Discover Illinois

Introduction

Illinois is the state around Chicago and the 390 miles of prairie, river and forest that most visitors never see. It is the sixth-most populous state, with 12.8 million people, and has the fifth-largest economy, $1.2 trillion in 2025; two-thirds of its people live in the Chicago metropolitan area, which occupies 9 per cent of the land, and Chicago itself, 2.74 million and the third-largest American city, was in 2025 visited by nearly 57 million people for its museums, architecture, beaches and food. The rest of the state is corn and soybean country -- first or second in the nation for both -- crossed by the Illinois River and bounded by Lake Michigan to the north-east, the Mississippi River to the west and the Wabash River and the Ohio River to the south.

The French came down the rivers in 1673 and founded Peoria, the oldest permanent European settlement, in 1691; the Northwest Territory and statehood in 1818 followed; the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the first railroad both opened in 1848 and made Chicago the fastest-growing city in the world; John Deere's plough turned the tallgrass prairie into farmland; the Great Migration made Chicago the capital of the blues, gospel and house music; and three presidents -- Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Barack Obama -- were elected from here, which is why the state's slogan honours Lincoln and why Springfield, the capital, is a shrine to him.

For the visitor it is Chicago's skyline, the Loop and the L, Millennium Park and the lakefront museums, deep-dish pizza and the hot dog with no ketchup; Springfield's Lincoln sites; Cahokia, the largest pre-Columbian city north of Mexico and a World Heritage Site; Starved Rock's canyons; the Garden of the Gods and the Shawnee forest of the south; Route 66 from its starting point; and Galena and Nauvoo on the Mississippi River. The L costs $2.50, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, the Lincoln Home and Cahokia are free, and 911 answers everything.

Geography

57,918 square miles, 390 miles north to south and almost all of it flat glacial prairie: Lake Michigan and Chicago in the north-east, the Illinois River down the middle, the Mississippi River as the western border, the Ohio River and the Wabash River to the south, and the unglaciated Shawnee Hills at the tip; Charles Mound at 1,235 feet is the top.

Read the full Geography guide →

History

Cahokia's 20,000 people around 1100; the French from 1673 and Peoria in 1691; the Northwest Territory, statehood in 1818 and a vote against slavery in 1824; the Black Hawk War, Nauvoo and Lincoln's Springfield; the canal and the railroad in 1848; the fire of 1871, the fair of 1893 and the reversed river; the Great Migration, the blues and three presidents.

Read the full History guide →

Culture

German, Irish, Polish and Italian Chicago; the largest Mexican-American population outside the West; the Black metropolis of the Great Migration; the blues, gospel and house; the skyscraper and Frank Lloyd Wright; the Cubs, the Bulls and the Bears; deep-dish, Italian beef and a hot dog with no ketchup.

Read the full Culture guide →

Climate Patterns

Humid continental in the north and humid subtropical from Carbondale south: hot humid summers, cold snowy winters in Chicago (over 38 inches of snow), milder in the south; 35 to 48 inches of rain; 54 tornadoes a year and 50 thunderstorm days; records of 117 °F and −38 °F.

Read the full Climate Patterns guide →

Food & Traditional Cuisine

Deep-dish pizza invented in 1943, the Chicago hot dog dragged through the garden and never ketchuped, the Italian beef dipped in its own gravy, Springfield's horseshoe, the corn and soybeans of the prairie, and wine from the Shawnee Hills: the cooking of a stockyard city and a farm state.

Read the full Food & Traditional Cuisine guide →

Do I need a visa?

Every visitor needs an approved ESTA or a visa before travelling, by any route; Canadians can usually stay six months without one. Carry your passport as proof of status.

Do I need a car?

Not in Chicago, where the L costs $2.50 and runs to both airports, and not for Springfield or St. Louis, which the Lincoln Service reaches from Union Station; yes for Starved Rock, Cahokia, Galena, the Shawnee forest and Route 66. Foreign licences are accepted; get an IDP and arrange a tollway transponder with the hire firm.

What is free?

Millennium Park, Navy Pier, the lakefront, the Blues and Jazz festivals, the Lincoln Home tour, Pullman, Cahokia (donation suggested) and Starved Rock's trails.

When is the best time?

May, June, September and October for Chicago and the parks; July and August are hot and full of festivals; winter is for museums, blues clubs and eagles on the rivers.

Is it dangerous?

Both advisories rate the country as needing normal precautions; Chicago has neighbourhoods to avoid at night, petty theft on transit, and weather -- tornadoes, blizzards, heat -- that deserves more respect than the crime statistics.

What is the emergency number?

911.

See Illinois through traveler photos →

← Back to Illinois overview