Exploring Where Iowa Started

DUBUQUE, IOWA ITINERARY AT A GLANCE

Dubuque, Iowa is #1 and should be at the top of your list when planning for your next group tour. With a mix of unique first locations throughout the community, this itinerary highlights our history and our present while looking toward our future.

Dubuque Museum of Art

Enjoy These Great Dubuque, Iowa Attractions and More:

The Fenelon Place Elevator is the shortest, steepest, funicular in the world
Dubuque Museum of Art is Iowa’s oldest cultural institution
If You Build It Exhibit is the perfect way to explore the making of the Field of Dreams movie
Dubuque Arboretum and Gardens welcomes you to explore its Japanese Garden
and plenty more

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Dubuque

Dubuque, Iowa DAY-TO-DAY ITINERARY

DAY 1: A HISTORIC LOG CABIN, BREWERY AND MORE PLACES TO EXPLORE IN DUBUQUE

Start the day with #1 views in Dubuque at the Fenelon Place Elevator. This is the shortest, steepest, funicular in the world. While in Cable Car Square, be sure to check out the local boutiques, cool down with ice cream at Sweet Memories, or grab a coffee at Monk’s Coffee Shop.

Complete your morning at Iowa’s first United Methodist Church, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. Originally located in Washington Park, this church is known for the fifth largest collection of Tiffany stained glass windows in the world.

Stone Cliff Winery is in the Historic Star Brewery Complex. Guests will hear the history of Iowa’s first brewery and have a delicious lunch and/or wine tasting.

Dubuque Museum of Art is Iowa’s oldest cultural institution. Here the group will explore the exhibits of Grant Wood, Edward Curtis and much more. Inquire about their new behind-the-scenes tour to elevate your group’s experience.

Iowa’s first built log cabin is in Dubuque. Explore this structure along with the home of one of Dubuque’s famous entrepreneurs, Mathias Ham.

Check in and refresh at a Dubuque group-friendly hotel, Hotel Julien Dubuque, Dubuque’s first hotel formerly known as the Waples House or Grand Harbor Waterpark & Resort, Iowa’s first indoor waterpark.

There is no better way to learn the rich history of Dubuque than via the Historic Progressive Dinner. Start with an appetizer at a former church with the tallest spire in Dubuque. The main course will include live musical entertainment in a location that was at one time the home of the largest employer in Dubuque, the former Farley & Loetcher lumber company. End the evening at one of the few remaining Victorian homes in the community, the Fannie Stout House. The event includes a step-on guide.

Dubuque Aquarium

DAY 2: IOWA’S LARGEST AQUARIUM, AN ICONIC BASEBALL FIELD AND MORE THINGS TO DO IN DUBUQUE IOWA

Breakfast at the hotel.

Start your morning at Iowa’s largest aquarium, the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. One of two of Smithsonian museums in Dubuque whose focus is history and wildlife of the Mississippi River. New this year is the Rivers to the Sea exhibit. Enjoy a homemade buffet at Iowa’s first restaurant and bar, Breitbach’s Country Dining.

If You Build It Exhibit is the perfect way to explore the making of the Field of Dreams movie. This exhibit is the first of its kind paying homage to the magical Field of Dreams movie site. Home to the first MLB game in Iowa, the Field of Dreams Movie Site allows groups to experience the magic of the most iconic baseball field. The group will be able to explore the movie site as well as converse with a ghost player.

Home to the #1 Chicken Dinner, The Moracco Supper Club is family-owned and -operated for over 50 years. The fried chicken, listed on the menu as world-famous, is one of the many meat options apart from their family-style motorcoach group meals. Your group will have a choice of two types of meat, a potato, a vegetable and a salad at this supper club.

DAY 3: RELAXING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES IN DUBUQUE

Hotel checkout and breakfast.

First cousins Eric and Michael Gantz invite you to explore Verena Street Coffee for a tour of their coffee-making facility, sampling and a treat for each member of the group to take home.

Iowa’s first arboretum to be solely run by over 200 volunteers, Dubuque Arboretum and Gardens welcomes you to explore their Japanese Garden, Rose Garden, English Garden, Coy Pond and so much more. Golf carts are available.

End your tour of firsts with lunch at Convivium Urban Farmstead, whose mission is to improve life through food. Groups can add on the garden tour with the farm manager to see where the produce comes from to source the restaurant.

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