Getting the flavor of ... Milwaukee’s makeover

Milwaukee’s makeover

Beer may have made Milwaukee famous, but Wisconsin’s largest city has “more than barley and hops to boast about these days,” said Margaret Loftus in National Geographic Traveler. By the late 1980s, the heart of the city had become a “ghost town” of run-down factories. Now most are gone, save for the still-operating Miller Brewing Co., and Milwaukee’s downtown is abuzz again. The Historic Third Ward has been transformed into a “mini-SoHo” where 20th-century warehouses have been converted into galleries and boutiques. At the Public Market, vendors sell local foods. Commerce Street’s decrepit rail yards have been torn down to make room for condos with views of the Milwaukee River, while the Milwaukee Art Museum’s brise soleil, or sunshade—designed by Spain’s Santiago Calatrava—makes a striking addition to the Lake Michigan waterfront.

Contact: Visitmilwaukee.org

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Georgia’s wild side

Cumberland Island is a little-known gem along Georgia’s coast, said Josh Noel in the Chicago Tribune. At once “rustic and lovely,” this is the most accessible of Georgia’s wild Sea Islands, with a daily ferry from the historic town of St. Marys. Yet it still feels far from the mainland—“unhurried, unbuilt, and alive with history.” The island retains a certain Southern refinement, but it’s a “time-worn opulence rooted in the business barons of yesteryear.” The Carnegies used to vacation here, and two of the family’s four estates, Dungeness and Plum Orchard, are still open to explore. What drew the Carnegies—and others since—are the large expanses of untamed wilderness. The island boasts not only “pristine, undisturbed beaches” but forests “thick with live oak and Spanish moss.” Wild horses graze amid the “towering oaks” and ancient sea turtles leave trails along the white shores.

Contact: Stmaryswelcome.com