Day trip to Milwaukee

Lake Michigan's second city

Noteworthy for: Wisconsin's biggest city offers an intriguing cocktail of historic buildings, world class art and great ethnic food.
Talk of the town: Milwaukee got lots of international exposure in 2011 as a setting for the hit comedy 'Bridesmaids'.

Word to the wise: Trains from Chicago's Union Station to Milwaukee take 1 hour 40 minutes.
Bustling, gritty Milwaukee may be off the average tourist's radar, but it nonetheless makes a great day trip from Chicago. Wisconsin's biggest city, it's under two hours up Lake Michigan by train, and offers an interesting range of historic neighborhoods and landmark museums, plus a unique, boozy history as the beer capital of America.

The chief draw here is the Milwaukee Art Museum, whose huge, impressive collection of European and American art is housed in a stunning building designed by Santiago Calatrava. There are many other quirky sights in Milwaukee, however, such as America's oldest bowling Alley (Holler House), and the Pabst Mansion, a Flemish Renaissance manor house built on proceeds from the city's famous brewery.

Milwaukee also has its share of post industrial blight, but with a remarkable architectural hotchpotch, and a friendly, down-to-earth vibe, it's a great place to discover more about this corner of the country.