Milwaukee sits on the western shore of Lake Michigan, about 90 miles north of Chicago, and has long been undersold to people who don’t know it. The city was built on beer, machinery and German immigration, and all three left marks that are still visible: the Pabst Mansion, the cavernous lagering caves under the MillerCoors brewery, the Gothic spires of the south-side Polish churches, the unpronounceable street names. Milwaukee has more breweries per capita than almost anywhere in the US and takes its sausage very seriously.
The biggest surprise for first-time visitors is the Milwaukee Art Museum — Santiago Calatrava’s lakefront building with its movable white wings is world-class architecture and the collection inside is genuine. The Milwaukee Public Museum is one of the best natural history museums in the Midwest. And the Harley-Davidson Museum works even if you don’t own a motorcycle.
The city’s neighbourhoods are its real pleasure. The Historic Third Ward has converted warehouses full of galleries, restaurants and the Public Market. Bay View on the south lakefront is where Milwaukeeans actually eat, drink and spend their evenings. The Milwaukee Riverwalk connects them all.
In late June and early July, Summerfest — the world’s largest music festival by attendance — takes over the lakefront. It is as Milwaukee as anything gets: enormous, good-natured, and built around cold beer and live music.