HomeTravel GuidesIllinois

Illinois

While most visitors will come to Illinois for the vibrant city life in Chicago, renowned for its architecture, cultural attractions, and culinary scene. But it’s worth exploring outsided this major city too: history buffs won’t want to miss a visit to Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield or the 19th-century architecture in Galena, while nature lovers should head to Illinois’ scenic Shawnee National Forest or the sandstone canyons in Starved Rock State Park.

The Best State Parks in the Midwest—and How to Visit

Photo by Shutterstock/Owen Weber

Overview

Planning your trip

Use these articles, resources, and guides to plan and inspire your next trip to Illinois.

Related Guides
  1. Chicago
    Chicago
    January 17, 2019 05:27 PM
     · 
    Kaitlyn Barrett
READ BEFORE YOU GO
Chicago-Getty-Unsplash.jpg
Art + Culture
This Obama-Themed Route in Chicago Visits All the First Couple’s Favorite Haunts
Here’s how to spend a day in the city as the former president would, from legendary restaurants to the new Barack Obama Presidential Library opening in June 2026.
June 3, 2026 05:40 PM
 · 
Steve Knopper
As festivals like Coachella grow in scale and cultural influence, disabled attendees like Shailynn Taylor continue to navigate the gap between access on paper and the realities on the ground.
Accessible Travel
Your Music Festival Is ADA Compliant. It’s Still Not Accessible.
March 24, 2026 10:20 AM
 · 
Maayan Ziv
the façade of Mount Rushmore, with a purple sky illuminated by an array of orange fireworks behind the presidents' faces
America 250
America 250 Celebrations in the Midwest: Mount Rushmore Fireworks and the Famous Iowa State Fair
December 3, 2025 03:07 PM
 · 
Ashlea Halpern
New York gets even more exciting during the most wonderful time of the year.
Holiday Travel
8 U.S. Cities Putting Their Own Spins on the Holidays, From Festive Boat Parades to Nouveau Nutcrackers
November 24, 2025 10:37 AM
 · 
Nicholas DeRenzo
View of Route 66 from a car window
Road Trips
Sing Your Way Along This Music Lover’s Route 66 Road Trip
November 14, 2025 07:35 AM
 · 
Justin Goldman
HOTELS
The glass skyscraper where the St. Regis Chicago resides was designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang.
Stay Here Next
The Tallest Building Ever Designed by a Woman Is Also One of Chicago’s Best Hotels
The St. Regis Chicago is big on indulgence—but tucked in a corner most tourists never reach.
May 28, 2025 10:10 AM
 · 
Heidi Mitchell
The Chicago Athletic Association's public areas feature several fireplaces.
Hotels
These Are the 18 Best Luxury and Boutique Hotels in Chicago
Find the retreat that best matches your taste in the Windy City.
May 28, 2025 07:30 AM
 · 
Heidi Mitchell
The pool at the Berkeley City Club has art deco tiling and a blue ceiling
Hotels
You Can Stay in These 6 City Club Hotels Even if You’re Not a Member
Architecture, history, and fitness star in these exclusive club hotels that let nonmembers check in.
April 15, 2025 11:17 AM
 · 
Pat Tompkins
RESOURCES TO HELP PLAN YOUR TRIP
The Hoxton, Chicago
There are a handful of appealing options in the West Loop, but the most exciting is the Hoxton Chicago, whose laid-back lobby is filled daily with locals and guests working, meeting, dining, drinking, or hanging out with a coffee. Part of the socially focused Hoxton hotel group that launched in London’s East End in 2006, this 182-room hotel has become the West Loop’s top rendezvous spot for meetings (unless you’re a member of nearby Soho House), but upstairs is just as enticing. We love “Flexy Time,” which allows guests to check in and out whatever time of day they like, so long as they book directly through the hotel website.
August 16, 2023 01:21 PM
 · 
Heidi Mitchell
The Sophy
Hyde Park is happening. Catering to the University of Chicago crowd and its visiting dignitaries, the five-year-old Sophy takes inspiration from hometown literary and musical heroes, whose artworks ornament the walls in the popular and always convivial Mesler restaurant. Taking the title of the first boutique hotel on Chicago’s South Side when it opened in 2018, the property occupies a prime spot on 53rd Street—a vibrant commercial hub lined with shops and restaurants owned and frequented by a diverse population that range from academics to local politicians to the city’s cultural influencers. Former UofC professor Barack Obama’s home (and his under-construction presidential library) are nearby.
August 16, 2023 01:14 PM
 · 
Heidi Mitchell
The Robey Chicago
Hello, rooftop pool! Leave it to Chicagoans to remain optimistic that summer will be amazing, even if winter lasts well into May. The rooftop pool (open to restaurant as well as hotel guests), occupies a prime spot on one corner of Six Points, that crazy intersection where three major shopping streets cross paths. That means the regulars are a mixed bag, but all come in for a good time, whether that means for brunch in the newly redesigned Café Robey street-level restaurant, to drink until dawn at the poolside Cabana Club bar, or to sneak up to its new sister, the Up Room, at the top of the deco tower.
August 16, 2023 01:10 PM
 · 
Heidi Mitchell
Pendry Chicago
Hungry travelers have a few options, including the hotel’s signature modern French brasserie and café, Venteux, but the real action is upstairs at the French-inspired rooftop, Château Carbide. Set in what would be the cork of this (literally) gilded bottle-shaped tower, the secret plein-air space had never been open to the public until 2021; in June 2023, it was reimagined as an absinthe bar, where the plant-based liquor takes center stage on the cocktail menu, with spectacular city views as the background.
August 16, 2023 01:01 PM
 · 
Heidi Mitchell
Four Seasons Hotel Chicago
A recent makeover of the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago from Houston-based Rottet Studio did away with the dark and clubby vibe common in older Chicago hotels in favor of a brighter natural palette. Today, the lobby is open and bedecked in oversize floral arrangements; the open-plan lounge there, with its modern glass chandelier, has become a high-end local watering hole known as the Social Bar. The new Adorn restaurant is now a big-night-out dining destination courtesy of chef Richie Farina’s creations that range from a perfectly prepared filet mignon to caviar and eggs. Upstairs, the 345 guest rooms—more than half are suites—feature understated grays and pale greens and come with deep soaking tubs and (if you ask) unimpeded views of Lake Michigan.
August 16, 2023 12:57 PM
 · 
Heidi Mitchell
St. Regis Chicago
This hotel is on our list of The 11 Best Hotels in Chicago.

The world has been waiting years for the St. Regis Chicago, located in the city’s 101-floor skyscraper designed by Jeanne Gang, to welcome guests and owners; in 2023, it finally made its stunning debut. The triple-tower building’s architecture was based on the frustrum shape, which is basically a pyramid with its top chopped off. (Think of a popcorn box.) That form is replicated subtly throughout the hotel, from the exoskeleton to the marble tiles in the inviting lobby on the Chicago River. Each of the 192 guest rooms comes with floor-to-ceiling windows and panoramic city views, a dedicated butler, one of four soaking tubs, brass detailing, and curvilinear furnishings from a collaboration between architectural powerhouse Gensler and boutique firm Simeone Deary Design Group.


Rounding out the amenities: the Miru all-day-dining restaurant that is anything but casual, a new Tuscan steakhouse concept, a truly cossetting seven-room spa, an indoor pool with an outdoor patio, and the finest urban hotel gym probably anywhere. Was the wait worth it? Indeed it was.
August 16, 2023 12:31 PM
 · 
Heidi Mitchell
National Parks
A New National Monument Has Been Named, Protecting a Civil Rights Legacy
The new Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument is the latest in a series of national monuments recognizing the civil rights movement.
July 26, 2023 03:52 PM
 · 
Bailey Berg
Road Trips
7 Unforgettable U.S. Cross-Country Road Trips
Go from one side of the country to another on one of these journeys.
June 7, 2023 10:37 AM
 · 
Chloe Arrojado
Family Travel
Our Favorite Summer Trips With Family and Kids of All Ages
Some of the best memories and connections are forged when we travel as a family. These are our top picks for places to go when we’re traveling with everyone from tiny tots and teens to a multigenerational group that spans many ages and stages.
March 9, 2023 12:15 PM
 · 
Michelle Baran
Load More