Attention Route 66 buffs: the Mother Road begins in downtown Chicago. Look for the 'Historic 66 Begin' sign at the northwestern corner of Adams St and Michigan Ave, across from the Art Institute. (There's another sign at the end of the block, but this one is a replica of the original.) From Chicago the route traverses 2400 miles to Los Angeles, past neon signs, mom-and-pop motels and pie-and-coffee diners…but it all starts here.
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Route 66 Sign
Chicago
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
4.99 MILES
Built in 1914, Wrigley Field – aka the Friendly Confines – is the second-oldest baseball park in the major leagues. It’s home to the Chicago Cubs and…
6.51 MILES
The MSI is the largest science museum in the Western hemisphere and a place to completely geek out. Highlights include a WWII German U-boat nestled in an…
0.05 MILES
The second-largest art museum in the country, the Art Institute houses a treasure trove from around the globe. The collection of impressionist and…
0.23 MILES
There's free admission to Millennium Park, the playful heart of the city. It shines with whimsical public art, both permanent and temporary exhibits, and…
0.59 MILES
Willis Tower is Chicago's tallest building (and one of the world's loftiest). Breathe deeply during the ear-popping, 70-second elevator ride to the 103rd…
Field Museum of Natural History
0.99 MILES
The Field Museum houses some 30 million artifacts and includes everything but the kitchen sink – beetles, mummies, gemstones, Bushman the stuffed ape –…
1.12 MILES
Half-mile-long Navy Pier is one of Chicago's most-visited attractions, sporting a 196ft Ferris wheel and other carnival rides ($9 to $18 each), an IMAX…
National Museum of Mexican Art
2.98 MILES
Founded in 1982, this vibrant museum – the largest Latinx arts institution in the US – has become one of the city’s best. The vivid permanent collection…
Nearby Chicago attractions
0.05 MILES
The second-largest art museum in the country, the Art Institute houses a treasure trove from around the globe. The collection of impressionist and…
0.07 MILES
The 1904 Santa Fe Building is a terra-cotta beauty where architect Daniel Burnham kept his offices. Enter the lobby and look up at the vast light well…
0.13 MILES
Jaume Plensa’s two 50ft-high glass-block towers contain video displays that flash a thousand different faces of locals. Each mug puckers up and spurts…
0.14 MILES
Renzo Piano designed this silver, pedestrian-only span. It arches from Millennium Park over Monroe St to the Art Institute’s small, 3rd-floor sculpture…
0.21 MILES
If the crowds at the Bean, Crown Fountain and Pritzker Pavilion are too much, seek out the peaceful Lurie Garden, which uses native plants to form a…
0.21 MILES
This building has been an artists' haven for more than a century. You'll still hear opera voices and trumpet music drift out of the music studios, which…
0.22 MILES
Anish Kapoor's beloved silver sculpture in Millennium Park is known informally as 'the Bean.' It reflects both the sky and the skyline, and everyone…
0.23 MILES
Louis Sullivan designed this ornate building in 1899. For a century it was home to the Carson Pirie Scott & Co department store. Check out the superb…