Illinois attractions

Take a walk through automobile history at the Volo Auto Museum, where classic cars and a self-playing orchestra bring the past to life. Marvel at muscle cars on the way to the pop culture exhibits, and don’t miss the country’s largest collection of original Hollywood movie and TV cars.

Packed with opportunities for adventure, play, and learning, the Chicago Children’s Museum makes a great choice for a family outing. Located on Chicago’s popular Navy Pier, this three-story attraction is one of the largest children’s museums in the country. Kids can spend their day interacting with hands-on exhibits, whether digging for dinosaur bones, captaining a boat, building their own structures, and more.

Wrigleyville is a sporty Chicago neighborhood located on the city’s North Side, which is centered around the iconic Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs). However, this lively enclave offers more than just baseball. Whether it’s a game day or an average weekday, dozens of sports bars, pizzerias, and casual eateries draw Cubs fans and thirsty locals alike looking for a fun night out.

Featuring millions of LEGO® pieces, two indoor rides, a 4D theater, and a master builder workshop, LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Chicago is the ultimate building toy box. Designed for families with kids between the ages of 3 and 12, this indoor play space features 10 themed zones to foster the imagination of young builders.

Located within Chicago’s iconic Marina City building complex, House of Blues—a combination restaurant, bar, and concert hall—has been a major Windy City entertainment destination for tourists and music lovers since its opening in 1996. Co-founded by The Blues Brothers star Dan Aykroyd, the venue hosts music and comedy events most nights of the week. Its central location makes it easy to fit into a full day out in Chicago.

In celebration of the 1893 World Expo, Chicago established the 543-acre (220-hectare) Jackson Park. Today the popular green space hosts a golf course, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, scenic nature trails, a Lake Michigan beach, and more. The Chicago Lakefront Trail runs through the park, making it a great biking and jogging destination.

Home to everything from an endangered Sumatran tiger to Galapagos tortoises, the Miller Park Zoo provides a wide range of indoor and outdoor habitats for wildlife from across the globe. Experience a tropical rain forest, explore the zoo lab, and engage with the animals.

This historic South Side neighborhood was once the city’s most illustrious address and home to tycoons like George Pullman and Marshall Field. Today, only a handful of original mansions remain on “Millionaires Row,” but the district is preserved on the National Register of Historic Places as a tribute to Chicago’s Gilded Age grandeur.

At Flyover in Chicago, you can see the best of the Windy City without leaving Navy Pier during an immersive multimedia experience. This 9-minute ride uses sky-high video footage to create the illusion of soaring above the city’s downtown and most famous sights, including Willis Tower, the Chicago River, and Millennium Park. Flyover also offers other experiences that take you virtually to locations around the globe, with destinations typically changing throughout the year.

Lincoln Park Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in the United States, is famously free and open to the public 365 days a year, and is a Chicago highlight for visitors of all ages. Come to marvel at almost 200 different species of animals from around the globe, plus participate in daily educational activities, ride the train and carousel, and admire the city skyline.

Experience entertainment fit for a king at Medieval Times in Chicago. The huge stone towers of the Schaumberg Castle house a rousing dinner and action-packed jousting tournament featuring sword fighting, horsemanship, and falconry. Guests can cheer and leer for their favorite knights while devouring a medieval-style feast.

Downtown Chicago has many architectural highlights, but few quite rival the Merchandise Mart (The Mart). Nearly a century old, the building was the world’s largest at the time of its construction; it spans some 4 million square feet (372,000 square meters). Today, the art deco landmark is an important design center, and stands proud along the Chicago River.

Leave the kids at home for this one, folks. Chicago’s Medieval Torture Museum is a garish, gory look at implements and devices of cruelty from days of yore. From one-off murderers and madmen, from the eccentric to the government-sanctioned, the exhibits often leave visitors feeling many things—including gratitude for living in the 21st century.

Among the country’s most esteemed comedy and improv clubs, the Second City has been a Chicago institution since 1959. Famous alumni range from Bill Murray and John Candy to Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Stephen Colbert. The Second City hosts performances across three different stages, including the adjacent Up Comedy Club.

Widely regarded as the birthplace of Chicago deep-dish pizza, Pizzeria Uno is one of the Windy City’s most famous food stops. Though it has spawned nationally franchised locations under the Uno Pizzeria & Grill name, the original Pizzeria Uno, founded by Ike Sewell in 1943, still stands at the corner of East Ohio Street and North Wabash Avenue in Downtown Chicago.

Towering over Chicago downtown Loop District, this distinctive 23-story skyscraper is home to the First United Methodist Church—the first established church in the city. Today, visitors are welcome in the ground floor sanctuary in addition to the lofty Sky Chapel that provides a peaceful place for worship 400 feet above the city streets.

Gazing pensively down from atop a granite pedestal, this larger-than-life statue depicts the 16th US president and namesake of Chicago’s Lincoln Park, in which it stands. Unveiled to great acclaim in 1887, the 12-foot bronze cast designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens predates the completion of Washington DC’s Lincoln Memorial by 35 years.

One of the most notable features along the Chicago River, the Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Fountain was built to commemorate the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago, whose engineers famously reversed the flow of the Chicago River in 1900. Featuring a modernist, cascading waterfall and an hourly jet of water, it’s a summertime sightseeing staple of the Windy City.

For a contemporary magic show, head to Trickery, an hour-long experience with audience participation. Join Aaron and Hoppy the Psychic Wonder Bunny as they delight guests with comedy and sleight-of-hand tricks that will keep you guessing the entire time. The show is geared toward adults, but enjoyable for young magic fans too.

Famous as the home of both the University of Chicago and (formerly) Barack Obama, Hyde Park was an early Chicago suburb that remains one of the city's foremost academic addresses. Spanning several parks plus the Lake Michigan shoreline, the neighborhood is a great place to get outdoors and take in fantastic views of the Chicago skyline. The area also boasts the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, DuSable Black History Museum, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s UNESCO-listed Robie House.

Founded in 1988 by graduates of Northwestern University, the award-winning Lookingglass Theatre Company is known for putting on cutting-edge works that sometimes incorporate circus acts. Located in the historic Water Tower Water Works, the company has staged more than 65 world premieres.

The Chicago metropolitan area’s biggest theme park, Six Flags Great America has delighted visitors of all ages for nearly 50 years. Together with its sibling waterpark, Hurricane Harbor, Six Flags Great America offers dozens of roller coasters, rides, waterslides, and other activities, aimed at everyone from families and younger kids up to daredevils and thrill seekers.

The Chinese American Museum of Chicago (CAMOC) is situated in the heart of Chinatown, and is the first museum of its kind in the Midwest. Small but well-curated, visitors can learn about the Chinese American experience and contributions to society, including things like Chinese cuisine, the evolution of Chicago’s Chinatown, and darker periods in US history like the Chinese Exclusion Act.