Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the western shore of Lake Michigan, is America's beer city — home to Miller, Pabst and Schlitz in their heyday, now a thriving craft brewery centre — and a city of German and Polish heritage, excellent museums, a strong festival culture (Summerfest, the world's largest outdoor music festival, runs annually for 11 days in late June) and genuine Midwestern warmth. The Milwaukee Art Museum, in a building by Santiago Calatrava with a moving brise-soleil sunscreen that opens and closes twice daily, is one of America's most architecturally spectacular cultural institutions — the collection (particularly strong in German Expressionism and folk art) is excellent. The Milwaukee Public Museum is one of America's finest natural history museums, with an extraordinary recreation of an 1893 Milwaukee street. The Harley-Davidson Museum is genuinely excellent for understanding the cultural significance of the brand. The Historic Third Ward (excellent restaurants, markets and galleries in restored warehouse buildings), Brady Street (bohemian, Eastern European, excellent pierogi culture) and Milwaukee's German beer gardens (Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee Brewing, Sprecher) are the most characterful areas. Friday night fish fry (a Wisconsin tradition — battered fish with potato pancakes, coleslaw and pumpernickel) is excellent at almost any neighborhood bar. The Bucks (NBA) play at Fiserv Forum downtown. Lake Michigan's beaches and the Milwaukee lakefront parks are excellent in summer.