Top 10 Places to Visit in Illinois

1. Top 10 Places to
Visit in Illinois

2. It’s National Tourism
Week!
Illinois is home to
many historic and
natural sites
throughout the state.

3. The Lincoln Sites,
Springfield
Visit multiple sites depicting the life
and times of Springfield’s most famous
resident, President Abraham Lincoln.
You can visit his family home in
Springfield, the Presidential Museum
that takes you on a biographical
journey about our 16th president and
New Salem, which was where Lincoln
got his start in Illinois.
For more information about
Springfield, click here.

4. Willis Tower,
Chicago
Formerly named the Sears Tower, Willis
Tower still holds the title of North
America’s tallest building. Built in 1973,
the skyscraper surpassed the World Trade
Center as the world’s tallest building.
Today it hosts retail and commercial space
on all 110 floors and gives tourists from
around the world to get a 360 view of
Chicago with its famous Skydeck.
To visit the Willis Tower Skydeck,
click here.

5. Starved Rock State Park,
Deer Park
Starved Rock State Park, located less than
100 miles from Chicago, sits on the south
bank of the Illinois River. The history of
the park starts with how it got its name
as a result of the Illinois Indian tribe
taking refuge there during a battle and
the last survivors ended up dying of
starvation. It was also the first park that
the state of Illinois purchased in 1911.
To learn more about Starved Rock,
click here.

6. Field Museum,
Chicago
Founded in 1893, the Field Museum
was built to complete a mission of
inspiring curiosity about life on Earth
and explore how the world came to
be. Meet the famous T-rex Sue and
view how the world started out and
what it became today. The museum
attracts up to 2 million visitors
annually.
To visit the Field Museum, click here.

7. Dana Thomas House,
Springfield
The Dana-Thomas House was
designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in
1902. This was the 72nd home built
by Wright. It now serves as a 35-
room museum containing the largest
collection of original Wright art, glass
and furniture. During the holiday
season, it is decked out in lights and
the house becomes a winter
wonderland for many to tour.
To learn more, click here.

8. Shawnee National Forest,
Harrisburg
President Franklin Roosevelt declared the
Illini and Shawnee Purchase Units the
Shawnee National Forest in 1939. Most
of the forest was exhausted farmland for
the first decade of existence. But as a
part of the New Deal, the CCC planted
pine trees to prevent erosion. This year
the forest will be depicted on the quarter
as a part of the America the Beautiful
Quarters series.
For more information about Shawnee,
click here.

9. Wrigley Field,
Chicago
Built in 1914 as Weeghman Park, Wrigley Field has
played host to the Chicago Cubs since the start of the
1916 baseball season. Located on the north side of
Chicago, it is a staple of the Lakeview community.
Wrigley is well known for the ivy-covered outfield wall.
To learn more about Wrigley, click here.

10. President Ulysses S. Grant Home,
Galena
Ulysses S. Grant brought his family to
Galena in the spring of 1860. After
returning from serving in the Civil
War, the family was presented a
home by Thomas B. Hughlett. In
1931, the city of Galena deeded the
house to the state to preserve as a
historic site.
For more information, click here.

11. Cahokia Mounds,
Cahokia
Located in Southern Illinois, Cahokia
Mounds is the largest prehistoric
Indian settlement north of Mexico.
At its peak it around 1100 A.D., there
may have been 10,000 to 20,000
inhabitants. At the site there is an
interpretive center that tells the
story of the site and of the people
who built it.
For more information, click here.

12. Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site,
Charleston
The Lincoln Log Cabin is the last home
and farm of Abraham Lincoln’s father and
stepmother. They moved to the farm in
1837. The site features living history
farms that portray agricultural practices
that were common in 1840s Illinois. Also
nearby is the Moore Home, this is the
site where President-elect Lincoln would
have his last visit with his stepmother,
Sarah, before leaving for Washington.
For more information, click here.

13. Celebrating
Illinois Tourism.
For more tourism information about Illinois,
click here.

14. ilikeillinois.com