Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By Bus
The
Milwaukee County Transit System
(414/344-6711,
www.ridemcts.com
) operates
loadsofbuses.Thesystemalsohasgoodoptionsforfreetrolleyloopsarounddowntownin
summer. You can save 25 percent by buying a 10-pack of tickets.
Organized Tours
Increasingly popular are Milwaukee River (and occasionally Lake Michigan harbor) cabin
cruiser tours, some also offering dining cruises.
The venerable
Iroquois
boat tours of Milwaukee Boat Lines (414/294-9450,
www.mkeboat.com
,
1pmand3pmSat.-Sun.,1pmMon.-Fri.June-Aug.,$15adults)departs
fromtheClybournStreetBridgeonthewestbankoftheMilwaukeeRiverandoffersscenic
narrated tours. Sporadic evening tours are also offered June-September.
Riverwalk Boat Tours and Rental
(Pere Marquette Park, 414/283-9999,
www.riverwalkboats.com
)
offers a number of tours, most of them themed for imbibing, in-
cluding a weekend brewery tour taking in three local microbreweries ($29). You can also
rent your own pontoon boat ($55 per hour).
At the Municipal Pier, south of the Milwaukee Art Museum, the replica 19th-century
schooner
Denis Sullivan
(414/276-7700,
www.discoveryworld.org
) is Wisconsin through
and through, with all lumber culled from northern Wisconsin forests; it is more than 130
feet long with three 95-foot native white pine masts. Technically it's a floating classroom,
part of the new nonprofit Pier Wisconsin project, but its pricey tours ($25 children, $50-55
adults)areavailabletoanyoneinterestedinmaritimehistoryandecology.They'realsojaw-
droppingly spectacular, not to mention better-than-any-book educational. Sailing schedules
vary year to year (and by season).
You can do it yourself by hopping aboard an old-fashioned
trolley
(free!) from Mil-
waukeeCountyTransitSystem(414/344-6711,
www.ridemcts.com
).Scheduleshavevaried
quite a bit, but service has generally been Wednesday-Sunday, summer only. Note that
Brewers games and other sights outside the downtown are not served (the city has special
summer shuttles for these).
Perhaps the most Milwaukee way to tour the city would be aboard a rumbling Harley-
Davidson. Organized group tours no longer operate, but
House of Harley
(6221 W. Layton
Ave.,414/282-2211,
www.houseofharley.com
)
hastheblessingsofHarley-Davidsontorent
brand-new motorcycles; better, they can offer classes on how to ride 'em, too.
