Car Rental in Wisconsin and Milwaukee Overview

Milwaukee is the largest city that you can visit with your car rental in Wisconsin in the state. It is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan and has a population of over 600,000. In the past, it has been known as a brewing and manufacturing city, but in recent years they have taken steps to diversify the city and make it more interesting for visitors.

Step back in time

The Milwaukee area was originally inhabited by a number of Native American tribes until French missionaries passed through the area in the 17th and 18th centuries. The name comes from Native American words that mean "good/beautiful/pleasant land" and "gathering place [by the water]". The city has three founding fathers. The first to come to the area was French Canadian Solomon Juneau in 1818. Byron Kilbourn set up a location on the west side of the Milwaukee River and made sure that streets running toward the river did not join those on the east side. When you visit with your car rental in Wisconsin you will still find a number of angled bridges today. George H. Walker was the third founder who established Walker's Point. By the 1840s, the towns had grown significantly and so had the rivalries, particularly between Juneautown and Kilbourntown. It ended in the Bridge War of 1845, which resulted in the uniting of the towns with Solomon Juneau as the first mayor. In the first part of the 20th century, Milwaukee was the hub of the socialist movement in the United States. It was the only major in the U.S. to elect three socialist mayors. It is interesting to note that Al Capone owned a house here in the Brookfield suburb, where he made moonshine. The house still stands on a street named after him.

Discover the city

When you visit Milwaukee with your car rental in Wisconsin, you will find that the city runs largely on a grid system, although the northwest and southwest corners of the city are more of a suburban style streetscape. North-south streets are numbers and east-west streets are named, with the exception of streets east of 1st Street, which are also named.

Grab a brew

Milwaukee was once home to four of the world's largest brewers (Schlitz, Blatz, Pabst, and Miller) and was the number one beer producing city in the world for many years. Today when you visit with your car rental in Wisconsin you can only see the Miller Brewing Company along with some smaller breweries. The historic Milwaukee Brewery is the oldest still-functioning major brewery in the United States. Daily brewery tours are available.

Get with the culture

There are a number of cultural activities you can do in Milwaukee as well. The Milwaukee Art Museum, the Milwaukee Public Museum, America's Black Holocaust Museum, Discovery World, and the Milwaukee County Zoo are all great places to visit with your car rental in Wisconsin .