What do you know about Milwaukee? Beer and brats, right? Well, you’re not wrong — we do love our beer and our bratwurst! But the MKE is so much more than that. We’re a waterfront city that’s given the world a variety of innovations and manufactured some of the most beloved brands. We’re proudly midwestern and will invite you into our homes with a warmth that defies our winter weather. We celebrate diversity with endless festivals and we change with the times from industry to pop culture and more.
The real Milwaukee is vibrant, fun, fascinating, and filled with such wonderful people that we’re pretty sure you’ll never want to leave. Hop into our cruiser and get to know us a little better. We can promise good times and lotsa laughs!
The MKE is home to one of the coolest venues in the world: the Henry Maier Festival Park on Milwaukee’s lakefront. On these grounds, the world’s largest music festival, Summerfest, happens annually (with the exception of pandemic times) to a crowd that dwarfs other iconic festivals.
Summerfest is three times bigger than Coachella and more than twice the size of the original Woodstock in 1969. More than a million people gather for 10 days to see a thousand acts across a dozen stages. The Guinness World Records verified our claim to fame in 1999 and we’ve been keeping it going ever since!
But we don’t just stop there.
We love our festivals and make sure they fill our summer calendars with outdoor fun and socializing. From PRIDE to Irish Fest, from Indian Summer to Festa Italiana, from Polish Fest to Mexican Fiesta…Milwaukee is proud of its diverse communities and we joyfully celebrate them!
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Winter is here for about half the year, but that doesn’t mean we hibernate! We have two iconic buildings in the MKE that show just how innovative we are in dealing with the weather.
The Milwaukee Art Museum is an architectural marvel that you’ll definitely want to check out. Visit in the morning, at noon, or in the evening to watch the building’s wings open, flap, and close. With a wingspan as big as a Boeing 747, this structure is a wonder to behold.
Another building that moves with the weather is Miller Park stadium, with its retractable roof to enjoy the good weather and keep out the bad. Perfect for everything from baseball games to concerts, we don’t let winter ruin our good times!
We take fun pretty seriously at City Tours MKE. Our cruisers adapt to the weather, too! In good weather, we’re all about the fresh air and open doors policy. In winter, we just install the doors and turn on the heat to keep rolling!
When summer does come to Milwaukee, you’ll find most of us locals at the beach. With stunning Lake Michigan on our doorstep, we’ll be out there playing beach volleyball, getting a tan, and maybe enjoying some watersports, too. Bradford Beach is a local favorite, in case you want to join us.
Water is a way of life here in the MKE. Besides Lake Michigan, we’re based at the confluence of three major rivers: the Milwaukee, the Menomonee, and the Kinnickinnic.
The Milwaukee River flows through the heart of the city, creating a perfect place for basking in this natural beauty with our RiverWalk. We have miles of waterfront dining, shopping, and drinking establishments along both sides of the river to enjoy.
If you’re a beer drinker (and, really, who isn’t?), then you might have Milwaukee to thank for your favorite brews. The MKE is a proudly beer-tastic city, with our roots in the brewing industry stemming from a wave of German immigrants in the mid-19th Century. They came, they brewed, they conquered.
Milwaukee was home to beer giants like Pabst, Schlitz, and Miller. Nowadays, we have everything from classic dive bars to super hipster microbreweries appealing to beer fans from around the world. Hop into our cruiser for a Milwaukee brewery tour to enjoy it all!
Fans of the hit TV show “Happy Days” flock to the Milwaukee Riverwalk for a photo op with the Bronze Fonz. Standing at 5’6” to replicate the actor who played the iconic character, Henry Winkler, the Fonz statue is a favorite among locals and visitors alike. Go ahead and give him a thumbs up for all the laughs he gave us over the years!
You might want to take a look at our Iconic Milwaukee Tour to get the local’s perspective on all things MKE. From pop culture to history to local events and more, we’ve got you covered!
Whether you’re a biker or not, the Harley-Davidson brand is iconic and easily recognizable. And it all started right here in Milwaukee with a couple of young friends who built single-engine bikes in a tiny garage. Check out the museum to see the evolution of motorcycles over the past century. Whether you’re a biker or not, this brand is internationally-known and loved.
As you type your next email, make sure you say thanks to Milwaukee! The modern QWERTY typewriter was developed by Christopher Lathan Sholes, a resident of Milwaukee and former newspaper editor. He famously referred to it as “a cross between a piano and a kitchen table” for its unwieldy size.
Milwaukeee native Joseph Zimmerman invented the answering machine in 1949. While cell phones have changed the game, answering machines made life way easier for business owners especially. We’re grateful, Joseph!
Alright, so obviously we’re a little obsessed with our awesome hometown! We’re also pretty confident that you’ll love it, too. Come check out the MKE and see for yourself what makes this city so much fun and so darn welcoming. We’d love to have you join us. Get in touch to book a fun group outing or go ahead and book a tour…