State Street & Downtown Madison Tours and Tickets

There are plenty of ways to experience State Street & Downtown Madison. Looking at ratings and reviews previously given by customers, this is the best tour available right now:

• Wisconsin's Madtown: A Madison Self-Guided Walking Tour

While it’s free to explore State Street & Downtown Madison on your own, including visiting the famous farmers market, plenty of affordable tours can help you get more out of your time here in Madison’s central ‘hood. Self-guided downtown tours start at just US$8 per person.

State Street's pedestrian-only stretch connects the Capitol to the UW-Madison campus, and it’s packed with shops, bars, restaurants, coffeehouses, record stores, and art galleries. Street musicians, performers, and public art add to the energy, too. The Wisconsin Historical Museum and Chazen Museum of Art sit nearby, making it easy to combine browsing with culture.

Yes, admission and guided tours are both free, offered daily year-round except on major holidays. Tours run roughly every hour, last 45–55 minutes, and start at the information desk in the rotunda; groups under 10 don't need reservations. After touring, pop up to the observation deck, open mid-April through December, for sweeping views of the isthmus—it’s perhaps the best aerial view in the city.

Capitol Square, ringing the domed State Capitol, is best known for the Dane County Farmers' Market, one of the largest producer-only markets in the country, held Saturdays from spring through fall. (It’s incredibly popular, so don’t expect much elbow room.) The square’s also home to popular restaurants, boutique shops, and major annual festivals like Art Fair on the Square and Taste of Madison.

Standouts include the Dane County Farmers' Market on Saturdays, Art Fair on the Square in July (drawing hundreds of thousands to Capitol Square), and Taste of Madison over Labor Day weekend. There’s also the Madison Night Market on State Street, Make Music Madison in June, summer’s Concerts on the Square, and the winter Holiday Open House for that year-round variety.