Artistic offerings combined with small-town Americana make for the best of the Midwest.

Overview
A host of new museums and theaters have cropped up along the "Great River Road" that follows the Mississippi River as it winds its way south along the borders of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. The 350-mile (560-kilometer) drive from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Davenport, Iowa, is now not only one of the most scenic drives in the country but also one of the culturally richest.

Start in Minneapolis
The epicenter of this Midwestern renaissance is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the arts flourish. Among the city's gems are the Walker Art Center (www.walkerart.org), the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (www.artsmia.org), and Frank Gehry's landmark Weisman Art Museum (www.weisman.umn.edu). The city's Guthrie Theater (www.guthrietheater.org), on the banks of the Mississippi, has three theaters and two restaurants, including the swanky Cue. There is also an "Endless Bridge"—a cantilevered walkway that extends almost 200 feet (60 meters) out from the building toward the river; from here you can look down and watch the mighty Mississippi roll over the St. Anthony Falls.

Anderson Center
For more of the Great River Road revival, take Highway 61 south from Minneapolis for just over an hour, where your first stop should be the Anderson Center (www.andersoncenter.org) in Red Wing, a writers' and artists' retreat that has a small but worthwhile collection of paintings by Warhol, Man Ray, Matisse, and more. Then get back on the road for another hour's drive south along the river to Winona, Minnesota, an old lumber town that has recently become one of the most vibrant cities on the Upper Mississippi.