Chicago
Architecture buffs on a pilgrimage bow down to the Monadnock, two buildings in one that depict a crucial juncture in skyscraper development. The north…
Must-see attractions in Illinois
Swedish American Museum Center
Chicago
The permanent collection at this small storefront museum focuses on the lives of the Swedes who originally settled Chicago. Check out the items people…
Black Hawk State Historic Site
Illinois
The site sits in an unspoiled, forested park offering 6 miles of trails that meander through ravines and ridges by the Rock River. Eagles sometimes swoop…
Chicago
This hands-on museum has turtles and croaking frogs in its 1st-floor marsh, fluttering insects in its 2nd-floor butterfly haven and a bird boardwalk…
Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum
Illinois
This museum contains the most complete Lincoln collection in the world. Real-deal artifacts such as Abe's shaving mirror and presidential seal join whiz…
Chicago
Secrist's contemporary gallery has been around for more than a quarter century. The big, open space hosts about six different exhibitions per year, both…
Illinois
The striking white temple, surrounded by public gardens, was completed in 1953 and is one of eight continental Baha'i temples worldwide. Guests are free…
Chicago
The 1885 mansion, complete with 19 chimneys, is where seven of Chicago's past archbishops lived. World figures from Franklin D Roosevelt to Pope John Paul…
Chicago
The old Spiegel Catalog Warehouse holds more than 50 artists' studios. The best time to come is on the third Friday of the month when the studios open to…
Chicago
It sounds stuffy: a club for patrons of the arts, and it looks the part as men in fancy suits and women in furs drop by for lunch in the members-only…
Chicago
Artist-activist Theaster Gates, in conjunction with the University of Chicago, has revamped what was an abandoned 1920s terra-cotta building at the edge…
Chicago
Zhou B fills a massive old warehouse with galleries and studios and is the workplace of some 50 artists. The main exhibition spaces, on the 1st and 2nd…
Illinois
Part of Black Hawk State Historic Site, the museum outlines the story of Sauk leader Black Hawk and his people, and how they lived in the area prior to…
Chicago
This small industrial space in the Block 37 mall puts on nifty free exhibitions about contemporary and historical design. The shows change every four…
Illinois
An exception to Illinois' flat farmland is the green southernmost section, punctuated by rolling Shawnee National Forest and its rocky outcroppings. The…
Chicago
Opened on the site of an old limestone quarry, Palmisano Park unfurls an urban prairie landscape with great views of the Chicago skyline. Locals come here…
Chicago
Grant Park hosts the city's mega-events, such as Taste of Chicago, Blues Fest and Lollapalooza. Buckingham Fountain is the park's centerpiece. The…
Chicago
French sculptor Jean Dubuffet created this piece, which some call 'Snoopy in a Blender.' The 1984 white fiberglass work looks a little like inflated…
Chicago
This long-standing gallery focuses on eye-popping folk and outsider art from the US and abroad, and is known for its excellent exhibitions.
Chicago
Joan Miró’s 1981 work The Sun, the Moon and One Star, known now as Miró’s Chicago, sits across the street from Daley Plaza. Miró hoped to evoke the …
Chicago
Of course you're going to swing by and take a photo in front of this wall-sized postcard. It's awesome. Look for images of deep-dish pizza, a Chicago…
Chicago
The 1907 Prairie School boathouse rises up from the lagoon’s edge and serves as the park’s showpiece. A cafe inside serves beyond-the-norm sandwiches and…
Chicago
Located at the Lincoln Park Zoo's southern end, the farm features a full range of barnyard animals and offers frequent demonstrations of cow milking,…
Chicago
Alexander Calder’s soaring red-pink sculpture provides some much-needed relief from the stark facades of the federal buildings around it. Calder dedicated…
Chicago
Prolific Pilsen muralist Hector Duarte covered his home/studio with this enormous painting. It shows a giant, outstretched Mexican immigrant as Gulliver…
Chicago
Staring out from the Field Museum's lawn, Olmec Head No 8 is a replica of one of many sculptures the Olmec people carved in Veracruz, Mexico, c 1300 BC…
Chicago
Hyde Park Art Center shows contemporary works by Chicagoans – many of them students (current or graduated) of the center's classes. There's usually a…
Illinois
The garden is home to 255 bird species and has year-round hiking trails, as well as hosting weekend cooking demonstrations by well-known chefs from May 25…
National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture
Chicago
The museum fills the old horse stables in Humboldt Park. It's worth a stroll inside to see what free art and cultural exhibits are showing. These might…
Chicago
Located in theMart amid all the home design showrooms, this gallery specializes in colorful impressionist, modernist and historical Chicago-focused works…
Chicago
Frank Gehry designed this snaking pedestrian bridge that spans Columbus Dr. The luminous sheet-metal walkway connects Millennium Park (from the back of…
Chicago
This pop-art gallery is pure fun, from the colorful, cartoony prints and paintings to the building's offbeat history (it was an egg factory and then a…
Chicago
Unless you're an acrophobe, no visit to Navy Pier is complete without taking in the views as you ride the 196ft-tall Ferris wheel. The spin lasts about 15…
Illinois
This small viewing platform looks out over Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge and is a fine spot for ogling migratory birds, waterfowl and shorebirds.
Illinois
Despite Hemingway allegedly calling Oak Park a village of wide lawns and narrow minds, the town still pays homage to him by maintaining his childhood home…
Chicago
Set inside the historic Water Tower, this small gallery showcases Chicago-themed works by local photographers and artists.
Illinois
Funk’s Grove is a pretty, 19th-century maple-sirup farm (yes, that's sirup with an 'i') and nature preserve. It's in Shirley (exit 154 off I-55).
Mississippi Palisades State Park
Illinois
It's a popular rock-climbing, hiking and camping area by the Mississippi River. Pick up trail maps at the north entrance park office.
Chicago
The Great Lawn is the grassy area in front of Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, where everyone sits and picnics during concerts.
Illinois
Sixty miles northwest of Chicago, this museum sends trainspotters into fits of ecstasy with 200 acres of locomotives.
