Pride Journeys Madison, WI

Joey Amato is the founder and publisher of Pride Journeys, an LGBTQ travel website and syndicated column. For more LGBTQ travel ideas, please visit www.pridejourneys. com.

- Joey Amato

A few years ago, I remember reading that Madison, Wisconsin was voted one of the top LGBTQ-friendly destinations in the country. Since I have a propensity to travel to under-the-radar destinations, I decided I wanted to see for myself what made Madison so special and inclusive.

Madison is the capitol of Wisconsin, a swing state in the political world, so it was no surprise that I was greeted with open arms upon arrival. The first thing I noticed was how clean and walkable the city was. It is fairly simple to walk to most attractions if you are staying in the heart of downtown. If the attraction is a bit far, you can rent a bike from the citywide BCycle bike share program.

Start your tour of Madison at the Chazen Museum Of Art located on the University of Wisconsin campus. The free museum houses a collection of over 24,000 works ranging from a painting by Andy Warhol to artifacts from ancient Greece, Western Europe, and Moghul India.

Continue your cultural tour of Madison at Art + Lit Laboratory, a community-driven contemporary arts center in the Capitol East District which houses an art gallery and performance space in addition to a library, artist studios, and a dedicated education studio. The facility welcomes over 200 events annually ranging from lectures to contemporary dance classes.