Start from 30 curated places around Dubuque, IA, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
L.May Eatery
A candlelit Main Street bistro working a seasonally rotating menu of wood-fired pizzas, pork shanks, and market-driven plates. The pizzas come out of the same kitchen as the entrees and are the sleeper order for a lighter night.
Brazen Open Kitchen | Bar
The most ambitious from-scratch kitchen in the Millwork District, with no freezers on site and a menu that leans hard on local sourcing. Weekend brunch is the locals' move and fills before dinner does.
Trails & outdoors
Mississippi Riverwalk
A flat, paved riverside promenade through the Port of Dubuque, past sculptures, interpretive signs, and the historic Star Brewery. Short and stroller-friendly, it is the easiest way to connect the Port's sights on foot.
Eagle Point Park
A century-old bluff-top park with prairie-style pavilions and short paths overlooking the Mississippi lock and dam. Watching a barge tow lock through from the overlook is the local move.
Things to do
National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium
A Smithsonian-affiliated museum, aquarium, and science center on the river, with otters, alligators, touch tanks, and historic boats. Budget a half day; the otters and the outdoor wetland boardwalk are the highlights.
Dubuque Museum of Art
A compact downtown museum focused on American and tri-state regional art, including works by Grant Wood. Small enough to see in an hour, which makes it the ideal rainy-afternoon stop.
Landmarks & sights
Fenelon Place Elevator Co.
A pocket-sized funicular billed as the world's steepest and shortest scenic railway, climbing the bluff to an overlook of three states across the Mississippi. It runs in the warmer months, and the view at the top is the payoff.
Shot Tower
A stone tower built to drop molten lead into round shot, the only surviving one west of the Mississippi, standing near the river on Commercial Street. You cannot go inside, so it is a quick stop that pairs with a Riverwalk stroll.