New Ulm, MN

A breakfast-and-lunch spot inside a restored downtown building with exposed brick, high ceilings, and a serious coffee program using locally roasted beans. The kitchen turns out handmade pastries, baguette sandwiches, pot pies, and rotating seasonal lunch specials — honest scratch cooking in a room that feels more like a Minneapolis cafe than a southern Minnesota main street. Outdoor patio seating in warmer months. Opens early.

A proper dinner steakhouse in a downtown building — the kind of place where the prime rib special draws regulars from a 40-mile radius on Friday nights. The menu runs to classic cuts, seafood, and scratch sides in a setting that mixes white tablecloths with a genuine lack of pretense. Dinner only, and it fills up.

The basement bar of a 19th-century German Turnverein hall, considered the oldest continuously operating bar in Minnesota. Restored murals cover the vaulted brick walls, and the menu runs from sauerbraten and schnitzel to ribs and burgers — unpretentious food at honest prices in a room that rewards slow appreciation. Schell's beers on tap, naturally.

A family-run Mexican restaurant on the north side of town with a devoted local following and portions that err decisively on the generous side. The salsa that arrives with chips is made in-house and finishes quickly; ask for more before you run out. A solid choice for a relaxed sit-down lunch or early dinner away from the tourist core.

A working German-style bakery on the main drag that opens at 6 a.m. and makes 40 varieties of donuts by hand every morning along with breads, Bismarck pastries, and grab-and-go lunch items. The coffee bar runs cold brew, espresso drinks, and seasonal frappes — the kind of stop you make before a day of hiking or sight-seeing and then again on the way out of town.

A downtown diner that opens before 6 a.m. and runs a straightforward breakfast and lunch menu made from scratch — chicken fried steak omelets, oversized pancakes, daily specials. It has won multiple reader-choice awards as the best breakfast in New Ulm and fills up with regulars before the morning tourist traffic starts. Counter seating and booths, friendly and efficient.

The taproom at the Schell's brewery campus is a low-key, old-world room where you can work through the full Schell's lineup alongside simple food pairings — brewer's grain bread, cheese boards, and snacks. The seasonal outdoor Biergarten runs live music on summer Sunday afternoons and is one of the more pleasant outdoor drinking spots in southern Minnesota.

A compact neighborhood tavern downtown that pours what locals say are the best Bloody Marys in Brown County — made with house-pickled garnishes and a spice blend the bar keeps proprietary. The bar draws a cross-section of the town from working tradespeople to weekend visitors and stays lively without ever getting rowdy. Good for a late afternoon drink after the Glockenspiel show.

A 2.8-mile loop inside Flandrau State Park that circles the campground area while passing through restored tallgrass prairie, open ridge lines with views over the Cottonwood River valley, and a stretch of lowland forest. The elevation gain is gentle — about 130 feet — making it manageable for most fitness levels while delivering genuine variety of terrain in a short distance.

A 1.9-mile easy trail that tracks the Cottonwood River through Flandrau State Park's floodplain forest, passing the WPA-era quartzite buildings and the park's sand-bottomed swimming pond. The terrain is almost entirely flat and the canopy stays dense even in summer, making it a cool shaded walk on warm days. Best as a standalone easy stroll or as a warm-up leg before the Grassland loop.

A short but rewarding uphill path through Hermann Heights Park leading to the base of the Hermann Monument. The climb to the monument is modest — roughly 0.3 miles from street level — but the summit park delivers a genuine panoramic view of the entire Minnesota River valley and the town below. It is the single best vantage point in New Ulm.

A one-mile self-guided interpretive loop inside Flandrau State Park that dips into the oxbow lowlands of the Cottonwood River, where interpretive signs explain the ecology of floodplain forest and meander cutoffs. The shortest official trail in the park and the most educational — a good choice with children or when time is short, and easy enough for all ages.

Beyond just drinking beer, Schell's weekend brewery tours are a genuine window into 160 years of family brewing history — walking the original limestone lagering cellars, the working brew house, the museum of antique brewing equipment, and the Victorian mansion grounds. The peacocks roaming the gardens are an unexpected detail that regulars always mention. One of the best small-brewery touring experiences in the upper Midwest.

Three floors of exhibits in a National Register 1910 post office building, anchored by an award-winning permanent exhibit on the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 and rotating programming on German immigration and 20th-century Brown County life. The building itself is one of the finest examples of German Renaissance civic architecture in the state — the staff are uncommonly knowledgeable and willing to dig into specifics with curious visitors.

A house museum celebrating the most important children's book artist to come out of Minnesota, in the actual home where she grew up. Original lithographs, paintings, and first editions fill the rooms of this modest Victorian house, and the story of Wanda Gag — supporting her six siblings as a teenager through her art, then breaking through in New York as an adult — is genuinely compelling.

A 1,000-acre state park on the Cottonwood River at the southern edge of town — the best all-around outdoor venue in New Ulm. Beyond the hiking trails, the park has a sand-bottomed swimming pond open in summer, restored prairie habitats, WPA-era quartzite stone structures, over 70 campsites for overnight stays, and a Group Center that hosts community events throughout the year.

Watching the Glockenspiel's figurines deploy is a free, quick, and genuinely fun piece of theater that works for all ages. The 37 bells are tuned to traditional German tunes and the figurine show runs through multiple rotations — most visitors stay for two full cycles before moving on. The plaza around the tower has benches and is a good starting point for a downtown walking tour.

A free-standing 45-foot carillon tower in the heart of downtown with 37 bells and rotating figurines depicting characters from New Ulm's German immigrant heritage, including a brick mason, a flour miller, a beer drinker, and a polka band. The full mechanical show runs several times daily — plan your walk to arrive at the top of the hour. The adjacent plaza is a natural gathering spot on summer evenings.

A 102-foot copper-and-iron statue on a hilltop park southwest of downtown, honoring the Germanic chieftain who defeated Roman legions in 9 A.D. You can climb a tight spiral staircase inside the pedestal to an observation deck for a panoramic view over the Minnesota River Valley and the town laid out below. Congress designated it a national symbol of German heritage.

A German Renaissance-style former post office built in 1910 on the National Register of Historic Places, now housing three floors of exhibits on the lives of German immigrants, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, and 20th-century Brown County life. The Dakota War exhibit on the third floor is considered one of the more nuanced tellings of that conflict in the region.

The childhood home of Wanda Gag, the illustrator and author who wrote and drew Millions of Cats in 1928 — still the oldest American picture book in continuous print. The modest Victorian house museum on a quiet residential block displays original lithographs and paintings by Wanda and other members of her remarkably talented family, alongside first editions of her books. A quiet, personal stop that means a great deal to visitors who know her work.

The second-oldest family-owned brewery in the United States, operating on the same south edge of town since 1860. The Victorian brewery grounds include a mansion, formal gardens, resident peacocks, a museum of brewing history, a Bier Halle taproom open year-round, and a seasonal outdoor Biergarten with Sunday live music. Tours run on weekends and walk visitors through the original limestone cellars and working brew house.