In this guide, we will be looking at Where to stay in Milwaukee, best areas to stay in Milwaukee for tourists (with a map and video), safest places to stay in Milwaukee, and best hotels in Milwaukee for all budgets.
Milwaukee is a city in Wisconsin, located on Lake Michigan with a history dated back to the mid-19th Century. The Great Lakes are a moderating influence but Milwaukee still experiences real winters. You can expect to find a culturally diverse city if you visit with the influence of German immigrants still found today. That is evident from its reputation for brewing alone.
Milwaukee is relatively safe for visitors but you should be aware of surrounding, avoid walking alone at night as you would travel to any other cities. You should also avoid the neighborhood of Metcalfe Park which is one of Milwaukee’s most dangerous areas.
If you are looking for the safest areas in Milwaukee, look into Lower East Side, Historic Third Ward, and Bay View. These neighborhoods also offer plenty of things to do and see for visitors.
Where to stay in Milwaukee?
The best areas to stay in Milwaukee are East Side – Downtown, Historic Third Ward, Westown, Bay View, Wauwatosa, Brewer’s Hill, Riverwest. These are the most populars neighborhoods in the city that offers a wide range of tourist attractions and amenities.
Downtown Milwaukee is the overall best area to stay in Milwaukee for first-timers due to its central location and wide range of accommodations for all budgets. Downtown encompasses smaller neighborhoods: the East Side, Historic Third Ward, and Westown.
Milwaukee has excellent transport facilities. They include shuttle services to and from the Milwaukee Airport. In addition, the bus services are comprehensive and handicap-friendly. If you prefer you can use taxis or limo services as well.
Downtown, Bay View, Westown, or East Side are the best places to stay Milwaukee without a car. They are walkable neighborhoods with a good public transport system. You can also get around by using the MCTS bus service, the Bublr bike share system, the Amtrak train, and Greyhound bus.
The nicest neighborhoods in Milwaukee that you should look to for hotels are generally in the east, the shores of Lake Michigan. Winter is the low season with prices reflecting that but money should not be a factor limiting a Milwaukee visit.
Milwaukee’s reputation as a city that produces beer and spirits means that there is always plenty to do at night; bars and clubs. If nightlife is important to you, the heart of Milwaukee is the first area to look at. There are other districts as well.
Milwaukee is served by Mitchell International Airport, located 6 miles south of the city centre. Its name remembers a famed US Army General, born in Milwaukee, Billy Mitchell.
| 💖 Best Area for first-timers: | Milwaukee Downtown |
| 💎 Best luxury hotel: | The Pfister Hotel |
| 🏨 Best mid-range hotel: | Hilton Milwaukee City Center |
| 💰 Best budget hotel: | Hyatt Place Milwaukee Downtown |
Map of best neighborhoods to stay in Milwaukee:
7 Best areas to stay in Milwaukee for tourists are:
1. East Side – Downtown
Downtown is the best area to stay in Milwaukee for first-time travelers. It has a super central location and it offers widest range of lodging, shopping, dining, and nightlife.
Located between the Milwaukee River and the shore of Lake Michigan, East Side (often referred to as Downtown) has been the center of Milwaukee for over half a century.
East Side is within walking distance of some of the best attractions in the city, a great selection of bars and restaurants; Lower East Side is one of the safest areas to stay in Milwaukee.
The best bars and shopping, music clubs, and theatres are all on the East Side. The eclectic, colorful street Brady Street is one of the city’s nightlife hubs. The North Avenue area is filled with jazz clubs, restaurants, and indie movie theaters.
The University of Wisconsin- Michigan campus is here as are many of the luxury homes built in its early days. The East Side developed in the 19th Century and was the heart of Milwaukee’s commerce. Some of its architecture reflects the olden days in a variety of styles; Classical Revivalist, Renaissance Revivalist, Queen Anne, and Italianate among them.
The area’s parks include Lake Park and Riverside Park both of which were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who was responsible for New York’s Central Park.
Lake Park dates back to the last decade of the 19th Century and covers nearly 140 acres. You will find plenty of open spaces that will remind you of meadows. Take the winding trails laid out in wood and you will reach the North Point Lighthouse.
Some great views will encourage you to get your camera out for shots over Lake Michigan. The Park is pet-friendly and entry to the Park is free.
Riverside Park is just 12 acres, largely wooded. The path was once the railroad line and heads down to the river. There are sports amenities including tennis courts and a football field.
On the shore of Lake Michigan, also lies the Veterans Park. It has the paved Oak Leaf Trail and a 14-acre lagoon with paddle boat rentals. it is is busy on spring and summer weekends, and hosts various events during the year.
Art lovers and history buffs can visit the Milwaukee Art Museum, Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, Grohmann Museum, Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, and Marcus Performing Arts Center.
Another interesting place to visit is the Sculpture Milwaukee, an open-air exhibition that runs along Wisconsin Avenue with an extension into the Historic Third Ward.
Families can take their kids to the Discovery World. Its aquarium has published feeding times for rays and pythons. In the summer, you can board a 19th Century ship and sail out onto Lake Michigan.
Tours of breweries and distilleries are a local favorite. Look for ones for Lakefront Brewery and Great Lakes Distillery. Milwaukee is famous for its beer but the Distillery opened in 2004. There had not been a distillery in Wisconsin since the 1930s Prohibition until 2004. Wisconsin grain makes distilling an obvious local industry.
The downtown also hosts numerous festivals such as Bastille Days, Jazz in the Park, the Cathedral Square Market at Milwaukee’s Cathedral Square Park; Firkin Fest, and the Lakefront Festival of Art that attract many locals and tourists each year.
Students, young professionals, and quite a few hippies live in the East Side and its amenities reflect that. It means that the area is neither expensive nor exclusive. Your choice of hotels, if you want to be close to the East Side, includes many of the main international chains.
They also include budget bed and breakfast places as well as rental apartments. Another interesting alternative is the County Clare Irish Inn and Pub where you can enjoy good hospitality and comfortable accommodation.
Best places to stay in Milwaukee Downtown:
mid-range ($$): The Pfister Hotel, 4-star hotel in downtown,10-minute walk from the Milwaukee Art Museum. It features guest rooms with free wifi, a flat-screen TV, an MP3 docking station, and a private bathroom with spa bath amenities, a hairdryer, and a telephone.
mid-range ($$): Hilton Milwaukee City Center, 4-star hotel that is connected by an indoor skywalk to the Wisconsin Center convention facility. The hotel offers multiple restaurants, a bar, a full-service Starbucks, and a business center.
budget ($): Hyatt Place Milwaukee Downtown, great accommodation located just across the street from the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center, home of the Milwaukee Bucks. This 3-star hotel is close to Miller Park, and Milwaukee Airport.
budget ($) Drury Plaza Hotel Milwaukee Downtown, 3 star situated near Marquette University. It has a restaurant, private parking, a fitness center, a bar, an ATM, an indoor pool, a 24-hour front desk, and free WiFi.
budget ($): Best Western Plus Milwaukee West, short drive from Wisconsin State Fair Park and Expo Center and the Milwaukee County Zoo.
Hilton Garden Inn Milwaukee Downtown this hotel offers spacious rooms, close to BMO Harris Bradley Center, Frontier Airlines Center, and the shores of Lake Michigan.
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2. Historic Third Ward
Located just south of downtown Milwaukee, Historic Third Ward is Milwaukee’s Arts and Fashion District that stretches from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in the south to Milwaukee Public Market in the north. This upscale, trendy section of downtown Milwaukee is a safe neighborhood to stay in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Public Market has something for everyone. It includes cooking classes, some aimed entirely at kids. Local food and drink are on sale as well as Brew City Brand clothing.
It’s a great place to do shopping and dining with many award-winning restaurants, art galleries, high-end shops, and national retailers like Warby Parker, Anthropologie, and West Elm.
This revitalized warehouse district is home to art galleries and studios, the creative hub of Milwaukee. It is due east of the Harley-Davidson Museum with its eastern boundary Lake Michigan. Former warehouses have become artistic venues and that includes places for live performances of all kinds.
Look out for the Broadway Theater Center as a good example. It is a very ornate building and interior. It is similar to European theatres of a similar age and has a 350 seat theatre and a smaller one with just 99 seats.
The dining scene in Third Ward provides great support to the arts while fashion boutiques are also plentiful. Milwaukee Public Market sells the best of local produce as well as holding special events, cookery demonstrations, and more.
Henry W Maier Festival Park in Third Ward is a venue for concerts and other events. Its main annual event is Summerfest, one of the largest music festivals in the world.
Third Ward is in the National Register of Historic Places. It is reclaimed swampland with the Irish among the early settlers. A huge fire destroyed many buildings here in1892 leading to a big redevelopment policy over the next three decades. Italian businesses emerged and there remains a significant Italian-American population today.
The award-winning Third Ward Riverwalk linking Third Ward to Milwaukee downtown is very popular with locals and visitors. Third Ward is definitely a district that offers plenty of attractions as you walk around.
- The Wirth, Hammel & Co Stables once held 150 horses but it subsequently became an auto sales venue.
- The Milwaukee Fire Department building replaced one destroyed in that fire.
- National Distilling Company was the original tenant of a late 19th Century building but prohibition changed its usage. Today, the building is mostly offices.
- Henry C Koch designed a 6 storey building in 1893 which has had many uses over the years.
The Pabst Brewing Company and the American Candy Company were original tenants of other 19th Century buildings.
Other places of interest are Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, American Family Insurance Amphitheater, Lakeshore State Park, the Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse, and Harley-Davidson Museum.
The Harley-Davidson Museum covers 20 acres. There are permanent displays to enjoy as well as special exhibitions. There is even a Harley that was recovered from the 2011 Tsunami in Japan. The history of this iconic motorbike will be much clearer after a visit here.
American Family Field (formerly Miller Park when there was a 20-year sponsorship deal) is the stadium where the City’s baseball team, the Brewers play. They play in the Central Division of the Major League, winning their last Divisional title in 2018.
The regular season of Milwaukee Brewers runs from spring to autumn when most visitors would choose to go to Milwaukee anyway. The stadium’s capacity is almost 42,000. It is easy to get transport to a game from most parts of the City.
Best places to stay in Milwaukee in Historic Third Ward:
Check out my virtual tour about the best places to stay in Milwaukee:
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3. Westown
Located on the west bank of Milwaukee River stretching out towards Interstate 43, the bustling neighborhood of Westown makes up half of downtown. This vibrant entertainment district has plenty of hotels, restaurants, shops, offices, and apartments.
Westown is home to many attractions like Historic Old World Third Street, The Brewery, the Milwaukee Riverwalk, sports arenas, and many important cultural institutions.
Highlight cultural sights are Milwaukee Public Museum, The Riverside Theater, Miller High Life Theater, Milwaukee County Historical Society, Turner Hall Ballroom, and Wisconsin Center.
Pabst Mansion was the home of one of Milwaukee’s brewing giants, Captain Frederick Pabst. Finished in 1892 at a cost of $0.25m, it was the height of luxury in those days with the main building having 37 rooms.
Westown is a great place to stay for sports lovers with numerous sporting venues like the Milwaukee Bucks, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, and the Fiserv Forum Arena.
The historic heart of Milwaukee’s German community, Old World Third Street offers a vibrant nightlife within a short stroll from the stadiums, a great place to have a drink after watching sports games. The Deer District is also great for nightlife with many trendy bars and restaurants.
Best places to stay in Wilmaukee in Westown:
- SpringHill Suites by Marriott Milwaukee Downtown
- Hilton Milwaukee City Center
- Courtyard Milwaukee Downtown
4. Bay View
Head south from the East Side and you will come to Bay View which as the name suggests is close to Lake Michigan. The hip and eclectic area of Bay View is popular with families and young professionals. Bay View is generally extremely safe with some of the lowest crime rates in comparison to other area, it is one of the best neighborhoods to live in Milwaukee.
At one time Bay View was a separate village. It was the first permanent European settlement in the area back in the 1830s. Twenty years later, real development took place just to the north, the beginnings of today’s East Side.
However, the railroad came to Bay View at that time with links to Green Bay and Chicago. The steel industry followed to provide rails for the engines and with work came growth. It was a village of 4,000 people when it became part of Milwaukee as a whole in 1887.
Bay View Historic District became an entry in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Over 300 buildings, the most recent over a century old, get protection because of this listing.
They include:
- The Garibaldi Club was once a brewery and now acts as a meeting place for current Italians, descendants of early immigrants.
- The Bullock House in Queen Anne style, built in 1889. The owner worked in the steel mill before going into real estate.
- The Estes House, home to early pioneers, in Italianate style and dating from 1878. Those pioneers owned the land that is Milwaukee City today.
- Starkey House built by the Milwaukee Iron Company for the then manager of the Mills.
Bay View also has green spaces, most notably Humboldt Park and South Shore Park. The latter has trails, courts for volleyball and softball, and a pavilion in front of a nice beach.
There is also the South Shore Yacht Club. Humboldt Park also offers good recreational facilities including the chance to skate or play ice hockey in the winter.
Nearby, the Basilica of St. Josaphat is a copy of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It was early Polish immigrants who sought a place to worship in the middle of the 19th Century who ensured there was a significant catholic local population by 7 churches built over the remainder of the Century. At the turn of the Century, the Basilica was built to cater for a congregation of around 12,000.
Bay View is also close to General Mitchell International Airport, a great place to stay if you have early flights or late arrival.
Best places to stay in Milwaukee in Bay View:
5. Wauwatosa
Located just 15 minutes west of downtown, Wauwatosa (also known as Tosa by locals) is a charming small-town. The neighborhood is packed with local shops and restaurants.
In this area, you will find Milwaukee Regional Medical Center, and numerous colleges and universities.
Families with kids will love to spend a fun day out with many outdoor activities in one of its green parks such as Tosa Skate Park at Hart Park; Hoyt Park with TOSA Pool and the adjacent The Landing Beer Garden; Milwaukee County Zoo;
Shoppers also have great opportunities to shop with many popular national brands, boutique shops at Wauwatosa’s newest shopping center, The Mayfair Collection.
In summer and fall, the city hosts a Tosa Farmers Market where you can buy handcrafted soaps, clothes, and the county’s freshest produce.
Apart from the parks, and shopping, Wauwatosa boasts a couple of historical landmarks such as the Greek Orthodox Annunciation Church and the Lowell Damon House.
- Radisson Hotel Milwaukee West
- Homewood Suites By Hilton Wauwatosa Milwaukee
- SpringHill Suites by Marriott Milwaukee West/Wauwatosa
6. Brewer’s Hill
Brewer’s Hill has a colorful history. It is north of Milwaukee downtown and after commercial prosperity, the neighborhood deteriorated before its revival.
In the 19th Century, its population was recent immigrants, including a significant number of Germans. Milwaukee‘s fame for brewing beer is down to German immigration to a large part.
There were plenty of factories and retail outlets. Some residences were very grand, those belonging to business owners. Others were much smaller, the homes of ordinary workers. These homes were often side by side. The main industrial part was close to the Milwaukee River where mills, tanneries, and brewers made their headquarters.
The 20th Century was not kind to Brewer’s Hill Over the first six or seven decades, business declined and many buildings were abandoned. Investment fell and the population changed as well. It became a neighborhood of East Europeans, Afro-Americans, and Puerto Ricans. The impetus for revival began in the 1970s when the Historic Brewers Hill Association was formed.
Today, you will find plenty of good restaurants, excellent shopping, and even a trail for hikers and cyclists. The Lakefront Brewery Tour is very popular with Friday nights, fish and live music are the attractions.
Swing Park, Sanger House Gardens, and the Riverwalk are also reasons to visit or stay in Brewer’s Hill. Sanger House Gardens cover less than an acre but it holds over 400 different species of plants including some tropicals that can survive Milwaukee’s climate. Incidentally, bed and breakfast accommodation is available in the Carriage House as well.
Schiltz and Blatz Breweries both left Brewer’s Hill but there are some great bars in the area that more than compensate. Lakefront is a microbrewery that welcomes visitors as already mentioned. The Brown Bottle, Wolf Peach, Foundation Bar, and Wolski’s Tavern are all worth a visit.
7. Riverwest
If you are looking for a neighborhood with a little of everything, take a look at Riverwest. It is a fairly small neighborhood in east Milwaukee but without a frontage directly on Lake Michigan.
You may want a nice bar or restaurant, live music, something a little offbeat. In that case, Riverwest may be for you. There is a real feeling of community in Riverwest. It has its own radio station, co-op, and community bar.
Riverwest 24 is an annual 24-hour bike race which is one long street party as much as anything else. It began in July 2007 and today over 1,000 cyclists set out at 7.00 pm for the 24-hour cycle. They get a point a lap after passing 4 checkpoints.
The prizes for the most points in the different categories are an ice sculpture and a case of beer. Bonus points are available as well and earned by getting off their bikes to involve themselves in different activities.
Many musicians, artists, and writers make Riverwest their home. The result is that there is also vibrancy in the neighborhood. Ideas develop in such an environment and there is always something going on.
Company Brewing makes its own beer, hosting musicians, local and national with food every day of the week. Other places to check out are The Gig, High Dive and Linneman’s Riverwest Inn.
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In conclusion, East Side – Downtown, Historic Third Ward, Westown, Bay View, Wauwatosa, Brewer’s Hill, Riverwest are the best places to stay in Milwaukee for tourists. They offer a wide range of accommodations for all budgets.
Overall, Downtown is the best area to stay in Milwaukee due to its prime location. If you stay here, if you be located in the middle of action within walking distance to many tourist attractons, as well as any restaurants, bars, and shops.