Chicago
Aqua made waves when it appeared in 2009. Local architect Jeanne Gang designed the 86-story tower (set to be surpassed in 2020, when her 93-story Vista…
Must-see attractions in The Great Lakes
Northern Minnesota
The vast Chippewa National Forest covers a large swath of the north-central part of the state. It's a protected wilderness that offers visitors the chance…
Museum of Contemporary Photography
Chicago
This small museum focuses on American and international photography from the early 20th century onward, and is the only institution of its kind between…
Chicago
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…
Wisconsin
Wingspread is the house Frank Lloyd Wright designed for HF Johnson Jr, one of the SC Johnson company's leaders. It is the last and largest of Wright's…
Chicago
Russian-born artist Marc Chagall loved Chicago, and in 1974 he donated this grand mosaic to the city. Using thousands of bits of glass and stone, the…
Wisconsin
The university's art museum is huge and fabulous, and way beyond the norm for a campus collection. The 3rd floor holds most of the genre-spanning trove:…
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
Wisconsin
The two-floor Hall of Fame, located inside the atrium adjacent to Lambeau Field, is filled with Green Bay Packer memorabilia, shiny trophies and movies…
Chicago
The twin corncob towers of Marina City are an Instagram favorite for their futuristic, cartoony look. Bertrand Goldberg designed the 1964 high-rise, and…
Upper Peninsula
The lake, in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, is the area's most photographed sight. After stopping at the visitor center to pay the park…
Red Wing
This bluff, about 1 mile east of downtown, offers stunning vistas of central Red Wing below and the Mississippi River out in the distance. You can drive…
Chicago
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…
Chicago
Pritzker Pavilion is Millennium Park's acoustically awesome band shell. Architect Frank Gehry designed it and gave it his trademark swooping silver…
Wisconsin
Roam the 16 acres of lush outdoor gardens, including an unusual gilded Thai pavilion. The Bolz Conservatory houses rare tropical plants, free-flying birds…
Gold Coast
Michigan's excellent wines taste even better on Brys Estate's sprawling deck, which provides stunning vineyard and bay views. Tastings from $8; cheese and…
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 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…
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…
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
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…
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…
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…
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
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…
Cincinnati
This museum stocks an awesome cache of flashing, lightbulb-studded beacons in an old parachute factory. You’ll burn your retinas staring at vintage neon…
Leland, Northport & Suttons Bay
In the early 1900s, tiny commercial fishing villages dotted the shorelines of the Great Lakes. Fishtown is one of the few that has been preserved. Wander…
Chicago
Holy Name Cathedral is the seat of Chicago’s Catholic Church and where its powerful cardinals do their preaching. It provides a quiet place for…
