Start from 33 curated places around Eau Claire, WI, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
The Nucleus
Locally called 'the Nuke,' this Water Street institution has been doing breakfast and brunch for nearly two decades, and the menu earns the loyalty. Lemon ricotta hotcakes, vegan crunch wraps, and the El Presidente French toast are the anchors, but the specials board changes frequently and skews creative. The room fills up fast on weekend mornings.
Mona Lisa's Restaurant
Eau Claire's long-running Italian and Mediterranean standard-bearer on Water Street, with a menu that changes frequently based on seasonal ingredients. The pasta puttanesca is a local touchstone, and the wait staff know the menu well enough to steer you toward whatever came in fresh. This is the place for a proper dinner with wine rather than a quick meal.
Trails & outdoors
Lowes Creek Trails
The most beloved trail system in Eau Claire — 250 acres of wooded hills on both sides of a trout stream, with 6.5 miles of paths that work for hiking, mountain biking, and trail running. The mix of sun and tree coverage is well-balanced, the terrain has enough variation to stay interesting, and it's popular enough to feel alive without being crowded on weekdays.
Chippewa River State Trail
A paved, mostly flat trail that starts at Phoenix Park in downtown Eau Claire and follows the Chippewa River south for 30 miles toward Durand. The Eau Claire stretch is the best-maintained section — 11 miles of asphalt along riverside habitat that swings between river bottomland, sandstone bluffs, and wetland. This is the go-to for an easy ride or a longer walk without car traffic.
Things to do
Pablo Center at the Confluence
Eau Claire's world-class performing arts venue — two theaters, a gallery, and a calendar that runs from indie rock to chamber music to contemporary dance. The building's acoustics are excellent, the sightlines from every seat are unobstructed, and the scale is intimate enough that there's no bad seat in the house. This is the cultural north star of the city.
Lazy Monk Brewing
The oldest brewery in Eau Claire, modeled on the bier halls of Bohemia and Germany, with 14 taps that lean hard into Czech and German lager traditions — pilsners and dark lagers done right, not as a novelty. The taproom overlooks the Chippewa River from an open deck, dogs are welcome, and it's genuinely family-friendly. This is where locals bring out-of-town guests to explain what makes Eau Claire tick.
Landmarks & sights
Phoenix Park
A beautifully landscaped riverside park at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers — the literal heart of the city. Locals come here for the weekly farmers market, open-air concerts, and the walking paths lined with rotating public sculptures. The views across the river toward downtown are the ones that make people fall for this city.
Sculpture Tour Eau Claire
One of the largest rotating public sculpture exhibitions in the country, with over 120 original works spread across downtown streets, Barstow Street, Water Street, and the riverfront. The collection turns over each May, so repeat visitors always find something new. It's the kind of thing that makes you realize Eau Claire punches well above its size culturally.