Family Travel: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

We went to visit Milwaukee over the weekend. It is rather a short trip from Chicago. We usually drive to Wisconsin border to Gurnee Mills for shopping. After that, it’s only another 30-minute drive. The weather was great and we all had great fun.

Here is our itinerary for Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the weekend with 2 young kids.

We started at Milwaukee Art Museum. It was magnificent both inside and out. It’s like an elegant sailship by Lake Michigan.

Milwaukee Art Museum comprises of 3 buildings designed by 3 different architects: Eero Saarinen, David Kahler, and Santiago Calatrava.

We spend a lot of time inside, letting my son run around in the Windhover Hall overlooking Cudahy Gardens and Lake Michigan.
We appreciated the beautiful glass artwork by Dave Chihuly.
Entrance to the museum.
In the afternoon, we visited Betty Brinn Children’s Museum. Children’s museum was right across from Milwaukee Art Museum. There was a really nice cafeteria at MAM. Right before we left MAM, we fed the kids to make sure they enjoyed children’s museum as much as they could. This repair shop station was a winner.
And a crane? Oh boy. Chicago Children’s Museum needs to up their game.
Another look at Milwaukee Art Museum.
We stopped by at Milwaukee Public Market. It is like a huge deli with many stores selling meat, cheese, spices, snacks, ice cream and all kinds of delicious food.

You can hop on one of the free trolleys to get around downtown. They are very convenient. People were really helpful to the family with young kids and a stroller. It is a great way to catch a break, rest for a bit and get a free sightseeing tour around the city.
On the second day, we drove out of downtown. We caught a quick glimpse of the Milwaukee Brewers stadium.
We took a bit of a detour to pass by 6th street viaduct because a member of our household is into bridges.
Then we went to visit Harley-Davidson Museum. I admit, none of us is a big fan of motorcycles but Harley  is such an iconic part of the American culture, we had to visit. It also helps that my son loves all things with wheels.
Harley-Davidson teardrop gas tanks
Evolution of motorcycles through the years.

Then we came back to downtown to have lunch. We parked near this building with an impressive mural. Yep, those are not real windows and glass. It is all painting.
We took a stroll by the riverwalk. We picked a restaurant by Milwaukee river. The weather was gorgeous. We soaked up the sun.
We admired French style buildings.

We passed by Milwaukee City Hall. We waited to hear the clock tower to chime.

We wanted to catch a ride to Kinnickinnic but unfortunately, we missed. Oh well! Until next time.

You can see all the photos from this trip in our Milwaukee Flickr Album.