Who live in Madison, WI or who visited before know what a great city it is. Visitors coming for the first time may not know what to do first so here is the list compiled by our staff at The Speckled Hen Inn. There are many interesting thing to do when you visiting Madison, Wisconsin. Discover enriching themes--culture, heritage, environment, historical
significance, leadership, and community--delivered in a meaningful and
memorable way that is uniquely Madison. In
addition there are more than 15 tourist attraction that we can visited, such as; Lake Mendota, The Madison Children's Museum, The Chazen Museum of Art, The Memorial Union, Lake Monona, The Wisconsin State Capitol and many more. Before we informs the tourist attraction in Madison, Wisconsin, let we informs how the city itself.
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. As of July 1, 2012, Madison had an estimated population of 240,323, making it the second largest city in Wisconsin, after Milwaukee, and the 81st largest in the United States. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Dane County and neighboring Iowa and Columbia counties. The Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area had a 2010 population of 568,593. Madison is located in the center of Dane County in south-central Wisconsin, 77 miles (124 km) west of Milwaukee and 122 miles (196 km) northwest of Chicago. The city completely surrounds the smaller Town of Madison, the City of Monona, and the villages of Maple Bluff and Shorewood Hills. Madison shares borders with its largest suburb, Sun Prairie, and three other communities, Middleton, McFarland and Fitchburg. The city's boundaries also approach the villages of Verona, Cottage Grove, DeForest, and Waunakee.
1. Lake Mendota
Lake Mendota is the northernmost and largest of the four lakes in Madison, Wisconsin. The lake borders Madison on the north, east and south, Middleton on the west, Shorewood Hills on the southwest, Maple Bluff on the northeast, and Westport on the northwest. The shorelines of Lakes Mendota and Monona define the isthmus upon which Madison was built, with the lakes connected by the Yahara River. The Wisconsin State Capitol building and much of the state government is located in this narrow stretch of land. The University of Wisconsin–Madison campus is situated along the southern shore of Lake Mendota. In the early 20th century, Chancey Juday and Edward A. Birge founded an influential school of limnology there as a component of the university. The university's Hoofer Sailing Club operates at Memorial Union.
2. The Madison Children's Museum
The Madison Children's Museum is a museum for children in Madison, Wisconsin, that contains exhibits on the arts, sciences, history, culture, health, and civic engagement. Madison Children’s Museum was founded in 1980 by a group of early childhood specialists. The founding board of directors and volunteers built traveling exhibits that were displayed at neighborhood centers, parks and playgrounds. They also operated a pilot museum in the basement of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. The success of the pilot program prompted the museum to relocate to a warehouse at Bedford and West Washington.
3. The Chazen Museum of Art
The Chazen Museum of Art is an art museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums located at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. Until 2005 the Museum was known as the Elvehjem Museum of Art, in honour to Conrad Elvehjem, an internationally known biochemist in nutrition. In 1937 Elvehjem identified a molecule found in fresh meat and yeast as a new vitamin, nicotinic acid, now called niacin.[1] His discovery led directly to the cure of human pellagra, once a major health problem in the United States. In May 2005 the Museum was renamed to Chazen Museum of Art after a $20 million donation from Simona and Jerome A. Chazen (one of the founders of Liz Claiborne and also UW–Madison alumnus) towards an expansion of the museum. The museum was supposed to raise the remaining $15 million required for the expansion. The building housing the museum retains the Elvehjem name.
4. The Memorial Union
The Memorial Union, known locally as simply "the Union", is located on the shore of Lake Mendota on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. On the lakeshore to the north of the building is the Terrace, a popular outdoor space overlooking Lake Mendota. It has gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful student centers on a university campus. Outside the main building is the Memorial Union Terrace, a stone outdoor dining and recreation area on the shore of Lake Mendota. The Terrace was designed by Peabody's daughter, Charlotte. It is a popular spot among students and local residents for socializing because of the backdrop of the lake, with its view of sailboats, and the sound of live music, usually free to the public in the evening. The Wisconsin Union Directorate funds music on the Terrace four nights a week in the summer, and on the Terrace or in der Rathskeller on weekends during the school year (depending on weather).
5. Lake Monona
Lake Monona is a freshwater drainage lake in Dane County, Wisconsin surrounded on three sides by the city of Madison, Wisconsin and on the south side by the city of Monona, Wisconsin. It is the second-largest of a chain of four lakes along the Yahara River (also including Mendota, Kegonsa, and Waubesa) in the area and forms the south shore of the isthmus that forms downtown Madison. The name 'Monona' is a Chippewa word believed to mean 'beautiful', although the lake was originally named by the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) 'Tchee-ho-bo-kee-xa-te-la' or 'Teepee Lake'.
6. The Wisconsin State Capitol
The Wisconsin State Capitol, in Madison, Wisconsin, houses both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature along with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor. Completed in 1917, the building is the fifth to serve as the Wisconsin capitol since the first territorial legislature convened during 1836 and the third building since Wisconsin was granted statehood during 1848. The streets surrounding the building form the Capitol Square which is home to many restaurants and shops. The Wisconsin State Capitol is the tallest building in Madison.
7. Olbrich Botanical Gardens
Olbrich Botanical Gardens is located in Madison, Wisconsin. Named for its founder, Michael Olbrich, the gardens are owned and operated jointly by the City of Madison Parks and the non-profit Olbrich Botanical Society. The gardens were officially established in 1952. Noteworthy additions to the gardens were the Bolz Conservatory in 1991 and a Thai pavilion or sala, a gift to the University of Wisconsin–Madison from the Thai Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association and the government of Thailand through its king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Opened in 2002, it is one of only four sala outside of Thailand and one of two in the United States (the other is located in Hawaii).
8. Monona Terrace
Monona Terrace (officially the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center) is a convention center on the shores of Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin. Monona Terrace is located two blocks from the Wisconsin State Capitol building in downtown Madison. From the roof of Monona Terrace, one can see views of downtown Madison, including the Capitol and a panoramic view of Lake Monona. The facility hosts over 600 conventions, meetings and weddings each year that result in an average of $52 million in economic activity for the region. Monona Terrace also runs free community programs that serve approximately 56,000 people each year. Monona Terrace also offers a daily guided tour, a gift shop, a rooftop cafe (warm weather months only), and serves as the home for some of the community's events including the national radio variety show Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?, Dane Dances, Ironman Wisconsin, and U.S. Bank Eve.
9. Henry Vilas Zoo
Henry Vilas Zoo is a 28-acre (11 ha) public zoo in Madison, Wisconsin, United States that is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Owned by the city of Madison, the zoo charges no admission or parking fees. It receives over 750,000 visitors annually. Primates living at the zoo include Bornean orangutans, mantled guerezas, golden lion tamarins, white-headed marmosets, and lar gibbons. Other mammals represented are grizzly bears, Bactrian camels, reticulated giraffes, harbor seals, meerkats, lions, goats, American bison, prairie dogs, an American badger, porcupines, red pandas, tapirs, white rhinoceroses, black bears, polar bears, Barbados sheep, river otters, capybaras, kangaroos, wallabies, and a tiger. Reptiles include alligators, a variety of turtles and tortoises, native rattlesnakes, and anacondas. Birds include ostriches, flamingos, penguins, rheas and peacocks. Amphibians residing include the marine toad, poison arrow frog, and tree frog.
10. Overture Center for the Arts
Overture Center for the Arts is a performing arts center and art gallery in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. The center opened on September 19, 2004, replacing the former Civic Center. In addition to several theaters, the center also houses the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. The center was commissioned by Jerome Frautschi, designed by Cesar Pelli, and built by J.H. Findorff and Son. Frautschi paid $205 million to construct the building, making it the largest private gift to the arts of its kind.[citation needed] It was intended to replace the Madison Civic Center, located on the same block on State Street.
