Madtown Madison: Self-Guided Cultural Walking Tour

Embark on a self-guided cultural walking tour in Madison, Wisconsin. Explore historical sites, listen to captivating stories, and enjoy the flexibility to go at your own pace.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Lake Monona - This tour starts on Monona Terrace overlooking Lake Monona. From here, you will step back in time and relive the city’s rich history and hear stories about the area’s first inhabitants to civil war and civil rights.
  • Wisconsin State Capitol - Along the way, you’ll visit the Wisconsin State Capitol which is also the tallest…
What's Included
  • Lifetime access to this tour in English
  • VoiceMap app for Android and iOS
  • Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
What's Not Included
  • Transportation
  • Smartphone and headphones
  • Food/Drink
Additional Information

Embark on a leisurely stroll between two spectacular lake-side terraces and immerse yourself in some of the finest cultural landmarks of Wisconsin, all at your own pace!
• Take in the rich historical architecture of Madison, including iconic structures like the State Capitol, Der Rathskaller, Bascomb Hill, Memorial Union, and much more
• Relish listening…

Location
Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center
John Nolen Drive
Before arrival, please install the VoiceMap mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. This is a self-guided audio tour that you can start, pause, or restart at any time and complete at your own pace. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.4
(16 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Carol_b
Aug 4, 2025
Milwaukee tour - Great guide and tour. A few good stops along the way. My sister in law lives in Milwaukee and saw things and learned things she didn't know before. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Jasmine8534
May 17, 2025
Interesting walking tour - I enjoyed this self-guided tour around Madison. It was an easy way to explore the city at my own pace. The walking route was simple to follow and took me through some interesting spots I might’ve missed otherwise. The info on the historical sites was interesting without being too long or boring, and I liked learning a bit more about the city’s past. It felt like the perfect mix of a nice walk and a bit of local history. I’d recommend it to anyone looking to get outside and see more of Madison on their own time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Richo567
Jan 12, 2025
Great Self Guided Tour - Great way to learn about an area and history walking on your own. We will try many more such tours in new cities as we travel.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
George_s
Sep 8, 2024
User friendly - First time to use Vistor self guided tour, very easy to follow. Interesting historical information about the city. Recommended provide local parking information if possible.
Review provided by Viator
Rebeka_m
Jan 26, 2024
I enjoyed the very clear... - I enjoyed the very clear voice directions that allowed me to put my phone away and leave it there. Learning more about the sights and history of a new city is always fun!
Review provided by Viator
Travelman
Nov 12, 2023
Good way to see Madison on your own schedule - A good way for a first time visitor to see Madison. Plus, you can pause the tour at any time, as I did to visit thru Capitol and MONONA terrace. No personally guided tours were available, so this was a good alternative.
Review provided by Viator
Jenniferkm1399uo
Oct 23, 2023
Great self-guided walking tour - This is one of the best self-guided tours I've experienced. The app uses your GPS location to figure out where you are, and when you reach a spot where there is recorded information, the app automatically starts talking to you. Then it gives you very good directions on where to head next. This allows you to walk at your own pace without having to watch a map along the way on your phone. We even stopped for lunch along the way. The narrator has an unusual voice - at the end of most of his sentences, it sounded like he was just slightly disappointed - but I think that is just his speaking style. He did have a few dry, dead-pan statements that we found very amusing. The information was good overall - walked from one lake to the other via State St. We actually used one phone and connected 2 sets of earbuds to it so that (a) we didn't have to buy 2 tickets, and (b) we were always listening to the same thing at the same time. Definitely would recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marksz9444vq
Aug 17, 2025
Not a good day for a walking tour - We started the walking tour at 11am. It was very hot day. No fault of the tour but it was just too hot to be walking around outside. So we never finished.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Josielucia62
Mar 3, 2025
Fun Facts about Madison - It was an informative tour. We learned quite more than we thought. It took a bit to figure out the route as we are not very familiar with the area. The starting point was difficult to find but once we did it was a very good tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Roam39541605808
Nov 12, 2023
Not user friendly - Not user friendly app - couldn’t find to enter code to start the audio so gave up- no guidance or troubleshooting available
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $9
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).