Illinois Travel Guide

Tucked somewhere in the big broad chest of America is a Heartland. It’s filled with whispering prairie lands, revered historical heroes, a fabled two-lane highway lined with drive-ins and mom-and-pops, and soaring city with larger-than-life lore. It’s called Illinois. The home of both Abraham Lincoln and Ernest Hemmingway—and more recently, an audacious young Senator named Obama—Illinois is pure Midwest, pure Americana. Big-city Chicago teems with life: skyscrapers, Blues clubs, deep-dish pizzas and rattling El trains. Its days as a corrupt, scandal-ridden city, stylishly captured in the musical Chicago, are long gone; it’s now home to world-class museums and art galleries, cutting-edge cuisine and a raucous nightlife scene. Step outside America’s third largest city, and you’ll discover the quieter side of Illinois. Follow in the footsteps of great travelers: visit the start of the Lewis and Clark Trail, and relive On the Road as you drive down Route 66. History lovers will want to detour to Abe-loving Springfield—and also Cahokia, a little-known prehistoric Native American city, and one of only eight UNESCO World Heritage sites in the US. Cruise past the farmlands of the Amish, or laze on the shores of Lake Michigan. This is what America’s all about.