Hotel at a Glance: The Charmant Hotel

Book a room in this brand-new boutique hotel in downtown La Crosse and you’ll be among the first guests ever to stay here. Built in 1898, the newly-restored building served for decades as a candy factory. Though the 4-star hotel has undergone extensive renovations, certain original elements remain, including maple-wood flooring, wooden beams, exposed brick, and—if you concentrate—a faint whiff of bygone sweets.

• Where you’ll stay: Chic guest rooms feature an elegant mix of vintage furnishings, handcrafted fixtures, and memorabilia celebrating La Crosse.
• In-room amenities include flat-screen TVs, mini bars stocked with local products, and complimentary WiFi. River Vue units overlook the Mississippi River.
• Bon appetit! The hotel’s restaurant serves rustic French-inspired cuisine made with local ingredients.
• Sweets bar: In a nod to the building’s past, there’s a spot where you can load up on pastries and other confections.
• Why “Charmant”? “Charmant” means “charming” in French, and that was once the name of one of candy factory’s signature chocolates.
• Bars and lounges: Try a cocktail at the main bar or head into the parlor to sip coffee and spirits.

La Crosse, Wisconsin: Riverside City with Microbrews and Outdoor Fun

La Crosse boasts a scenic location on the banks of the Mississippi, which makes up Wisconsin’s western border. Given this prime natural setting, it’s no surprise that many of the most-popular activities in and around town are outdoorsy—hiking, biking, fishing, and boating take up the summer months; skiing at Mount La Crosse, snowmobiling, and microbrew-imbibing are fun ways to pass the time after it turns cold.

The city’s downtown area offers an array of specialty shops, art galleries, restaurants, and breweries to check out. The tasting room at Pearl Street Brewery not only has eight beers on tap, but also hosts live musical events on weekends. La Crosse also has some notable macrobrews as well—kind of. It’s a sextet of enormous storage tanks bearing La Crosse Lager labels, known as the World’s Largest Six Pack.

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