United States · regional guide
Illinois travel guide
Our route team has mapped 3 destinations in Illinois across 3 curated routes, adding up to 34 places to eat, see and do. The most common route styles are cities and nightlife. Trips run 3–6 days.
- Destinations
- 3
- Places
- 34
- Curated routes
- 3
- Trip lengths
- 3–6 days
- Routes favor
- Dec
Where our routes go in Illinois
Tap a dot to open that destination's guide.
3 destinations in Illinois
Ordered by how many of our curated routes stop there, then by how many places we have picked.
Best of Illinois
Our curated picks by theme, drawn from the places our route editors chose for their routes.
Places worth planning around
A short sampler from the 34 places in Illinois, starting with those featured on the most of our routes.
SeeArt Institute of Chicago
Huge collection including Nighthawks, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte and the Thorne Miniature Rooms.
- See
Art on the Mart
Large-scale projections across the Merchandise Mart's river facade; on Dec 31 it becomes the countdown clock for the fireworks.
- Eat
Alinea
Grant Achatz's tasting-menu restaurant on Halsted Street, open since 2005 and a once-a-year kind of NYE dinner.
EatAu Cheval
West Loop diner known for its stacked double cheeseburger.
- Eat
Chicago Cut Steakhouse
Steakhouse on the river at LaSalle Street, with window tables looking across the water to the Loop towers.
- Drink
Kingston Mines
Blues club on Halsted Street since 1968, with two stages and bands playing until the early hours.
Curated routes through Illinois
3 routes with at least one stop here. Some continue beyond Illinois.
Best time to visit Illinois
Of the 3 routes here with a recommended season, at least half point to Dec. December is the most-recommended month (2 of 3 routes).
Climate averages (NASA POWER, 2001–2025) for Chicago: July is the warmest month, with average highs near 77°F (25°C), and January the coolest at about 32°F (0°C). May is the wettest, around 4.6 in (117 mm) of rain, and January the driest at about 1.9 in (48 mm).
NASA POWER is a gridded model (roughly 50 km cells), so coastal and mountain spots read as regional averages.
Weather by destination
Planning a trip to Illinois
How many days do you need for a trip to Illinois?
Our 3 curated routes with stops in Illinois run 3–6 days. Some of those routes also cover places outside Illinois, so a trip focused only here can be shorter.
What are the best places to visit in Illinois?
Going by how often our route team includes them, the most-featured destinations in Illinois are Chicago, The Loop & Chicago River and Lincoln Park. Chicago alone has 19 hand-picked places in our guides.
When is the best time to visit Illinois?
At least half of our routes here recommend Dec. NASA POWER averages put the warmest weather in July and the most rain in May.
Where can I find the best restaurants in Illinois?
See our curated picks: best restaurants in Illinois, chosen from 9 places in our curated routes. We also have lists for things to do.
More in United States
- United States travel guide
- California 26 destinations
- Florida 16 destinations
- Texas 12 destinations
- New York 11 destinations
- Tennessee 11 destinations
- North Carolina 10 destinations
- Utah 10 destinations
- Michigan 8 destinations
- Washington 8 destinations
- Arizona 7 destinations
Take your crew to Illinois
Start from one of our Illinois routes in TripsCircle, then shape it together: shared itinerary, polls for the big decisions, split expenses and packing lists.