Chicago is the biggest and most famous city in the Midwest, but it’s far from the only city worth visiting. Before 7 other overlooked cities that are worth adding to your travel bucket list.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is renowned for its art and its beautiful lakes. It’s home to the impressive Walker Art Gallery and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (featuring the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture). Its scenic lakes meanwhile include Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet and are popular hotspots for cycling and picnicking. Make sure to also check out the Mall of America – one of the largest malls in the country, featuring 500 stores, an aquarium and an amusement park.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Known for its chili and craft beer scene, Cincinnati is a great city for those wanting to take their tastebuds on an adventure. The city also has a fascinating blend of unique modern buildings and ornate 19th Century architecture, and has some incredibly walkable areas like Over-the-Rhine. You can find many hotels throughout the city, or you can stay outside the city in an RV park and soak up some of the amazing natural beauty on Cincinnati’s outskirts.
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is home to the famous Indianapolis 500 – a 500 mile motorsports race around the city’s iconic speedway. It’s also home to many other motorsports events throughout the year. Not a motorsports fan? This city still has many other attractions worth visiting including its art galleries, shops and restaurants – particularly those on Massachusetts Avenue.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is often nicknamed ‘Brew City’ because of its numerous breweries. This includes the historic Pabst Brewery. The city also has a beautiful waterfront where you can visit the Milwaukee Art Museum. It’s home to one of the world’s largest music festivals, Summerfest, and has many great music venues.
St Louis, Missouri
A popular stop along Route 66, St Louis in Missouri is home to the iconic Gateway Arch – a 640ft steel archway. There is a museum here where you can learn all about how it was constructed. Of course, this isn’t the only reason to visit St Louis – this city is also known for its incredible food scene. This includes local signature dishes like toasted ravioli and gooey butter cake, as well as an array of restaurants serving world-class foods from around the world.
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is probably best known for its jazz and barbecue food. Along with New Orleans and Chicago, it played an essential part in the development of jazz, and contains many historic venues where you can still see jazz acts today. A number of famous BBQ joints can meanwhile be found throughout the city including Arthur Bryant’s and Gates Bar-B-Q.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is sometimes known as ‘Motor City’. It was once home to the ‘big three’ automobile manufacturers: Ford, General Motors and Chrysler (Stellantis) -and there are several car museums in and around the city. It also played a significant part in the evolution of soul music and used to be home to Motown Records in the 1960s. The original recording studio has since been turned into a museum.
More Reading
