Wisconsin capital offers plenty to see.

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Ohio State might have the better football team, but the University of Wisconsin just might have the prettier setting.

Blame Mother Nature, or whoever it was who decided to stick Wisconsin's capital city and state university on an isthmus between the shimmering blue lakes Mendota and Monona.

The Buckeyes are scheduled to play the Badgers at 8 p.m. Oct. 4 in Madison. While awaiting the late kickoff, fans will find plenty of places to watch the day's earlier games on big screens up and down State Street, which links the campus with downtown Madison and the Wisconsin State Capitol.

The walk, which takes only 15 minutes, passes sports bars, ethnic restaurants and eclectic shops.
I was charmed by the triangular buildings that can be found on most blocks along State Street. Madison is laid out on a square street grid, but four streets leading from the capitol slash through the grid at 45-degree angles. The result is wedge-shaped buildings at the point of the "stars" formed by the intersections, with front doors located at the points.

In those buildings and others along the way, visitors will find dozens of coffee shops, restaurants, taverns, bookstores, art galleries, and fashion and accessory shops -- some trendy, some funky, some with a distinct retro-hippie feel. (I have to wonder what Woody Hayes made of Madison.)
Buckeyes looking for a tailgate atmosphere are sure to find a welcome, or at least a beer and brat, at State Street Brats, a huge Bavarian-esque cathedral of football, hops and grilled meat. It's a popular hangout for Badger fans.

The real rivalry here might be between the traditional white pork bratwurst and the red beef bratwurst, so be prepared to defend your choice.

Visitors who want exotic or unusual fare will discover plenty on State Street, with restaurants representing cuisine from almost every part of the globe. You'll find not just French, Italian and Mexican restaurants, but also eastern African, Vietnamese, Indian, Turkish, Brazilian and Laotian eateries. (I spotted two Afghan restaurants within just a couple of blocks.)

I had a wonderful vegetarian meal (penance for all the brats I ate the previous day) at Himal Chuli Restaurant, a tiny family-run place featuring food from Nepal, Tibet and northern India.
But one of the biggest taste treats in the area can be found just past the west end of State Street at the Memorial Union on campus. The Union offers wonderful views of Lake Mendota. Better yet, it also offers rich, creamy Babcock ice cream -- a campus tradition for decades.

The campus is a pleasant place for an autumn stroll, with many lovely historic buildings and several garden areas, including the Allen Centennial Garden, 2.5 acres of landscaped gardens surrounding a historic Victorian home.

Running west from the student union along the lake is a beautiful walking path that loops past campus buildings and through woods and marshes.

At Camp Randall Stadium, a recent renovation has increased capacity and updated visitor services.

At the other end of State Street from campus is the Wisconsin Capitol, one of the largest capitol buildings in the nation. The lively young guide on my capitol tour was happy to claim that the capitol's dome is the fourth largest of its kind in volume in the world, after St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, St. Paul's Cathedral in London and another cathedral in Ivory Coast. (If you'd like to argue the point, you can probably find an Ivorian restaurant on State Street.)

I highly recommend the free tour, one of the best state capitol tours I've been on. The capitol, built between 1906 and 1917, is quite beautiful, with 43 types of marble and magnificent murals and mosaics. But Buckeye fans might note, with quiet glee, the large badgers that sit atop the entrance to each of the four main capitol galleries.

"Actually, they look more like rats," admitted the guide.

Just outside the capitol on Saturday morning, visitors also will find the Dane County Farmers Market, a terrific place to buy fresh produce, flowers and even snacks for the big game.
"We'll be sure to stock plenty of jalapeno poppers that day," said Miguel Marshall, whose wife, Holly Beach, owns the Silly Yak Bakery, specializing in gluten-free products.

Just a few steps from the capitol, visitors also can explore several good museums, including the Wisconsin Historical Museum, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.

Even though football fans will be sitting for more than three hours in the open air of Camp Randall Stadium, that's no reason to spend the rest of a visit cooped up inside, especially given Madison's natural beauty.

One great place for a stroll is the Olbrich Botanical Gardens. The 16 acres of gardens, fountains and sculptures also include a large pyramidal conservatory filled with plants and birds.
For me, the highlight of Olbrich was the ornate and unusual Thai Pavilion and Garden. It features traditional Thai features such as glazed water jars and Chinese junipers clipped as geometrical topiaries. The gold-trimmed teak pavilion -- the only one of its kind in the United States -- was a gift to the university from the Thai government and the Thai chapter of the university's alumni association.

At the other edge of town, just south of the main campus, is the university's own arboretum, which, at 1,260 acres, is big enough to get lost in. I know, because, while following a flock of wild turkeys, I did just that.

But I found my way back and ended up in the arboretum's Longnecker Gardens, where a profusion of flowering crab apples, with white and pink petals falling like a spring snow, momentarily propelled me into a deep reverie. The memory seems like a dream now; my jotting in my notebook at that point reads simply, "Life is just too short."

Of course, visitors for the game won't see flowering crabs, but the autumn colors can be almost as transcendent -- especially if you've spent a few hours drinking adult beverages on State Street.

"Oh, that's a wonderful time of year to visit," said Barb Winterstein, a longtime volunteer at the arboretum.

"They'll definitely see some wonderful fall color. And if you've been driving, this is a great place to get out of your car and stretch your legs."

Superstitious fans might also want to visit the arboretum's buckeye grove, just for luck.
Having a nut for a mascot does have its advantages.
sstephens@dispatch.com

Today's profile of Madison, Wis., is part of an occasional series looking at where central Ohio sports fans travel.

If you go
MADISON, WIS.

Madison is a lovely midsize city located on an isthmus between two large lakes. The city is the state capital and home to the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Ohio State University football Buckeyes will play the Wisconsin Badgers there on Oct. 4.

GETTING THERE

Madison is in south-central Wisconsin, about 500 miles northwest of Columbus. Expect the drive to take at least eight hours.
Visitors also can fly into Madison's Dade County Regional Airport on most major airlines or to major airports in Chicago (about 150 miles away) or Milwaukee (about 80 miles away).

VISITING THE UNIVERSITY

The University of Wisconsin's charming campus is located just a short walk west of downtown Madison on the banks of Lake Mendota. Besides visiting Camp Randall Stadium for the game, visitors might want to stop at the Memorial Union for a Babcock ice cream, take a stroll along the lakeshore walking path, or visit the mastodon and dinosaur at the university's Geology Museum. Call 608-263-2400 or visit www.vip.wisc.edu.

WALKING STATE STREET

Linking the campus with downtown Madison is State Street. The six blocks between the university library and the state capitol is lined with restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, boutiques and galleries and is a great place to visit before and after the game.
More information, including a guide to downtown, is available through the Madison Central Business Improvement District. Call 608-255-1008 or visit www.visitdowntownmadison.com.

TOURING THE CITY

• Wisconsin's beautifully restored capitol building sits at the heart of the city and offers wonderful free tours to visitors. Call 608-266-0382 or visit www.wisconsin.gov/state/capfacts/tour_select.html.

• On Saturdays, visitors to Capitol Square will also find more than 150 vendors at the Dane County Farmers' Market.

• Adjacent to Capitol Square are several museums and galleries.

The Wisconsin Historical Museum tells the history of the Badger State from prehistoric times to the present. Call 608-264-6555 or visit www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum.

• The Wisconsin Veterans Museum, established after the Civil War, houses an extensive collection of artifacts from that war and subsequent conflicts. Call 608-267-1799 or visit www.museum.dva.state.wi.us.

• The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, located within the Overture Center for the Arts complex, has more than 50,000 square feet of gallery space, a rooftop garden and a large museum store. Call 608-257-0158 or visit www.mmoca.org.

• The Olbrich Botanical Gardens is a colorful 16-acre complex that includes a pyramidal conservatory, a viewing tower and the country's only Thai pavilion and garden. Call 608-246-4550 or visit www.olbrich.org.

• The University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum offers cultivated gardens and wild spaces covering 1,260 acres. Call 608-263-7888 or visit www.uwarboretum.org.

LEARNING MORE
For more information on the Madison area, contact the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau. Call 1-800-373-6376 or visit www.visitmadison.com.

By Steve Stephens
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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