Destinations
In-depth guides with real prices, honest opinions, and insider tips from years of Midwest travel.
Great Lakes
Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, and the cities along the greatest freshwater coastline on Earth.
Chicago
Deep dish or thin crust, jazz or blues, the Art Institute or the 606 Trail — Chicago is the most serious food and culture city in the Midwest by a significant margin and it knows it
From $70/day
Cleveland
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the obvious reason to visit and not actually the best reason — West Side Market, the Detroit-Shoreway arts district, and a restaurant scene that has quietly become exceptional
From $50/day
Detroit
The comeback story of the decade — the Eastern Market, Corktown's restaurant explosion, Motown's original studio still playing tours, and the DIA with one of the finest art collections in America inside a city that proved everyone wrong
From $50/day
Door County
A 70-mile Wisconsin peninsula with cherry orchards, fish boils, 11 lighthouses, and the kind of lakeside scenery that makes Midwest residents wonder why they ever fly to New England
From $80/day
Mackinac Island
A car-free island between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan where horses pull carriages past a Victorian hotel that has been open since 1887 and the fudge shops are an institution
From $90/day
Madison
The Wisconsin capital on an isthmus between two lakes — the State Street corridor from Capitol to UW campus is lined with independent shops, the Saturday farmers market around the Capitol square is the state's best, and cheese is a serious subject
From $50/day
Milwaukee
A Great Lakes city that got over its beer and manufacturing identity crisis and emerged with a Riverwalk, a Calatrava-designed art museum, Summerfest (the world's largest music festival), and excellent Polish food
From $55/day
Plains
Kansas City, Minneapolis, Omaha, Des Moines, and Madison. BBQ trails, craft beer, and wide-open spaces.
Des Moines
Iowa's capital punches above its weight with a downtown art center, the most walkable farmers market in the Midwest on Saturdays, and a food scene anchored by chefs who trained in Chicago and chose to come home
From $45/day
Kansas City
The best American barbecue debate ends here — Joe's KC, Q39, Gates, Burnt End BBQ — and the jazz history on 18th and Vine is a genuine American cultural landmark that most visitors never find
From $50/day
Minneapolis
More lakes within the city limits than any American city, Prince's hometown, the Walker Art Center, excellent Vietnamese food in South Minneapolis, and winters that build the kind of character most cities only claim
From $60/day
Omaha
Warren Buffett's hometown has a genuinely excellent Old Market district, the Durham Museum in a restored Union Station, and Omaha steaks that the locals have always known are the real story before the mail-order brand existed
From $45/day
St. Louis
The Gateway Arch rises 630 feet above the Mississippi and the free-to-visit grounds are more interesting than the monument itself — plus the St. Louis Art Museum, the Cardinals, and the best craft beer scene in the Midwest
From $50/day
Ohio Valley
Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Columbus, and St. Louis. River cities with world-class food, music, and sports.
Cincinnati
Skyline Chili (yes, over spaghetti, yes you should try it), the Cincinnati Art Museum free admission on weekdays, Over-the-Rhine's preserved German immigrant architecture, and the Reds playing at a downtown riverfront stadium with Cincinnati hill views
From $50/day
Columbus
The Short North arts district, Ohio State's campus energy, a craft brewery scene that punches well above the city's national reputation, and a food scene that has been quietly excellent for years without the Chicago headlines
From $45/day
Indianapolis
The Speedway at 500-mile race weekend is the largest single-day sporting event in the world — and the rest of the year Indianapolis has Mass Ave, excellent NCAA facilities, and a downtown that has been substantially rebuilt
From $50/day
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