Illinois Travel Guide

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Aerial view of downtown Chicago, Illinois
Chicago at night, Illinois (Corbis)

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Illinois Travel Tips

  • Anderson Japanese Gardens, 318 Spring Creek Rd., Rockford (tel. 815/229-9390; www.andersongardens.org), is one of the loveliest examples of a Japanese garden in the Western world. Anderson's 12 acres are open May through October and are filled with gorgeous authentic Japanese structures, like the traditional teahouse, gazebo, and serene ponds of wiggling koi. Don't miss the West Waterfall, five stories fashioned from 700 tons of boulders, with the sound of 1,600 gallons of water to clear the bells and whistles of the buzzing world out of your head.
  • In Utica off I-39, stunning Starved Rock State Park (tel. 815/667-4726; http://dnr.state.il.us/Lands/landmgt/parks/i&m/east/starve/park.htm) has 2,816 acres of waterfalls, streams, canyons formed by melting glaciers, and sandstone bluffs, and miles and miles of shady oak trees, and is particularly great for eagle-spotting opportunities.
  • If you didn't get enough of the World Cup, fútbol fans should check out the 28,000-seat Bridgeview Stadium in Toyota Park, 7000 S. Harlem Ave., Chicago (tel. 312/705-7200; www.chicago-fire.com), which opened in June 2006 and is home to the Chicago Fire soccer team.
  • In the center of the state, fans of Honest Abe will love the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum, 212 N. Sixth St., Springfield (tel. 800/610-2094; www.alplm.org), and its fantastic collection of Lincoln's papers, books, and personal belongings. You can see the original Gettysburg Address on display.

Read more Illinois travel tips from Frommer's


Illinois Travel Guide

For travelers coming from any direction the wind blows, Illinois may well be one of the easiest states to get to, with several major airlines and Amtrak using it as a central hub, and Lake Michigan making the city of Chicago not only windy, but also a fairly major port of call. This easy accessibility is one of the many reasons that Illinois has historically attracted large groups of emigrants—notably, Germans, Polish, Irish, and Mexicans, and African Americans escaping slavery—to settle within its boundaries, looking for work and a new home. Illinois fell to the side of its most favored son, Abraham Lincoln—who spent all of his adult pre-presidential years calling the state home—and thus was an anti-slavery state prior to the Civil War. However, there was a sad smear on this status when in 1853 Illinois state senator John Logan helped the local legislature to pass the appalling Black Codes, prohibiting African Americans, particularly those escaping slavery in the South, from immigrating into the state. Despite his success with the legislature, though, Logan clearly didn't have the support of his entire state. Because of its location on the Mississippi River, Illinois became one of many active Underground Railroad states in the Union, with the cities of Alton and Jacksonville in southwestern Illinois being particularly notable spots. Today, many of those sites and their artifacts have been preserved and are open to visitors year-round. Read More

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Attractions

Oprah Winfrey Show (The)

Harpo Studios: 1058 West Washington St. at the corner of Carpenter and Washington
110 North Carpenter St.
Chicago, Illinois 60607

Description: The Oprah Winfrey Show first aired in 1984 as AM Chicago, and eventually became the... Read More
Expert Rated & Recommended
5_0
5_0

American Academy of Art

332 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60604-4302
Expert Rated & Recommended
3_0
3_0

Lakeshore Athletic Club - Illinois Center

211 North Stetson
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Expert Rated & Recommended
4_0
4_0

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Hotels

from: $117

Sofitel Chicago Water Tower

20 East Chestnut St. - Downtown
Chicago, IL 60611 Map

Hotel Class: 4 class stars

Expert Rated & Recommended
4.0
4.0
from: $74

Ambassador East Hotel

1301 North State Parkway
Chicago, IL 60610 Map

Hotel Class: 3 class stars

Expert Rated & Recommended
3.0
3.0
from: $100

Conrad Chicago

521 North Rush Street
Chicago, IL 60611 Map

Hotel Class: 4 class stars

Expert Rated & Recommended
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4.0


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