Discover 35 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Madison (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Wisconsin State Capitol, Memorial Union Terrace, and Henry Vilas Zoo. Also, be sure to include Statue of Hans Christian Heg in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Madison (Wisconsin).
Table of Contents
Wisconsin State Capitol
Building in Madison, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin State Capitol, located 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 in 1836 and the third building since Wisconsin was granted statehood in 1848. The Wisconsin State Capitol is the tallest building in Madison, a distinction that has been preserved by legislation that prohibits buildings taller than the columns surrounding the dome. The Capitol is located at the southwestern end of the Madison Isthmus. The streets surrounding the building form the Capitol Square, which is home to many restaurants and shops.[1]
Address: 2 E Main St, 53703 Madison (Isthmus)
Memorial Union Terrace
The Memorial 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.[2]
Address: 800 Langdon St, 53706 Madison (Isthmus)
Henry Vilas Zoo
Free destination with global wildlife. Henry Vilas Zoo is a 28-acre public zoo in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, that is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Owned by Dane County, the zoo charges no admission or parking fees. It receives over 750,000 visitors annually.[3]
Address: 702 S Randall Ave, 53715 Madison (Near West)
Statue of Hans Christian Heg
Hans Christian Heg is a statue by Paul Fjelde that was cast in 1925 and installed at the Wisconsin State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin, United States in 1926. The bronze statue depicting the Union soldier and abolitionist Hans Christian Heg was torn down by rioters, decapitated and thrown into a lake in June 2020. The Wisconsin state government restored and reinstalled the original statue in September 2021.
Two further casts of the statue were made in 1925: one stands in Heg Memorial Park, in Racine County, Wisconsin, near the Heg family home, and the other in Haugestad, near the family's home town in Norway.[4]
Wisconsin Union Theater
Performing arts theater in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin Union Theater is a performing arts center in Madison, Wisconsin, located in the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Memorial Union. Wisconsin Union Theater performances include world stage, concerts, dance, jazz and other special events.[5]
Address: 800 Langdon St, 53706 Madison (Isthmus)
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum in Madison, Wisconsin. The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, formerly known as the Madison Art Center, is an independent, non-profit art museum located in downtown Madison, Wisconsin.
MMoCA is dedicated to exhibiting, collecting, and preserving modern and contemporary art. Its mission is to educate and inspire by means of rotating permanent collection exhibitions, special exhibitions, film series, and educational programming. The museum opened in its current home adjacent to the Overture Center for the Arts on April 23, 2006. Both MMoCA and the Overture Center were designed by world-renowned architect César Pelli.[6]
Address: 227 State St, 53703 Madison (Isthmus)
Olbrich Botanical Gardens
Botanical garden in Madison, Wisconsin. Olbrich Botanical Gardens is a 16 acre outdoor botanical garden and 10,000-square-foot conservatory in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1952 and 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.
Noteworthy additions to the gardens were the Bolz Conservatory in 1991, and a Thai 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 six sala outside of Thailand and one of two in the United States (the other is located in Hawaii).[7]
Address: 3330 Atwood Ave, 53704 Madison (Near East)
Washburn Observatory
Observatory in Madison, Wisconsin. The Washburn Observatory is an astronomical observatory located at 1401 Observatory Drive on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Completed in 1881, it was a major research facility for about 50 years. Today, it is home to the UW-Madison College of Letters and Science Honors Program, while the telescope remains in use by students in introductory astronomy courses and the general public during open houses and viewings.[8]
Address: 1401 Observatory Dr, 53706-1209 Madison (Near West)
Monona Terrace
Convention center in Madison, Wisconsin. Monona Terrace is a convention center on the shores of Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin.[9]
Address: 1 John Nolen Dr, 53703 Madison (Isthmus)
Camp Randall Stadium
Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a fully functioning stadium since 1917. The oldest and fifth largest stadium in the Big Ten Conference, Camp Randall is the 41st largest stadium in the world, with a seating capacity of 80,321.
The field has a conventional north-south alignment, at an approximate elevation of 880 feet (270 m) above sea level.[10]
Address: 1440 Monroe St, 53711 Madison (Near West)
Dane County Farmers' Market
Farmers' market in Madison, Wisconsin. The Dane County Farmers' Market is America's largest producers-only farmers' market. It is held from April to November on Saturday mornings on the Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin and on Wednesday mornings on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. From November to December, it is held indoors at the Monona Terrace. Starting in January 2020, it is held at the Garver Feed Mill in Monona through early April, when the outdoor market starts. Throughout the year, a pool of about 275 vendors of agriculturally-related products from Wisconsin, including farmers, food trucks, artists, and more sell fruits, vegetables, flowers, plants, meats, cheeses, nuts, and specialty products. During the summer, the market hosts 150 vendors who completely encircle the state capitol. USA Today listed it as the top-rated market in the state and it placed fifth for the country in a reader's poll. Fox News said the Farmers' Market was one of the reasons why Madison is a top foodie paradise.
The farmers' market was founded in 1972 by Madison Mayor Bill Dyke, who sought to unite Dane County's urban and rural cultures. It is currently managed by the Dane County Farmers' Market co-op.[11]
Address: Capitol Square, 53703 Madison (Isthmus)
Kohl Center
Sports venue in Madison, Wisconsin. The Kohl Center is an arena and athletic center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The building, which opened in 1998, is the home of the university's men's basketball and ice hockey teams, and the women's basketball team. It also housed the university's women's ice hockey team through 2012, after which they moved into the adjacent LaBahn Arena. Seating capacity is variable, as the center can be rearranged to accommodate a basketball court, a hockey rink, or a concert. The maximum capacity is 17,287 in its basketball configuration, and 15,359 for ice hockey. The center has three levels, with the floor holding about 7,500 people, and the two upper balconies about 4,500 each. It is the second largest indoor venue in Wisconsin and the largest outside Milwaukee. The arena is located on the southeast corner of the UW–Madison campus, at the intersection of West Dayton and North Frances Streets.[12]
Address: 601 W Dayton St, 53715 Madison (Isthmus)
Chazen Museum of Art
Art museum in Madison, Wisconsin. The Chazen Museum of Art is an art museum located at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The Chazen Museum of Art is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.[13]
Address: 750 University Ave, 53706 Madison (Isthmus)
First Unitarian Society of Madison
Unitarian universalist church in Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin. The First Unitarian Society of Madison is a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin. Its meeting house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built by Marshall Erdman in 1949–1951, and has been designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark for its architecture. With over 1,000 members, it is one of the ten largest Unitarian Universalist congregations in the United States.[14]
Address: 900 University Bay Dr, 53705-2249 Madison (Near West)
Lake Mendota
Lake in Wisconsin. Lake Mendota is a freshwater eutrophic lake that 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. Lake Mendota acquired its present name in 1849 following a proposal by a surveyor named Frank Hudson, who claimed to be familiar with local Native American languages; Lyman C. Draper, the first corresponding secretary of the Wisconsin Historical Society, proposed that 'Mendota' could have been a Chippewa word meaning 'large' or 'great.'[15]
Alliant Energy Center
Coliseum in the Dane County, Wisconsin. Alliant Energy Center is a multi-building complex located in unincorporated Madison, Wisconsin. It comprises 164 acres of greenspace and includes the 255,000-square-foot Exhibition Hall, the 10,000-seat Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the 29-acre Willow Island and the 22,000-square-foot Arena. After completing various stages of planning throughout 2013, it was announced on November 26 that Dane County would be awarding a $20.7 million contract to Miron Construction for the construction of two new multi-use pavilions at the Alliant Energy Center. The exhibition pavilions, which total 290,000 square feet, will be replacing the nine current agricultural barns. Construction began following the Midwest Horse Fair in April 2014 with completion set in time for the 2014 World Dairy Expo in late September. The Center welcomes more than one million people attending more than 500 events annually, ranging from local meetings and banquets to large sporting events and major concerts.[16]
Address: 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, 53713 Madison (South Madison)
Burrows Park
Burrows Park Effigy Mound and Campsite is an archaeological site in Burrows Park in Madison, Wisconsin. The site includes a bird-shaped effigy mound with an 128-foot wingspan; it once included a fox-shaped mound as well, though it has been destroyed. The mound was built by Mound Builders during the Late Woodland period, likely between 700 and 1200 A.D. The Mound Builders used effigy mounds as burial sites, and bird-shaped mounds represented sky spirits in their religion; effigies of other animals were used to represent different elements. A 1934 restoration project repaired vandalism to the mound and cleaned up its surroundings.[17]
Address: 25 Burrows Rd, Madison (Near East)
Confederate Rest
Confederate Rest, in Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin, is the northernmost Confederate graveyard in the nation. In it lie 140 Confederate prisoners of war who died under Union captivity.[18]
Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Museum in Madison, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Veterans Museum, located on Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, is dedicated to telling the stories of the veterans of the state of Wisconsin.
The museum is composed of two galleries that chronicle the history of Wisconsin citizens who served in the U.S. military from the American Civil War to present day. The Wisconsin Veterans Museum is an educational activity of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs.
The museum dates to 1901 when it was established as the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall in the Wisconsin State Capitol.[19]
Address: 30 W Mifflin St Ste 200, 53703 Madison (Isthmus)
L. R. Ingersoll Physics Museum
Museum. The L.R. Ingersoll Physics Museum is located on the second floor of Chamberlin Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. It is one of several museums on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus that focus on hands-on exhibits and public outreach. The museum runs on donations and charges no admission.[20]
Address: 1150 University Ave, Madison (Near West)
Gates of Heaven Synagogue
Synagogue in Madison, Wisconsin. Shaarei Shamayim has been the name of two Jewish congregations in Madison, Wisconsin. The first, dating to the 19th century but no longer in existence, built what is now the eighth-oldest synagogue building still standing in the United States. The second congregation, dating to 1989, is the sole Reconstructionist congregation in Madison.[21]
Address: 302 East Gorham Street, Madison (Isthmus)
UW Geology Museum
Museum in Madison, Wisconsin. The UW–Madison Geology Museum is a geology and paleontology museum housed in Weeks Hall, in the southwest part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. The museum's main undertakings are exhibits, outreach to the public, and research. It has the second highest attendance of any museum at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, exceeded only by the Chazen Museum of Art. The museum charges no admission.[22]
Address: 1215 W Dayton St, 53706 Madison (Near West)
Camp Randall
Tourist attraction in Madison, Wisconsin. Camp Randall was a United States Army base in Madison, Wisconsin, the largest staging point for Wisconsin troops entering the American Civil War. At this camp fresh volunteers received quick training before heading off to join the Union Army. Also located on the grounds were a hospital and briefly a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Confederate soldiers.
Today the camp's land is split between UW athletic buildings including Camp Randall Stadium, the College of Engineering, and Camp Randall Memorial Park with its historic and memorial displays. In 1971 the Memorial Park section was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, considered "the single most important site in Wisconsin relating to the state's participation in the Civil War."[23]
Address: 1430 Monroe St, Madison (Near West)
Orpheum Theatre
Theater in Madison, Wisconsin. The Orpheum Theatre is a live performance and musical theater in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, located one block from the Wisconsin State Capitol.[24]
Address: Madison, 216 State St, Madison, WI 53703-2215
Wisconsin Historical Museum
Museum in Madison, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Historical Museum is a museum located on the Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin.
The museum, which features information about the history of Wisconsin, is operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society. In addition to Wisconsin history, it provides information about other American history topics through artifacts, photographs, full-scale dioramas, audio-visual presentations, and interactive multimedia programs. In late 2004, the museum's existence was threatened due to budget cuts, but citing its role in the state's history, Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle restored its funding.
In addition to exhibits about traditional aspect of the state's history, the museum has also offered an exhibition on malted milk, which was first made in Wisconsin, and includes in its permanent collection a Big Boy, the mascot of a hamburger chain, rescued in 1985 when its restaurant closed. The museum also opened in 2012 an exhibit about Butch Vig's (of Madison's Garbage (band)) Smart Studios, a Madison recording facility that closed in 2010.[25]
Address: 30 N Carroll St, 53703 Madison (Isthmus)
Machinery Row Bicycles
Machinery Row is located in Madison, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[26]
Address: 601-627 Williamson Street, Madison (Isthmus)
Overture Center for the Arts
Performing arts center in Madison, Wisconsin. Overture Center for the Arts is a performing arts center and art gallery in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. 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.[27]
Address: Madison, 201 State Street
Majestic Theatre
Music venue in Madison, Wisconsin. The Majestic Theatre is a 600-capacity live music venue in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. Opened in 1906, it is Madison's oldest theater, changing ownership many times and adapting to the many changes in the entertainment business throughout its history. Beginning as a vaudeville theater, it became a movie house by 1912 with occasional live acts, and converted to talking motion pictures by 1930. Today the theater is owned and operated by Matt Gerding and Scott Leslie who acquired the theater in 2007 and made it into a successful music club hosting DJs and live shows several nights a week.[28]
Address: Madison, 115 King Street
Allen Centennial Gardens
Garden in Madison, Wisconsin. The Allen Centennial Garden is a free public garden on the grounds of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The grounds feature the Agricultural Dean's House, a brick Queen Anne-style home built in 1896, and the home of the first four deans of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. In 1984 the house itself was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[29]
Address: 620 Babcock Dr, 53706-1210 Madison (Near West)
LaBahn Arena
Arena in Madison, Wisconsin. LaBahn Arena is the home ice of the Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey team. It was the second arena to be purpose-built for a women's collegiate hockey team; the first was Minnesota's Ridder Arena. The arena is connected via a tunnel to the Kohl Center, which the women's team shared with the men's team from its inception in 1999 until 2012. The men's team also practices there. The facility also houses locker rooms for the swimming and diving teams.[30]
Address: 105 East Campus Mall, 53715 Madison (Isthmus)
University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum
Arboretum in Dane County, Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum is a teaching and research facility of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the site of historic research in ecological restoration. In addition to its 1,260 acres in Madison, Wisconsin, the Arboretum also manages 520 acres of remnant forests and prairies throughout Wisconsin. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021, in recognition for its role as a pioneer in the field of ecological restoration.[31]
Governor's Mansion
Tourist attraction in Maple Bluff, Wisconsin. The Executive Residence, known better as the Governor's Mansion, is located at 99 Cambridge Road in the Village of Maple Bluff, Wisconsin, on the eastern shore of Lake Mendota. It is currently the official residence of Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.
The Wisconsin Governor's Mansion is one of four governor's residences in the United States not within a state capital's municipal limits, though all of them are located within the county containing the state capital. The others are Drumthwacket, located in Princeton, New Jersey, instead of Trenton; the Ohio Governor's Mansion, located in suburban Bexley outside Columbus; and the Tennessee Governor's Mansion, located in Oak Hill, just outside Nashville).[32]
Address: 99 Cambridge Rd, Madison (Near East)
Pres House
Presbyterian church in Madison, Wisconsin. The University Presbyterian Church and Student Center, nicknamed Pres House, is a historic church on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Designed by a local architect in 1931, it was completed four years later in a Gothic Revival style.[33]
Address: 731 State St, 53703-1086 Madison (Isthmus)
Broom Street Theater
Theater in Madison, Wisconsin. Broom Street Theater is an experimental black box theater located in the heart of Madison's isthmus. As one of the oldest and most prolific experimental theater companies in the United States, it has produced over 350 original works. Productions are most frequently written and directed by local playwrights and artists, who are able to realize their vision without censorship of content or presentation. Broom Street Theater is a 501 member-run non-profit which currently produces nine to ten plays per year.[34]
Address: Madison, 1119 Williamson Street
Luther Memorial Church
Church in Madison, Wisconsin. Luther Memorial Church is a Lutheran congregation at 1021 University Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin in the United States. A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, it is known for its worship, music, education, social ministry and preschool programs.[35]
Address: 1021 University Ave, Madison (Near West)