Jackie & Matt
Things To Do
State Street/Capitol Square Area
Explore restaurants and shops around Capitol Square and down the length of State Street. Some favorites include: • The Old Fashioned: 90+ Wisconsin beers on tap and the best fried cheese curds in town • Graze: Farm-to-table restaurant with good food and a great view • Cask & Ale: Great for cocktails and specialty drinks • The Ivory Room: Dueling pianos bar • Ian's Pizza: Late-night hot spot for Interesting pizza by-the-slice • Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Co: Local ice cream, for those looking to cool off in February
Wisconsin State Capitol
See the link for options for tours, otherwise feel free to just walk in and take a look! If you're staying at the hotel, we promise you won't have any problems finding the Capitol building, although finding your way back after exiting the extremely symmetrical building may be harder (hint: the hotel is on the SSW corner of Capitol square).
Wisconsin Veterans Museum
A really nice little museum steps away from the hotel. Admission is free!
Tenney Park & Ice Skating on Tenney Park Lagoon
A bit of a hike from the hotel (~2 miles), but a beautiful lagoon next to the lake for outdoor skating. Skate/hockey stick/puck/tape rentals are available. Check the website before going to get the latest ice status and rental availability! Tenney Park also has extensive frozen-lakefront access, a concrete pier, and the locks between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona.
Overture Center for the Arts
The Overture center is Madison's premier performing arts center with orchestras, operas, Broadway plays, and a variety of other events coming through. It's quite near the hotel as well. Check the events list for events while you're in town (currently an opera, dance event, and musician session), although probably best not to schedule over the wedding.
Rathskeller/Memorial Union Terrace
This is a bit of a hike from the Hotel (~1 mile), but is a Madison mainstay. The Terrace at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Memorial Union is jammed in the summer with music, brats, beer, sailboats, and students but is a bit more laid back in the winter. Right inside is the Rathskeller, a German-style beer hall in the student union building. Welcome to Wisconsin! (Near the Chazen Museum of Art)
Chazen Museum of Art
A free on-campus art museum with a variety of different styles of art. It's a bit of a hike (~1 mile) but is always fun to visit. (Near Rathskeller/Memorial Union Terrace)