The smashing addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum by Santiago Calatrava has drawn media from around the world, yet don’t overlook its phenomenal holdings. Milwaukee otherwise is rated in the top 5 percent for cultural attractions per population in the United States!

Madison has so many museums that one nickname for downtown is “Museum Mile,” of which the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and UW’s Chazen Art Museum will be superb art aficionado bookends.

One would be amazed by how much art is outside the two population centers. Essential art attractions are the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum in Wausau, with astonishing ornithological art; the country’s best folk art collection at the new Racine Art Museum; and Sheboygan’s John Michael Kohler Arts Center, respectable for its community-focused efforts. The entire Door County must be noted, home to more galleries and artisan retreats than one would think possible in such a small place—even home to some of the country’s oldest theatrical troupes. Ditto on the galleries for the diminutive communities of Mineral Point and Spring Green in lovely Southwestern Wisconsin.