This sparkling town along the Wisconsin River has a reputation that far outranks its size, thanks to its most famous native son, architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright built his Wisconsin home, Taliesin, just outside Spring Green in the early 1900s. He also established a still-functioning school for architects here. Wright’s reputation may have helped Spring Green attract its large artisan community. This includes a nationally recognized classical theater company, the American Players Theatre.

Just south of town, a more idiosyncratic architectural creation than anything Wright designed is on display at House on the Rock. Built atop a 60-foot chimney of rock, this former artist’s retreat has grown into a huge complex of several buildings housing a fantastical museum of oddities and collectibles.