Appleton is a relatively small city in central-eastern Wisconsin, with a population of approximately 70,000 residents. It is known as being safe, quiet, and visually pleasant. It is perhaps most famous as the boyhood town of Harry Houdini, the famed magician.

Attractions

Theatre and musicals at the Performing Arts Center, in downtown Appleton. High quality shows such as the famous Chinese Acrobats, and mainstream plays such as Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables are occasionally featured at this venue.

Education

 • Lawrence University. A small, private liberal arts college.
 • University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley, a two-year collegiate campus of the University of Wisconsin System.
In general Appleton is well-respected for the quality of the education in its public schools, both at the primary and secondary levels

Shopping

While it lacks any sort of shopping outlet on the scale or grandeur of the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Appleton has a large number of very popular malls. These malls feature hundreds of different stores in an indoor, climate-controlled setting and visitors come from all over the state to shop in Appleton. The most important malls include the Fox Valley Mall and Northland mall . While it is no longer functional, the Valley Fair mall is considered by historians to be the first indoor shopping mall in the world. Visitors seeking to buy groceries would be well advised to shop at Copps, Cub Foods, or Woodmans as these large chains feature affordable prices and carry a large variety of products.

Dining

Appleton possesses a surprisingly diverse set of restaurants for a town of its size, ranging from the standard budget fast food chains, such as McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys, Noodles & Company, Dairy Queen, up to more sophisticated options such as the Paper Valley Hotel restaurant. Furthermore, numerous options exist for foreign and ethnic food, including Indian, Thai, Hmong, Mexican, Korean, and Italian food.

Drink

One of the biggest hobbies of Appletonians is drinking in any of the numerous bars that line College Avenue.

Lodging

Like most cities, Appleton features a wide range of hotels from very affordable budget options to 3 star hotels that charge a small fortune. On the budget end, penny-pinching tourists can stay at Midway Inn (not recommended) and Roadstar Inn (recommended). On the other side of the coin are places like the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel and the Hilton Garden Inn (located on College Avenue, if you wish to know the price range focus on the word "Hilton" and not on the word "Inn").