Madison in a weekend is a snap because everything is within walking distance and there’s zilch traffic getting to the few spots outside the center.

Day 1

If you can get here early enough, here’s the rule: sunrise at the Monona Terrace Convention Center, followed by a tour of the place and then a visit to the extraordinary Wisconsin Capitol. (If you’re here April through November, budget an extra hour for a stroll around the Dane County Farmer’s Market on the Capitol Square!)

Lunch across the street at the Wisconsin-in-a-menu Old Fashioned before walking State Street along Museum Mile. You’re going to do a lot of shopping along the way, so expect this to take up the rest of the day.

Rest up and prepare for dinner at one of the country’s top 50 restaurants—L’Etoile, followed by an evening performance at the Overture Center for the Arts in one of its myriad theaters.

For a memorable place to lay your head, choose between the ornate but cozy historic Mansion Hill Inn or the only-in-Madison Arbor House, an Environmental Inn.

Day 2

For breakfast, classic heartland stick-to-your-ribs fare at Mickey’s Dairy Bar on the west end of downtown, or, if you’re closer to downtown, Marigold just off the Capitol Square.

You can spend the rest of the morning at the UW Madison campus and still not see it all. Your best bet is to walk the Lakeshore Path from the Memorial Union Terrace west to Picnic Point, then backtrack along the bluffs overlooking the lake, taking in any of the university’s sights along the way.

Lunch anywhere along State Street, an international smorgasbord of eateries. After a day of rest, head for either the Olbrich Botanical Gardens or the University of Wisconsin Arboretum (I’d do both, in a hurry.) Hurry back to the Memorial Union for the loveliest sunset in the city before driving to the west side for a steak at Smoky’s Club, the most classic Midwestern steak house/supper club in town.

Following that, a final stroll about the downtown for a nightcap. I’d head for Fresco, atop the Madison Museum for Contemporary Art; chic but comfortable, with superb views of nighttime Madtown.