A colorful, lakeside community with all the culture and high-spirited fun one expects from a great college town, Madison, Wisconsin is a perfect place for a weekend visit. Danielle Bruflodt of Thyme is Honey was kind enough to offer her insider tips for a late summer weekend.
When we moved to Madison we signed a 6-month lease, not sure how long we’d stay, but we instantly fell in love and now we’re coming up on our 4th year as Madisonians!
We spend most of our weekends on our bikes and routinely ride 20-30 miles around the city visiting our favorite bars, restaurants and activities. We love to have guests join us for a bike ride or a walking tour highlighting Madison’s two biggest lakes. We have 3 lakes right downtown and it really feels like a city built on the water. This plan starts at Monona Terrance on Lake Mendota, includes a 1.3 mile walk down State Street and past some of Madison’s greatest bars and restaurants, and then it ends at the University of Wisconsin’s Memorial Union Terrance on Lake Mendota (see a walking map, here). It’s a great way to see the city!
Start by driving downtown via John Nolen Drive (recently named one of the most beautiful commutes in America) which will take you along the shore of Lake Monona and right to Monona Terrace. Monona Terrace offers convenient parking, so park in their ramp and then take an elevator to their rooftop garden, which overlooks the lake with incredible views. There’s a little cafe up there that is open seasonally. Leave by taking the pedestrian walkway toward the capitol, where you’ll find a great photo op of the capitol on Martin Luther King Blvd. Our downtown is focused on the capitol square, so you’ll find a lot of bars, restaurants and museums around there as well as along all the streets that branch off of it. State Street is the most popular of these. It connects the Wisconsin State Capitol to the University of Wisconsin campus. The entire street is lined with bars, restaurants and shops. Walk from the capitol along State Street to the beautiful UW campus. End your trip by visiting UW’s Memorial Union Terrace for a beautiful view of Lake Mendota. It’s open to the public and they serve a great selection of local beer as well as Babcock Hall Ice-cream. Memorial Union Terrace feels like the heart of Madison in the summer, so don’t miss it!
Pro tips: plan this adventure so that you end at Memorial Union Terrace around sunset. You’ll have a front-row seat to the sailboats and beautiful sunset views. Madison also has a lot going on in the summer months and on various nights you’ll find these activities going on along this suggested route:
Wednesday Nights: Concerts on the Square – we pack our best blankets, cheese, and wine and cover the lawn around the capitol to play card games and listen to the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
Friday Nights: Live On King Street – a big street party that takes place on most Friday’s throughout the summer. Plan your trip around your favorite act! There’s also Rooftop Cinema on various Friday nights at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.
Saturdays: The Dane County Farmers’ Market – this is worth planning a trip around! Our farmers’ market is the largest producer-only farmers’ market in the United States and features more than 300 vendors situated around the capitol square. Grab a coffee, a scone and walk the entire market. Pick up Stella’s Spicy Cheese Bread and some locally made sausage so that you have a snack later in the day!
Sunday evenings: bring your lawn chair and take in a free Mad-City Ski Team show at Law Park on Lake Monona.
Both Monona Terrace and the Memorial Union Terrace have various events and live music happening throughout the summer. Check for Monona Terrace Events or Memorial Union Terrace Events.
Other favorite things in the area are a Betty Lou Cruise on the lake, an afternoon spent at one of our local beaches, or trying the city’s best cheese curds. My top choices are Gates and Brovi or The Old Fashioned. For the best cocktails in the city head to Merchant. If you’re looking for adventures try canoe camping on the Wisconsin River! It’s lined with beaches and sandbars and there’s no better way to spend a Wisconsin Summer! Madison is also a 45-minute drive from Devils Lake, a beautiful state park that offers swimming, hiking, and some of the best rock climbing in the Midwest. If you’re a little less outdoorsy you could spend a day in Wisconsin Dells, the waterpark capital of the world.
Connect with Dani at ThymeIsHoney.com, and on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
This article appeared in the Fall 2015 issue of Lakeshore Magazine. Subscribe HERE.
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