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Last weekend I took a little girl’s trip up to the cheesehead state. A couple girlfriend’s and I spent the weekend in Milwaukee, WI. Milwaukee is only a 2 hour drive from Chicago so it is the perfect weekend getaway. We ate way too many cheese curds and drank a lot of beer, but it was a lovely weekend. We knew we wanted to hit as many hot spots as we possibly could in our short trip to Milwaukee.

A Girl’s Weekend In Milwaukee

Where To Stay

I have visited Milwaukee a couple of times, and both times have stayed at pretty decent spots. I have stayed at the Aloft Hotel, as well as the Double Tree by Hilton. Both are pretty centrally located and at a good price point. They also both have valet parking, but they comped ours this weekend because we told them we were celebrating a birthday.

For quick weekend trips, the hotel is the least of my concerns since the only time you really spend in a hotel room is to sleep. So I just like something that has a decent location, that you can either walk or Uber from easily. Aloft is located about a 10 minute walk from Water Street, and the Double Tree was about a 20 minute walk to Water Street.

What To Do

• Milwaukee Pedal Tavern: The main reason why we wanted to go to Milwaukee for this weekend was to go a Pedal Tavern. They are so much fun, and it was 100% the highlight of our trip. It is essentially a bar crawl, where you pedal from bar to bar. It is BYOB (beer/seltzers only, no hard liquor) and you listen to music, sing, dance, honk at cars, and just enjoy a perfect day drinking experience. We started ours at 11am, and it just started the day of on a great foot. We stopped at 4 different bars, made friends with everyone else on the tavern, and having a cute driver (Joey) was the cherry on top.
• Historic 3rd Ward: This is a must when visiting Milwaukee. It is a cute little area filled with bars, restaurants, boutiques, and whatnot. We spent Sunday afternoon here after brunch and had a lovely time. A few of our favorite boutique shops we stopped at were: Soho By Stephanie Horne, Edie, Mon Gen, Lela, and Anthropologie.
• Milwaukee Public Market: Called Pike’s Market of the midwest, this fresh food, local vendor market is a must to see when in Milwaukee. From wine to cheese, to seafood, to desserts, to spices, Milwaukee Public Market has just about everything. I compared it to an Eataly almost. There are also cute little restaurants and bars the surround it to try as well.
• Water Street: If you are looking for a good time for nightlight, my recommendation is to make your way down to Water Street. I will have to preface and say that it is in a college area, but we still had a great time. A few of our favorite bars were: The Harp, Trinity, Red White and Blue, but there are so many just pop into in and I guarantee you’ll have a good time. We also stopped at the speakeasy called Safehouse. Enter through the red door in the alley, give them the password (I’m looking for a safe house), and enter the 1920’s themed speakeasy. They have a DJ Friday and Saturday nights!
• Breweries: One thing Milwaukee is known for is their beer. Milwaukee is home to many many breweries. As I would’ve loved to try them all, we stopped at a few that were fun. Scroll down for my brewery section to learn more!

Where To Eat

Since we were only there for such a short amount of time I only have a few restaurant recs, but they were all super yummy!

• Merriment Social: If you will be in Milwaukee for brunch, you need to go here. From mimosas to bloody Mary’s with rosemary garlic vodka, and the whole aesthetic is just unmatched. I had the biscuits and gravy (which y’all know is my go to) and it did not disappoint. My friends had the chicken and waffles and said it was delicious. They have garage doors that open up as well, and they’re playing the best tunes. It definitely helped the hangover!
• Lakefront Brewery: I will mention more about them down below because it is my favorite brewery in Milwaukee, but all you need to know when it comes to food is that they have the best cheese curds in Milwaukee! We came here for lunch and it was just the perfect amount of greasy food we needed after the pedal tavern. I had their famous fish fry, but also the chicken strips and Mac and cheese were delicious according to my friends.
• AJ Bombers: AJ Bombers has a total dive bar feel. They “deliver” peanuts to your table by this little machine that is on the ceiling that looks like a little cannon ball. It drops peanuts into a big pipe and they come out in a little bowl in the middle of your table. It was really cool. They are also known for their burgers!
• Vagabond: We stopped here for dinner because it was close to the bars on Water Street, and Mexican is just always a good idea. The place itself was super cool. We loved the vibe. We had a pitcher of margs, and some quesadillas. They have a taco of the month – this month was flaming hot Cheeto. They have more street tacos and eats!

Milwaukee Breweries

Like I said there are so so many breweries in Milwaukee, I wish we could’ve seen more (I guess we just have to plan another trip)! But here are the ones we visited or I have visited in the past.

• Lakefront Brewery: Lakefront is right on the river, and has a massive hall filled with tons of tables. We signed up for the tour- it was $9 a person, lasted an hour, and got you 4 free beers. The tour was entertaining and we learned a lot about the different beers. Their beer is good, their cheese curds are amazing, the vibe is always fun!
• Good City Brewing: We wanted to stop here mainly because they had a rooftop. We got there, each grabbed a beer and headed up to the roof. I had a Belgium wheat that was their version of a Blue Moon, and it was quite tasty. There are two locations of Good City – downtown and east side.
• Milwaukee Brewery Co: Another staple to visit. Nothing but good beers and again a great time. They also have really tasty cheese curds.
• Indeed Brewing Co: Another brewery with a fun roof top. They had a ton of different types of beers to try. We each had a flight and enjoyed them all. Even our friend Caylee who isn’t a beer fan!
• Mob Craft: Another cool spot. This one is mostly indoors, so perfect for the colder months!

But there are so many cool breweries in the whole city, that I am sure whichever ones you stumble upon will have cold beer and will be a fun time!

Our super short trip to Milwaukee was successful. We ate a combined 5 pounds of cheese curds which I think is pretty impressive. Milwaukee is very up and coming and turning into more of a tourist city. I would definitely plan a trip back soon.

Have you ever been to Milwaukee? What was your favorite place there?

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