#73 best destination in the world

 

Cloud Gate, Chicago

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Best time to travel: April-May, Sept-Oct
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $$

  • Public sculpture that is the centerpiece of AT&T Plaza at Millennium Park
  • Constructed between 2004 and 2006, the sculpture is nicknamed “the Bean” because of its shape
  • Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams
  • The design was inspired by liquid mercury and the sculpture’s surface reflects and distorts the city’s skyline

Art Institute of Chicago

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Best time to travel: April-May, Sept-Oct
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Museum founded in 1879 in Chicago
  • One of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States
  • Has a permanent collection of nearly 300,000 works of art

Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago

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Best time to travel: April-May, Sept-Oct
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Museum in Chicago that is one of the largest natural history museums in the world
  • The museum and its collections originated from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and the artifacts displayed at the fair
  • The museum maintains collections of over 24 million specimens including gems, meteorites, and fossils

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

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Best time to travel: April-May, Sept-Oct
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Museum housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition
  • Among the museum’s exhibits are a full-size replica coal mine, German submarine U-505 captured during World War II, a model railroad, the command module of Apollo 8, and the first diesel-powered streamlined stainless-steel passenger train

Six Flags Great America, Gurnee

Best time to travel: April-May, Sept-Oct
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Amusement park located in Gurnee, originally opened in 1976
  • It features four themed areas and fifteen roller coasters, as well as a 20-acre water park called Hurricane Harbor Chicago
  • It is ranked among the top 20 amusement parks in North America for attendance

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield

Best time to travel: mid Oct-late Nov
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Museum that documents the life of the 16th U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln, and the course of the American Civil War
  • Combining traditional scholarship with 21st-century showmanship techniques, the museum ranks as one of the most visited presidential libraries
  • The library and museum is located in the state capital of Springfield

Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Springfield

Best time to travel: April-June, mid Oct-early Nov
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • House that preserves the Springfield, Illinois home and related historic district where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1844 to 1861, before becoming the 16th president of the United States
  • The presidential memorial includes the four blocks surrounding the home and a visitor center