Milwaukee Art Museum
#3 in Best Things To Do in Milwaukee
Details
scorecard
- 4.0Value
- 4.0Facilities
- 4.5Atmosphere
This art museum, located in downtown Milwaukee on Lake Michigan, gets more praise for its buildings (there are three) than the art it contains. And that's because the Milwaukee Art Museum looks futuristic with its gleaming white suspension bridge, 90-foot vaulted glass ceiling and cantilevered wings. Just make sure to visit on a calm, sunny day. According to past visitors, the Quadracci Pavilion's wings (the Burke Brise Soleil) won't open if it is raining or windy.
Inside, the art is also worth perusing. Within the 341,000-square-foot complex, visitors can browse 30,000 works of art, including one of the largest Georgia O'Keeffe collections in the world (she was a Wisconsin native).
The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., but it offers extended hours on Thursdays. Admission is $17 for adults; $15 for students (with an ID), military personnel and seniors; and free for kids 12 and younger. In addition to the collection, visitors can also find restrooms, a museum store, a cafe, a coffee shop and a wine bar inside. For more information, visit the museum's official website.
More Best Things To Do in Milwaukee
1 of 13
2 of 13#1 Harley-Davidson Museum
Whether you're a diehard biker or someone who just happens to be in the area, many visitors say the Harley-Davidson Museum is worth exploring. Spread across 20 acres of prime Milwaukee riverfront property, the Harley-Davidson Museum continuously wows travelers with its 11 permanent exhibits and rotating special exhibits, including a recovered motorcycle from a tsunami that devastated Japan in 2011. Some permanent exhibits include a an engine room and an extensive motorcycle gallery that showcases the evolution of the company's bikes.
For those interested in the nitty-gritty of Harley bikes and history, consider paying an additional $4 per person for an audio headset. Prior visitors said the in-depth narration provided a superb detailed description of everything in the museum. (But if you don't feel like paying extra for a headset, the written explanations provided at each exhibit offer a wealth of excellent context, so you'll still learn plenty, according to previous travelers.)
Explore More of Milwaukee
If you make a purchase from our site, we may earn a commission. This does not affect the quality or independence of our editorial content.