The city of Monroe, Wisconsin is a unique destination that’s “all about cheese.” The business and art of cheesemaking has played a significant role in keeping Monroe thriving for over one hundred years and is home to the National HIstoric Cheesemaking Center. However, there’s much more to the city than cheese. Visitors will find many excellent restaurants serving delicious food, opportunities to get out into nature on the Badger State Trail, and refreshing craft beer at the Minhas Craft Brewery among several other activities and events.
1. Minhas Craft Brewery
The Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe, Wisconsin is the second oldest brewery in the United States and the oldest brewery in the Midwest. The brewery, which is one of the country’s top ten largest breweries, has survived two major fires, “brushes with the mob,” prohibition, and the Great Depression. Visitors can relax and do a beer tasting in the Lazy Mutt Lounge and take a tour of the Minhas Brewery. Guided tours share the brewing process, what exactly is an IPA, and much more and are available daily, with more than one tour time offered on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
1208 14th Ave, Monroe, WI 53566, Phone: 800-233-7205
2. National Historic Cheesemaking Center
The National Historic Cheesemaking Center offers tourists and locals alike in the Monroe area a chance to learn more about the Dairyland of America, right in the heart of the country’s cheese country. The town is often called the “Cheese Capital of the United State” or the “Gateway to Cheese Country.” Visitors can take a tour of the National Historic Cheesemaking Center and Museum, watch a video presentation about the cheesemaking process, visit the Imobersteg Farmstead Cheese Factory, and even sometimes watch Master Cheesemakers make a massive wheel of Swiss cheese, just like how cheese was made more than 100 years ago.
2108 6th Ave, Monroe, WI 53566, Phone: 608-325-4636
3. Baumgartner's Cheese Store and Tavern
As the oldest cheese store in all of Wisconsin, the Baumgartner’s Cheese Store holds a special place in the local community’s heart. Baumgartner’s has been making the finest cheese in the state available to patrons since 1931 from their tavern which is conveniently located in the heart of a small but beautiful Swiss community in Monroe. Baumgartner’s produces a fine selection of cheese ranging from Cheddar, Swiss, Mild White, and Blue or Washed Rind cheeses, but they also carry imported cheeses along with other specialty foods. Visitors can also visit Baumgartner’s Tavern to taste spectacular offerings created from Baumgartner’s products and cheeses.
1023 16th Avenue, Monroe, Wisconsin, Phone: 608-325-6157
4. Green County Courthouse, Monroe, Wisconsin
The historic Green County Courthouse of Monroe, Wisconsin was built back in 1891 as the seat for the Green County government. In March of 1978, the courthouse was added to the country’s National Register of Historic Places and is now open to the general public for self-guided tours. Visitors can also choose to join a guided tour of the Romanesque architectural style building with advance reservations. People of all ages can also take an opportunity to put on a judge’s robe and take a picture sitting at the bench, gavel in hand. The History Room offers a look at the past.
1016 16th Ave, Monroe, WI 53566, Phone: 608-328-1838
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5. Badger State Trail, Monroe, WI
The Badger State Trail extends approximately forty miles from the Illinois-Wisconsin border to the city of Madison, traversing many small communities, glacial topography, ravines, remnant prairies, scenic meadows, rolling hills, woods, and pastoral farmlands. One of the highlights of the lengthy trail traveling over the state of Wisconsin the Stewart Tunnel, which measures 1,200 feet in length. This unique tunnel was constructed on a curve, which prohibits people from being able to see where it ends from the entrance. Jackets and flashlights are recommended in the Stewart Tunnel. Water also occasionally trickles in from the springs above.
Monroe, WI
6. Bullet’s Restaurant, Monroe, Wisconsin
Bullet’s Restaurant has a long history in the Midwestern city of Monroe, Wisconsin. Whether someone is a tourist or a local, or in the mood for a steak, delicious pizza, or just a cold drink, the Green County House offers a bit of something for almost everyone. Built back in 1864, the Green County House has undergone several additions and changes. Jim “Bullet” Doyle, along with his wife Kay, operated the place as a bar in 1979, featuring bands during weekends. A couple years later, food began to be served at the bar, followed by a sit-down restaurant two years after that.
1301 15th Ave, Monroe, WI 53566, Phone: 608-325-7777
7. Minhas Kitchen, Monroe, Wisconsin
The Minhas Kitchen is housed within a historic building dating back more than 150 years in the cheesemaking town of Monroe. The Minhas family desired to create a place that would offer the best ambiance and experience for people traveling from miles away, treating themselves to a special daycation. Ravinder Minhas, the owner of Minhas Kitchen, opened the restaurant to serve world-class cuisine paired with excellent award-winning wines, liqueurs, and spirits. The unique Monroe dining establishment also has a selection of its own amazing cocktails and flights. Tastings are also available in the adjacent Minhas Wine Garden.
1404 13th St, Monroe, WI 53566, Phone: 608-328-5555
8. Red Apple Inn Family Restaurant, Monroe, Wisconsin
The Red Apple Inn Family Restaurant offers home-style cooked, made-from-scratch dishes served by attentive and friendly staff. Founded in 1982, the family-owned and operated restaurant carries on an excellent reputation for service and hometown comfort. The Red Apple Inn boasts meals of generous portions and some of the most affordable options for delicious comfort food in Monroe and the surrounding area. The menu here includes a variety of comfort foods, home-cooked American classics, light and healthy dishes, an extensive salad bar, homemade soups, daily specials, and a handful of options influenced from other parts of the world.
1019 8th St, Monroe, WI 53566, Phone: 608-325-6130
9. Things to Do: Monroe Arts Center
When it comes to the flourishing of arts and the entertainment of audiences, the Monroe Arts Center is one of the best places to visit. The center has set the stage for a great number of performances in the past and continues to do with theater productions, musical performances, and even comedy shows regularly scheduled throughout the Monroe Arts Center’s Calendar. In addition to their live shows, the Monroe Arts Center also has four galleries to visit: the Wellington Muranyi Gallery, the Frehner Gallery, the MSGR Thomas F. Campion Youth Art Gallery, and the SSM Health/Monroe Clinic Galleries. The galleries are a beautiful representation of the city’s community diversity and culture and feature different mediums of art by local and national artists alike.
1315 11th Street, Monroe, Wisconsin 53566, Phone: 608-325-5700
10. Things to Do in Monroe, Wisconsin: Minhas Micro Distillery
Are you looking for some of Wisconsin’s best artisan liqueurs and spirits? Look no further than Minhas Micro Distillery, a division of the popular Minhas Brewery that was founded in 2006. Minhas Micro Distillery is known for producing alcoholic beverages that are delicious when consumed in a mixed drink and just as good, or even better when simply drank straight on the rocks. To make these liqueurs, Minhas Micro Distiller hand selects the best ingredients and capitalizes on tried and tested blending and distilling techniques. Come by the tasting room to try their rye whiskies or white whiskies, try out the distillery’s vodkas and gins, or to taste unique spirits like the Irish Cream and Rum Horchata, the Barbados Rum, and the Cinnamon Toast Liqueur.
1404 13th Street, Monroe, Wisconsin 53566, Phone: 608-328-5550
11. Roth Cheese, Monroe, Wisconsin
Inspired by its Swiss heritage, Roth Cheese proudly calls the scenic rolling hills of the state of Wisconsin home. The cheese that has become famous in the region is handcrafted by a team of experienced and knowledgeable cheesemakers, as well as a supporting crew. Roth Cheese specializes in alpine-style, Swiss-inspired cheeses, Havarti, Gouda, and Dutch-style Gouda, as well as a handful of its own “American Originals.” Cheese lovers can visit the Roth Creamery in the cheese-filled town of Monroe to tour the factory, try several samples of delicious cheese, and buy some to take home with them.
657 2nd St, Monroe, WI 53566, Phone: 608-328-2122
