

Before there was Portland, there was Milwaukee. And to this day, all of our favorite cheap beer comes from there, like PBR and well, Old Milwaukee. But little do people know, a lot of other smaller national favorites like Sam Adams contract out of Milwaukee breweries. A great place to try some microbrews as well as cruise the local hipsters (yes, Milwaukee has hipsters) is the Hotel Foster.

Lake Michigan

Living on Lake Michigan is like living on the ocean but better. In the summer months when you dive in, you don’t get a mouth full of salt. Believe it or not, Milwaukee has an awesome beach culture, complete with kite and wind surfers plus a marina filled with schmancy sail boats.

The Domes

Aaaaaand we’re back to architecture. The Domes, also known as The Mitchell Park Conservatory, are reminiscent of the geodesic fad of the 1960s. Featuring various biospheres and botanical gardens, The Domes pop through the canopy and decorate the Milwaukee skyline like the three-breasted woman from Total Recall.

Miller Park

The Milwaukee Brewers are not amazing, but their home stadium sure as heck is. It has a retractable roof. That is all.

Brown Deer Park

The Milwaukee County park system is as sophisticated as New York City and probably because a lot of the parks were designed by the same guy. With four distinct seasons, each can be enjoyed to the fullest in these parks, specifically Brown Deer. It’s gigantic. Fall is a great way to enjoy the changing tree colors, but winter is something else — public hills for sledding, a toboggan slide, and an ice rink make it about as awesome as a Disney winter wonderland.

Kopp’s

Save the best (or in this case the most calories) for last. Kopp’s is the cherry on top of the cup of delicious frozen custard that is Milwaukee. Is it any wonder that there’s a ginormous sculpture of a cherry in the lobby of their North Shore store? People travel from around the world to sample the goodness that is this famous, unique, custard.
By Clark Harding

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.