Chicago
Galerie F is exactly the type of laid-back, ubercool gallery you'd expect to find in Logan Square. It specializes in rock-and-roll gig posters,…
Must-see attractions in The Great Lakes
Minneapolis
Head inside the cobalt-blue Guthrie Theater and make your way up the escalator to the Endless Bridge, a far-out cantilevered walkway overlooking the…
St Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
Take a minute to wander past St Nicholas, which is the less traditional of the neighborhood’s main Ukrainian churches. Built in 1913, its 13 domes…
Chicago
This 207-acre park, which lends its name to the surrounding neighborhood, comes out of nowhere and gobsmacks you with Mother Nature. A lagoon brushed by…
Chicago
This hilly, prairie-grassed park has a walking and cycling trail, bird-watching, fishing and an outdoor venue for big-name concerts. It's actually a…
Chicago
This 550-acre, lakefront green space is a gem. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, renowned creator of New York City's Central Park, it comprises bird-rich…
Chicago
From 1957 to 1967, this humble building was Chess Records, the seminal electric blues label. It's now named for the bassist who wrote most of Chess' hits…
Chicago
Built in 1907, these two acres under glass are a lovely spot to while away a few hours sauntering around rooms of palms, ferns, orchids and koi-filled…
Detroit
Polka-dotted streets, houses covered in Technicolor paint blobs, strange doll sculptures in yards – this is no acid trip, but rather a block-spanning art…
Chicago
The famed firm of Burnham and Root built the Rookery – named for the site's previous building, a temporary city hall that was popular with roosting…
Cincinnati
This museum complex occupies the 1933 Union Terminal, an art deco jewel still used by Amtrak. The interior has fantastic murals made of local Rookwood…
Detroit
In this row of modest houses Berry Gordy launched Motown Records – and the careers of Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson – with an…
Minneapolis
This is one of the USA's largest campuses, with some 50,000 students. Most of the campus is in the East Bank neighborhood. Washington Ave SE and Oak St SE…
International Museum of Surgical Science
Chicago
This small but fascinating museum, set inside a former residential mansion facing the lake, is dedicated to the world of surgery and medicine. Exhibits…
Milwaukee
Hog-heads can get a fix at the plant where engines are built, in suburban Menomonee Falls. The factory offers several options for tours, including a…
Chicago
The sexual revolution partied hearty for 15 years in the basement ‘grotto’ of this 1899 mansion. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner bought it in 1959 and hung a…
Chicago
Top draws at the kiddie-mobbed Shedd Aquarium include the Wild Reef exhibit, where there's just 5in of Plexiglas between you and two-dozen fierce-looking…
Chicago
This wonderfully restored 1925 train station looks like it stepped right out of a gangster movie. In fact, it has been used to great effect in exactly…
Cleveland
Pop into this small gallery inside the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, and you'll emerge richer than when you entered. Literally, since the Money…
Michigan
Adjacent to the Henry Ford Museum (and part of its complex), outdoor Greenfield Village spreads across 80 acres and features historic buildings shipped in…
Detroit
Commissioned as a 'cathedral of finance,' this distinctive, 40-story, redbrick building with green and white accents was the world's tallest masonry…
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Cincinnati
Cincinnati was a prominent stop on the Underground Railroad and a hub for abolitionist activities. The center displays artifacts from the era, such as an…
Illinois
Open only to pedestrians and cyclists these days, this mile-long span over the Mississippi River opened in 1929 and was a vital link in Route 66. It has a…
Indianapolis
Only Washington, DC has more city monuments and memorials than Indianapolis (in fact, Scottish surveyor Alexander Ralston helped design both cities). This…
Minneapolis
After Prince died in 2016, his family opened his 65,000-sq-ft home to the public for tours. Fans have been streaming to the mod, boxy white mansion ever…
Chicago
It's impossible to get any closer to Wrigley Field without actually crossing the stadium's threshold, making this newly developed plaza (formerly a…
Michigan
Fort Mackinac sits atop limestone cliffs near downtown. Built by the British in 1780, it's one of the best-preserved military forts in the country…
Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library
Indianapolis
Author Kurt Vonnegut was born and raised in Indy, and this humble museum pays homage with displays including his Pall Mall cigarettes, droll drawings and…
Cleveland
The 1905 hothouse bursts with cacti, orchids, ferns and irises. On cold days the sultry rooms provide a sweet refuge, and you’ll likely have the place to…
Chicago
The enchanting Lily Pool hides in a plot northeast of the Lincoln Park Conservatory, at the corner of Fullerton and Cannon Drs. Built in 1938 by landscape…
Chicago
Grant Park's centerpiece is one of the world's largest fountains, with a 1.5-million-gallon capacity and a 15-story-high spray. It lets loose on the hour…
Chicago
The Paseo Boricua, aka Puerto Rican Promenade, is a half-mile-long stretch of Division St where many Puerto Rican shops and restaurants do business. It’s…
Gold Coast
The forest-cloaked Manitou Islands provide an off-the-beaten-path adventure. They’re part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, hence the entrance…
Chicago
Stands of purple cabbages, red radishes, green asparagus and other bright-hued produce sprawl through Lincoln Park at Chicago's biggest farmers market…
Detroit
Renowned architect Albert Kahn designed this 3.5-million-sq-ft factory, which opened in 1905, but after years of neglect it became one of Detroit's most…
Chicago
Bibliophiles will have a grand time in this museum, where American writers spanning the ages – from Edgar Allen Poe to Elie Wiesel, James Baldwin to Edith…
Chicago
The zoo has been around since 1868 and is a local freebie favorite, filled with lions, zebras, snow monkeys and other exotic creatures in the shadow of…
Milwaukee
Founded in 1855, the historic Miller facility preserves Milwaukee's beer legacy. Join the legions lined up for the free, hour-long tours. Though the mass…
Chicago
Many residents of this area, also known as ‘Little Saigon,’ arrived as refugees from the Vietnam War and subsequently filled the storefronts with lunch…
Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland
Cleveland
The shiny building impresses, with four stories of geometric black steel, though there's not a lot to see inside. The 2nd and 4th floors have the…
