Karen Bergesen - Dream Vacations

Celebrate North America's largest outdoor French themed festival in downtown Milwaukee! Bastille Days is held annually in July and features impromptu street performances, roaming minstrels, a variety of musical entertainment and a signature 43-foot Eiffel Tower replica. Runners and walkers kick off the festival with the "Storming of the Bastille," a 5-K run and two mile walk.

Make a reservation for Milwaukee Coach & Carriage, the most romantic carriage rides in the city. See the beautiful architecture of downtown as you snuggle together for an intimate ride. During the winter months, be swept into a winter wonderland with the lights and sights along Wisconsin Avenue.

Visit the Boerner Botanical Gardens from late April to early November. The internationally renown horticultural center offers eleven specialty outdoor gardens, including the cutting edge Trial Garden which features newly developed plant varieties not publicly available anywhere else. Take a tour and admire the beautiful arrangement integration of architecture and sculptures among the plant life.

Travel back in time as you listen to the 50s-style jazz music at The Jazz Estate, a Milwaukee jazz landmark and entertainment venue that has been around since 1977. Enjoy live music on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights (as well as weekly drink specials on Monday). The Estate has hosted nationally famous jazz players like Harry Connick Jr., Clyde Stubblefield and Jill Henderson, as well as local jazz favorites.