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Milwaukee Attractions
Bus and Limousine Tours
Several public and private charter transportation companies offer sightseeing tours that explore the city. Customized tours devoted to Milwaukee's industrial, cultural, civic and residential sights are available, often complemented by lunch or dinner.
Carriage Tours
Horse-drawn carriages offer a memorable mode of transportation through downtown and along the shores of Lake Michigan. Milwaukee Coach & Carriage, (414) 272-6873, provides nightly service (weather permitting).
Driving Tours
A scenic drive extends from the downtown area at Lincoln Memorial Drive, north to SR 32 through beautiful parks and past the lakeside mansions of the early brewers to Brown Deer Road. North Lake Drive along the bluffs is particularly attractive.
Industrial Tours
Free one-hour tours of the Harley-Davidson Power Train Operations facility in nearby Wauwatosa are offered Mon.-Fri. 9:30-1. For up-to-date tour hours and security information phone (414) 343-7850 or (877) 883-1450.
Walking Tours
Brochures outlining historic walking tours of Milwaukee's east, west and south sides are available at the Visit Milwaukee walk-in office . Campus tours are available at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, (414) 229-2222, and at Marquette University, (414) 288-7302.
Historic Milwaukee Inc. offers guided walking tours that concentrate on the city's historical and architectural heritage. One- to two-hour tour options include Milwaukee's skywalk system, the Riverwalk, the city's historic German and Polish neighborhoods, mansions along Lake Drive, and historic districts such as Walker's Point, the Third Ward, Brady Street, Yankee Hill and local cemeteries. Phone (414) 277-7795.
Sports and Recreation
Milwaukee sports fans enthusiastically support their professional teams. Baseball fans make their pilgrimage to Miller Park, where the beloved Milwaukee Brewers play from April through September; phone (414) 902-4000. Almost before the last baseball game's bratwurst can be digested, the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks begin basketball exhibition games. Regular season games are played until April at the Bradley Center, 1001 N. 4th St.; phone (414) 227-0400 or (414) 227-0500. The Marquette University Golden Eagles also play at the Bradley Center; phone (414) 227-0400 or (414) 288-7127.
The Milwaukee Wave play indoor soccer October through April in the U.S. Cellular Arena; phone (414) 224-9283. At the Bradley Center the Milwaukee Admirals compete with other teams of the American Hockey League October through April; phone (414) 227-0550 or (414) 227-0400.
Spectators are outdoors again in the spring and the fall to watch fierce rugby matches at the lakefront. National championship automobile races are held at the Milwaukee Mile, (414) 453-8277, from May through September. Sailboat races skirt Lake Michigan's shoreline, off N. Lincoln Memorial Drive, weekends during the summer.
The lakefront also is the playground of anglers, sailors and swimmers during the warm months. Swimming is possible at five beaches (lifeguards are not on duty): Bradford Beach, 2400 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr.; Doctor's Park Beach, 1870 E. Fox Ln.; Grant Beach, 100 Hawthorne Ave.; McKinley Beach, 1750 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr.; and South Shore Beach, 2900 S. Superior St.
For those who cannot adjust to Lake Michigan's chilly waters, there are 9 outdoor and 2 indoor pools and more than 20 wading pools throughout the county park system. The county also runs two Family Aquatic Water Parks: Cool Waters Family Aquatic Park in Greenfield Park at 2028 S. 124th; and Pelican Cove Family Water Park in Kosciuszko Park at 2201 S. 7th St.
Sailors with their own boating craft may use the launch ramps at Bender, Riverfront, McKinley Marina and South Shore Yacht Club for a fee. Paddle boat rentals are available at the Juneau Lagoon in Veterans Park. Fishing in Lake Michigan can reward anglers with prize catches of salmon and trout as big as 30 pounds. Full- and half-day charters are offered by numerous companies; check the telephone directory.
Tennis is available at 28 county parks; many courts are lighted. Court use is free, though a fee is charged for reserving a court and for lighted courts; phone (414) 257-8030. North Shore Elite Fitness and Racquet Club, (414) 351-2900, at 5750 N. Glen Park Rd., is one of several clubs that offers indoor tennis courts. Lawn bowling is popular during the summer. Sand volleyball courts are found at 17 county parks.
About two-thirds of the golf courses in the Milwaukee vicinity are 18-hole courses. Brown Deer Golf Course, (414) 352-8080, 7625 N. Range Line Rd., is home to the PGA U.S. Bank Championship and is open to the public. The county also maintains par-three and regulation 18-hole courses and an 18-hole pitch-and-putt course. November through April, the Currie Park Golf Dome, 3535 N. Mayfair Rd., offers an indoor driving range; phone (414) 453-1742.
The Milwaukee County Park System offers a variety of public facilities among its 136 parks, including beaches, swimming pools, golf courses, tennis courts, soccer fields, hiking trails and the 106-mile Oak Leaf Trail, a paved path for bicycling, inline skating and jogging that encircles the city. The Alpha Trail provides mountain bikers with tricky terrain to negotiate; it begins near Whitnall Park The city also is rated as a top destination for kite flying, especially at lakefront Veterans Park. For information about county park facilities phone (414) 257-6100.
Although Milwaukee's winters are somewhat formidable, the lure of various winter sports entices even the frostbite-prone outdoors. Milwaukee County Parks has seven lagoons that freeze for ice skating. The premier site, however, is Pettit National Ice Center. Wilson Park Center and Slice of Ice at Red Arrow Park also offer skating.
Most of the county parks allow cross-country skiing, with Whitnall Park providing lightly groomed trails. Old World Wisconsin and Schlitz Audubon Nature Center also provide cross-country ski trails. Favorite weekend destinations for Milwaukee residents include Kettle Moraine State Forest and any of the 60 inland lakes in the metropolitan area.
Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha, (262) 657-8200 or (800) 233-3357, attracts locals as well as visitors.
Note: Policies concerning admittance of children to pari-mutuel betting facilities vary. Phone for information.
Performing Arts
Milwaukee boasts several nationally acclaimed performing arts companies. The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 N. Water St., is home to many of these, including the Florentine Opera Company, Milwaukee Ballet Company and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's regular season is early September through June; phone (800) 291-7605 or (888) 612-3500.
Among Milwaukee's free outdoor summer concerts are River Rhythms on Wednesday evenings at the riverside Pere Marquette Park and Jazz in the Park on Thursdays at Cathedral Square. The county parks department also sponsors less well-known groups in free concerts at various parks during the summer.
The Milwaukee Repertory Theater performs a variety of dramatic productions at The Milwaukee Center at 108 E. Wells St. from early September to mid-May; phone (414) 224-9490. The splendidly restored late 19th-century Pabst Theater at 144 E. Wells St., presents theatrical, jazz and modern music productions. Tours of the theater are offered Saturday at noon; phone (414) 286-3663. The Ko-Thi Dance Co. is among the groups performing at the Pabst Theater.
The Helfaer Theater, (414) 288-7504, at 13th and Clybourn on the Marquette University campus, presents quality theater and concert offerings. The Milwaukee Theater, (414) 908-6001, at 500 W. Kilbourn Ave., presents touring Broadway shows and musical artists. Marcus Amphitheater, (414) 273-2600, in Henry Maier Festival Park at 200 N. Harbor Dr., and the Milwaukee Riverside Theater, (414) 224-3000, at 116 W. Wisconsin Ave., feature nationally known touring bands.
Musicals and operettas are staged by the Skylight Opera Theater, which performs at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway in the Historic Third World; phone (414) 291-7800. The Broadway Theatre Center also is home to the Chamber Theatre, which stages both classical and contemporary works, phone (414) 291-7800. The Off Broadway Theater at 342 N. Water St. is home to the cutting edge Next Act Theater, (414) 278-0765, and Renaissance Theaterworks, (414) 291-7800.
The events section of the city's newspaper carries current information about local cultural activities. Visitors also can contact Visit Milwaukee for an update; phone (800) 554-1448.
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