• Understand
• Buy
• Sleep
• Get out

Champaign-Urbana is a metropolitan area in central Illinois, composed of the towns of Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy. The community is the site of the main campus of the University of Illinois, one of the great public universities of the United States.

[edit] Understand

Champaign-Urbana is a metropolitan area of about 150,000 located amongst the corn and soybean fields about 150 miles south of Chicago. The area dates to about the mid-nineteenth century, as Urbana was founded in 1833, Champaign in 1855 and the University in 1867. Starting out as a farming community, the area matured into two cities with influences at various times through the years including the Illinois Central railroad, the University, now-defunct Chanute Air Force Base in nearby Rantoul and others. Today, the cities can be described as growing, cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse, with a modern urban feel in the area's core.

Today Champaign-Urbana is defined by some amount of traditional industry such as Kraft Foods and others, a growing technology and information sector, and the University. The University is the county's largest employer and a very large instituion of 43,000 students. It would be short-changing Champaign-Urbana to call it merely a college town. But there is no doubt that the center of gravity of the arts, entertainment, and intellectual communities rest with the University.

It would be safe to say that Champaign-Urbana is a very open-minded community with regard to social issues, but retains some Midwestern values such as virtue of hard work. Urbana is seen as the more politically liberal and pastoral of the two, and Champaign is seen as having more of a big-city feel. Champaign-Urbana residents are proud of their oasis of culture and big-city amenities amongst the cornfields, of the less intense traffic, sprawl and lower cost of living here compared to major cities, and of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini sports teams.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

Willard Airport (airport code:CMI) [1], is a regional airport operated by the University of Illinois and located roughly 20 minutes south of downtown Champaign. American Airlines files from Willard Airport to Chicago and Dallas. Northwest Airlines offers service to Detroit. Allegiant Airlines flew to Las Vegas in the second half of 2007, but left the airport in early December of the same year supposedly due to an unmanageably high cost of fuel. (See http://www.flycmi.com/ )

The airport is served by a municipal bus line, the CUMTD No. 27 "Air Bus". This makes for a cheap and convenient option to campus or the downtown Champaign transit center. Fare is $1 each way and it operates 5 am to 6 pm daily (except University breaks and major holidays). The "Air Bus" service maintains a very precise schedule, usually arriving at the airport at the bottom of the hour without delay.

Parking at Willard Airport (short- or long-term) costs a maximum of $5 a day. In contrast, all parking at nearby (45 mins away) Central Illinois Regional Airport (airport code:BMI) in Bloomington, Illinois is free. This is due to land ownership differences (BMI is municipally owned and subsidized, whereas CMI is owned by the university and can not be crossed-subsidized by others).

The nearest major airports are in Chicago (O'Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW)), Indianapolis, and Saint Louis. Land carriers such as LEX, Greyhound, Burlington Trailways, and Amtrak connect Champaign-Urbana to these other cities and airports.

[edit] By train

Champaign-Urbana is on the Amtrak system, and is served by three regularly-scheduled train routes, the 58/59 City of New Orleans, the 390/391 Saluki and the 392/393 Illini. All trains run Chicago to Carbondale and the 58/59 continues southward to Memphis, Jackson, and New Orleans. Here are the daily arrival/departure times:

• Northbound: 6:10 am (train 58), 10:14 am, 6:49 pm
• Southbound: 11:25 am, 6:15 pm, 10:34 pm (train 59)

The train is an excellent option for traveling between Champaign-Urbana and downtown Chicago. Trip time to Chicago is about 2h 50m, and one can connect to the Amtrak national network there. Amtrak, the commercial bus lines (Greyhound, Burlington Trailways, LEX, Illini Shuttle) and the municipal bus system (CUMTD, DMT) all arrive and depart from Illinois Terminal in downtown Champaign.

[edit] By car

Interstate 74 runs east-west. 120 miles east is Indianapolis and continues to Cincinnati. To the west are the cities of Bloomington-Normal and continues to Peoria, Galesburg, and the Quad Cities of Davenport/Moline/Rock Island/Bettendorf. Interstate 57 runs north to Chicago and south into Southern Illinois, joining up with I-55 to Memphis. Interstate 72 runs east from Hannibal/Quincy,Springfield (Illinois) and Decatur (Illinois), terminating in Champaign.

[edit] By bus

Two common-carriers connect Champaign-Urbana to the national bus transport network. Greyhound Lines runs frequently between Chicago and Champaign-Urbana, as well as to/from Springfield and St. Louis. Burlington Trailways offers 2 daily frequencies for its east-west service between Champaign and Peoria and Galesburg, and to Danville and Indianapolis. Burlington Trailways buses are also sold as connecting Amtrak Thruway services for Amtrak passengers.

Illini Shuttle by Suburban Express [2] offers daily service between Champaign-Urbana and Chicago Airports. Suburban Express [3] offers weekend scheduled services (Thu-Mon) from various UIUC points to various Chicagoland suburbs.

Danville Mass Transit operates a Champaign-Danville bus, using city transit-style buses. There are 7 weekday round trips and 5 Saturday round trips. See the Danville Mass Transit website for details.

As noted above, commercial buses (Greyhound, Burlington Trailways, Suburban Express, Illini Shuttle), trains (Amtrak), and the city buses (CUMTD, DMT) all arrive and depart at Illinois Terminal in downtown Champaign.

Megabus, [4]. Low-cost carrier offers daily service to Champaign from Chicago and Memphis. Fares start at $1 each way when ordered way, way in advance. The bus stop is located along the west side of South Market Street, just north of East Logan Street.

[edit] Get around

Most of Champaign-Urbana is laid out on a grid, aligned with due north, making navigation not too difficult. The exception is the oldest part of downtown Champaign, which is rotated East from the main grid. (This is because Champaign first developed parallel to the railroad).

However, be aware that street addresses can be ambiguous, if not given with the city name. For example, there are four Green Streets: East and West in Champaign, and East and West in Urbana. Therefore, if you drive eastward from Champaign to Urbana along Green, you will start out on West Green, go through East Green, and then you'll be back on West Green again-- but in Urbana.

[edit] By bus

Champaign-Urbana has a good municipal bus system, the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District. The adult fare for the city routes is $1.00 (free with a University of Illinois ID card). On-campus routes (21, 22, 23's, 26) are free for everyone, including visitors - no fare nor ID's required and allow multi-door boardings.

Major routes run 24/7 during the academic year and includes overnight "SafeRides" vans in a designated community zone around the UIUC Campustown, and until midnight (or so) during school holidays, winter break, and summer break. In addition to providing service to Champaign and Urbana, the bus also serves some outlying areas, such as the village of Savoy and the North Prospect shopping area.

Community bus routes (route numbers 1-15, 24, 25, 27, and the decennial series at nights and on weekends(ie 20, 30, 50, 70, 80, 100, 130) ) on most routes run on a thirty minute schedule, while Campus bus routes (route numbers 20's) can run on every 20 min, 10 min, or even as frequently as every 4 minutes throughout the day, depending on route number and time of day. Route 28 operates before all home men's basketball and football games.

The bus fleet is composed primarily of 40 foot low-floor transit buses, supplemented by 60 foot articulated buses and some 30 foot low-floor buses as well. Transit vans are used for SafeRides and for ADA Paratransit. All buses are low-floor, equipped with ramps, wheelchair tiedowns, and lift-up seats in the handicapped-priority seating area - ideal for wheelchairs/walkers/canes/service animals. All buses are installed with GPS several years ago, and have "Stop Annunciators" to meet ADA requirements for blind travelers.

CUMTD has used GPS for several years to track buses, and has developed a suite of STOPwatch services to aid in passenger travel. STOPwatch includes on-line tracking via a web interface, and the new STOPwatch.WIDGET allows a downloadable Yahoo! widget to track buses on your desktop. One of the most passenger-friendly utilization of STOPwatch is for real-time "Next Bus Arrives..." signage at certain high-traffic bus stops throughout Champaign, Urbana, and the UIUC campus. The entire suite of STOPwatch services (Plus, Journey, Widget, Textmsg, Wap, Web, MyRide) can be found at Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District STOPwatch.

Free printed timetables come in booklet form (about 120 pages), include color maps, and are easily found at Illinois Terminal, most UIUC buildings, dorms and apartments, and at many businesses throughout the cities, as well as on board buses.

[edit] By car

Most of Champaign-Urbana is easy driving. However, the campus area is complex. Many streets are one way, traffic lights are set to favor pedestrians, and some streets are restricted to buses, so its easy to get sucked into frustrating loops. Hassles can be minimized by avoiding the rectangle inside Green Street, Fourth Street, Florida/Kirby Avenue, and Lincoln Avenue.

In general, there is little congestion to speak of. The exceptions:

• Brief rush hours on weekdays
• Prospect Avenue in Champaign, north of I-74
• Home football games
• Parent-student weekends
• Move-in-day at the dormitories, in late August

[edit] By bicycle

Champaign-Urbana has a significant number of bicyclists who cycle for transportation and recreation. The flat geography of the community makes it easy to get around on bicycle. While there are few on-street bike lanes or marked bicycle routes and the University of Illinois campus bike path system is considered by some to be obsolete and a bit chaotic (see photos), traffic on non-arterial streets is usually light and conducive to bicycling.

The Bike Project Coop in downtown Urbana provides a shop for do-it-yourself bicycle repairs and also recycles and sells bikes at low prices. Two other bicycling organizations are the the Prairie Cycle Club and Champaign County Bikes.org.

The only known source of rental bicycles in Champaign-Urbana is the University of Illinois' Division of Campus Recreation which rents bicycles (including tandems) to students as well as to the general public starting at $15/day for students and members to $20/day for others.

The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission publishes maps of Greenways and Trails that includes bicycle paths in Champaign-Urbana and surrounding areas in Champaign County.

[edit] See

[edit] Museums

• <see name="Champaign County Historical Museum" alt="Cattle Bank" address="102 East University Avenue, Champaign" directions="" phone="" url="http://www.champaignmuseum.org/" hours="" price="" lat="" long="">Houses quilts and other historical artifacts documenting the history of Champaign County.</see>
• <see name="Orpheum Children's Science Museum" alt="" address="346 North Neil Street, Champaign" directions="" phone="+1 217 352-5895" url="http://www.m-crossroads.org/orpheum/" hours="" price="$2-3" lat="" long="">Constructed in 1914 as a movie theater, it has been converted to a children's museum.</see>
• <see name="Krannert Art Museum" alt="" address="500 East Peabody Dr, Champaign" directions="" phone="" email="" fax="" url="http://www.kam.uiuc.edu/" hours="" price="$3 suggested donation">Both permanent and rotating collections on exhibit.</see>
• <see name="Spurlock Museum" alt="" address="600 S Gregory St, Urbana" directions="" phone="" email="" fax="" url="http://www.spurlock.uiuc.edu/" hours="" price="$3 suggested donation">Cultural artifacts from around the world.</see>

[edit] Movie Theaters

• <see name="Boardman's Art Theatre" address="126 W Church St, Champaign" phone="" email="" fax="" hours="" price="" url="http://www.boardmansarttheatre.com">Just two blocks from the Virginia, and shows first-run art, independent, documentary, and other films daily.</see>
• <see name="Virginia Theatre" address="203 W Park St, Champaign" phone="+1 217 356-9053" email="" fax="" hours="" price="" url="http://www.thevirginia.org/">Built in 1921, the theater is home to the annual Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival and is also used for monthly film series, live concerts, and theatre. It retains its original Wurlitzer pipe organ, which is played before many of the shows.</see>

[edit] Live Performance

• <see name="Station Theatre" alt="" address="223 North Broadway, Urbana" directions="" phone="" url="http://www.stationtheatre.com/" hours="" price="$15" lat="" long="">A small playhouse constructed in a former train station.</see>
• <see name="The Canopy Club" alt="" address="" directions="" phone="" email="" fax="" url="http://www.canopyclub.com/canopy.php" hours="" price="">Located at the edge of campus in Urbana and is an excellent musical venue; it draws some big-name acts regularly.</see>
• <see name="Krannert Center for the Performing Arts" alt="" address="" directions="" phone="" email="" fax="" url="http://www.krannertcenter.com/" hours="" price="">The main venue in town for music, theater and dance. Features community, university, and world-famous performers.</see>

[edit] Sports

[edit] Do

• Champaign-Urbana and the surrounding countryside is an attractive place for bicycling. The Prairie Cycle Club has organized rides of varying distances and intensities throughout the non-winter months.

[edit] Annual Events

• The Annual Sweetcorn Festival is organized by the Urbana Business Association each August in downtown Urbana.

[edit] Buy

• <buy name="Glass FX" alt="" address="202 S First St, Champaign" directions="" phone="+1 217 359-0048" url="http://www.glassfx.com/" hours="" price="" lat="" long="">Stained and decorative glass gallery. Also sells supplies and teaches classes.</buy>
• <buy name="Boneyard Pottery" alt="" address="403 S Water St, Champaign" directions="" phone="+1 217 355-5610" url="http://www.boneyardpottery.com/" hours="" price="" lat="" long="">Local pottery studio, for both decorative and functional items. Also offers classes.</buy>
• <buy name="Champaign Surplus" alt="" address="303 S Neil St, Champaign" directions="" phone="+1 217 356-4703" url="http://www.champaignsurplus.com/" hours="" price="" lat="" long="">Clothing and gear for hiking, camping and other outdoors activities. Military surplus is in the back.</buy>
• <buy name="The Meat Salesroom" alt="Meat Lab" address="102 Meat Sciences Lab, 1503 S Maryland, Urbana" directions="" phone="+1 217 333-3404" email="" fax="" url="" hours="1-5:30 p.m. Tues/Thurs; 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Fri." price="">One of the stranger local institutions, this University of Illinois facility sells a variety of meats produced by the agriculture college. Offerings vary widely depending upon what classes and experiments are in session. The beef jerky is a local legend. Call for price list & specials.</buy>

[edit] Eat

[edit] Chains

Champaign contains most of the chain restaurants in the area; Urbana has relatively few. There are four main concentrations in Champaign:

• North Prospect: Applebee's, Burger King, Chili's, Fazoli's, McDonalds, Outback Steakhouse, Steak'n'Shake, Subway, Wendy's.
• Campustown, mostly along Green Street: Chipotle, Coldstone Creamery, IHOP, Moonstruck Cafe, Noodles & Company, Pizza Hut, Potbelly Grill, Starbucks Coffee, Subway.
• South Neil Street: Biaggi's, Hardees, Hooters, McDonalds, Monical's Pizza, Steak'n'Shake, Subway.
• West Springfield Avenue: Arby's, Burger King, Famous Dave's BBQ, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Niro's Gyros, Original Pancake House, Taco Bell, Wienerschnitzel.

[edit] Budget

• The Apple Dumplin' Family Dining 2014 North Highcross Road Urbana, IL 61802. Great local American diner. Don't miss the biscuits 'n gravy and, of course, the famous Apple Dumplin'. Cardiac procedures at Carle Clinic, necessitated by the food, are free when you have your frequent diner card punched 10 times.
• La Bamba's Burritos as big as your head
• Famous Daves At the corner of Mattis and State Avenues, the BBQ chain, in an odd red building.
• Golden Wok Thai, Laos, and Chinese food.
• Jerusalem Restaurant Palestian and Israeli food.
• Lil' Porgies BBQ Incredibly good 'cause it's cooked on wood.
• Merry Ann's A local diner.
• Peking Garden Chinese, good whole steamed fish as well as their shrimp with lobster sauce.
• Papa Del's 206 E. Green St, Champaign. A local take on Chicago-style pizza.
• Po Boys BBQ open on Fridays and Saturdays only. Order meat like you're at a bar.
• Red Herring Vegetarian, quirky place across the street from Roger Adams Lab and down the street from Espresso Royale. Awesome soups served with fresh bread.
• The Ribeye 701 S Neil St, Champaign. Steak and salad bar that locals love.
• El Torrero Mexican, Great food, prompt service, and the best Margarita in town.
• Za's Italian Cafe A student favorite.

[edit] Midrange

[edit] Splurge

• Ko-Fusion, a "fusion" style Japanese restuarant on Mainstreet Champaign. Featuring organic meats, local specialties, wild caught seafood. Many types of sushi, both traditional and original. Salsa dancing some nights.

[edit] Drink

[edit] Bars

There are three "scenes" that contain most of the best known bars in town. These are campustown, downtown Champaign and downtown Urbana. All bars will be smoke-free in state of Illinois on Jan 1, 2008, but most (not all) bars below are already smoke-free due to local ordinances and exemptions. Closing time is 2 am, set by local ordinances, but may be earlier based on individual businesses.

Since the real St. Patrick's Day often falls within the University's Spring Break, local bars often celebrate "Unofficial St. Patrick's Day" the 2nd Friday before. The event goes off much like a normal St. Patrick's Day, and attracts party animals from all over Illinois and other Big Ten schools. Be aware of it if you plan to travel to Champaign-Urbana in early to mid-March as it parking can be scarce and drunk driving checkpoints are common.

[edit] Campustown

Campustown contains perhaps a dozen and a half bars. Here you can expect a clientele that is uniformly college-aged, if it is not Homecoming weekend. Most bars here have a pretty open floor plan and what seating there is tends to be in a loud and exposed area, in contrast to more of a "lounge" establishment. Most bars have an over/under age entry policy, but specifics can vary by location. Must be 21+ years old to purchase liquor at all times. Generally, all ages can be on the property for food and non-alcoholic drinks during the day and evening until 9 pm. After 9 pm, you must be at least 19 years old to enter (some bars may charge cover for under 21), and ID's required by all patrons after 9 pm at most places, due to video scanning/recording of IDs and patrons by doorpeople.

• Legends Bar and Grill -Sports bar popular with upperclassmen and graduate students. Generally not very crowded and no cover.
• Murphy's Pub -Traditional Irish pub. Very popular for Friday happy hours. Also popular with upperclassmen and graduate students and usually no cover.
• Brothers -Sports bar with an open floorplan. Two stories with an indoor balcony make it very spacious. Popular with upperclassmen and has become the hot spot in Campustown in the last year with lines consistently 1 hour+ long. No cover for those 21+.
• Firehaus -Relatively new sports bar. Tri-leveled with a beer garden The front windows are glass 'garage doors' that can be opened up when it's warm out. Fairly expensive but generally clean for a Greek bar. No cover for 21+. Cochrane establishment
• The Clybourne -'Upscale' Greek bar. Touts itself as 'The Class of Champaign.' Tri-leveled with a coat check. Dance floor, dark, and loud. Popular with under agers due to the fact that they do not use an ID scanner. Once housed a kitchen that was later taken out. Cochrane establishment.
• FU Bar -New upscale bar. Used to be Gully's. Not as popular as other Campustown bars. Cochrane establishment.
• Red Rock -Another new bar. Small and rather 'chill'.
• Station 211 -The definition of a Greek bar. Large open dance floor. Loud techno. Very popular with Freshman Greeks, making it the 'hook-up' bar. Cochrane establishment.
• CO Daniels -'Cochrane on Daniel's'. Greek bar popular with Freshmen due to the fact that they don't use an ID scanner. One room with a central bar and a basement. Sticky floors painted black to hide the vomit stains. Possibly the worst bathrooms in Campustown. Wednesday's 'Bomb Night' is a popular draw. Techno and sorority girls. Cochrane establishment.
• Kam's -'An Illini Tradition'. Down the block from CO's. Very Greek. Numerous HDTVs purchased during the 2005 Illini Basketball Final 4 make it a popular spot to watch Illini sports. Dance floor and numerous booths with a central bar and a basement. Nauseating smell emanating from both Kam's and CO's make it the dirtiest block on campus.
• Illini Inn -Hole in the wall bar on 4th that holds only 79 people. Becoming a member of the 'Mug Club' is a popular campus tradition.
• Joe's -Four distinct areas give everyone a place at Joe's. Large beer garden, bar area with indoor seating and pool tables, upstairs that can be rented out, and the main draw: the dance floor with a stage and stripper poles. Probably the best dance floor in Campustown. $2 U-Call-It every night.
• Geovanti's -Small bar underneath Geovanti's restaurant. $4 pitchers and a quiet atmosphere make it a good 'chill' spot.

Murphy's, Legends, Joe's, and Firehaus are the sports bar types with food and drinks, while Brothers has more of a dancing atmosphere (but not a dance floor) to it. Dance floors are at Joe's, Station, Kam's, Clybourne, and CO Daniels. Outdoor seating/beer gardens are at Joe's, Legends, Firehaus, and Kam's. Almost all bars have daily and weekly specials, too numerous to mention here, but some examples include:

• 'Brothers has dollar Miller pints on Thursdays
• 'Legends has dollar bottles on Wednesdays
• 'Murphys has 6.50$ Leinie's pitchers on Thursdays
• 'Firehaus has logo glass night and 2$ drafts on Wednesdays

[edit] Champaign

Downtown Champaign contains maybe a dozen bars and is growing all the time. It has a more varied clientèle with people of all ages, although the median age still probably isn't any higher than thirty. The atmosphere is more upscale than campustown in almost all cases.

Maybe the most upscale establishments in downtown are Boltini and Soma. These bars are new, have had the most thought put into their aesthetics, but still have drink prices pretty much in line with the other establishments and attract trendy as well as less trendy people.

• Esquire (Older age range, pool tables, fried food)
• Bacaro (Modern Italian wine bar with a full menu and small plates)
• The Blind Pig (English pub style, large beer selection, rotating draft beers.)
• Mike & Molly's (Irish pub style, large beer selection, rotating draft beers)
• Boltini (Loungy martini bar, known for their specialty martinis, can be difficult to find a place to sit)
• Soma (Upscale, has been rumored to deny admittance to people who are dressed sloppily)
• The Highdive (Rock venue and dance club)
• The Cowboy Monkey (Sometimes books nationally-known bands)
• The Brass Rail (Cheap beer)
• C Street (Dance Club, and primarily GLBT)
• Radio Maria Tapas Bar (Wine, beer, "tapas-style" dishes)
• Memphis on Main (Blues, Harleys, etc)
• Tracks
• Jupiters (Best thin crust pizza in town, pool tables, decent beer list)

[edit] Urbana

Finally there is downtown Urbana, which contains about a half-dozen bars. Ages of patrons are similar to downtown Champaign or older, and the atmosphere is a little more laid-back in comparison.

• Crane Alley for extremely wide beer selection, and it is a good place to get dinner as well.
• Hubers. Nice neighborhood bar.
• The Ice House. Nice neighborhood bar.
• The Iron Post has live music most nights, often Irish.
• The Office is also a good place to get dinner and chill over drinks.
• Rose Bowl. Live country music.

[edit] Coffee shops

• <see name="Aroma Cafe" alt="" address="" directions="" phone="" email="" fax="" url="http://aroma-cafe.com/" hours="M-F: 7am-11pm, Sa/Su: 8am-11pm" price="">Also serves sandwiches, beer and wine. WiFi access.</see>
• <see name="Cafe Kopi" alt="" address="" directions="" phone="" email="" fax="" url="http://www.cafekopi.com/directions.html" hours="7am-midnight" price="">Also serves sandwiches, beer and wine.</see>
• <see name="Caffe Paradiso" alt="" address="" directions="" phone="" email="" fax="" url="" hours="7am-11pm" price="">Also serves sandwiches. WiFi access.</see>
• <see name="Espresso Royale" alt="" address="" directions="" phone="" email="" fax="" url="" hours="" price="">Across the street from the CLS building and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.</see>

[edit] Sleep

There are a multitude of hotels/motels in the Champaign-Urbana-Savoy area. Most national chains have a hotel in the area, so check your favorite hotel's web site or hotel booking web sites for more complete listings and details.

• Comfort Inn Champaign Hotel 305 Market View Dr. (217) 352-4055. A hotel that combines comfort with great value for money for both business and leisure travelers. Convenient to Interstate 74 and Interstate 57.
• Econo Lodge Inn Suites Champaign Hotel 914 W. Bloomington Rd. (217) 356-6000. Affordable accommodations in the Champaign / Urbana market that will also give you a quiet, relaxing and comfortable setting. Secure Online Reservations.
• Sleep Inn Urbana Hotel 1908 N. Lincoln Ave. (217) 367-6000. Conveniently located on Lincoln Avenue, right off Interstate 74, exit 183. The Sleep Inn is close to the University of Illinois, Carle Medical Center, the Champaign County Fairgrounds, and Market Place Mall.

Other hotels include:

• Hampton Inn
• Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express
• Marriott Courtyard
• Hilton Gardens
• Best Western
• Red Roof Inn
• Baymont
• Hawthorne (Conference Center)
• Historic Lincoln Inn

[edit] Get out

A number of day trips are an easy drive from Champaign-Urbana, but many day-trip destinations are notable for their eccentricity or are otherwise offbeat.

• Monticello, 45 minutes west via I-72. Features Allerton Park, is a University facility containing a Georgian-style mansion, large formal gardens, and some lovely nature trails.

• A variety of Amish tourism destinations surround the town of Arcola, a 30-minute drive south on I-57. This area represents one of the largest concentrations of Amish in the United States. The attractions can be surreal, and include an Amish theme park (almost a contradiction in terms) called Rockome Gardens where it is possible to pay to play tic-tac-toe with a chicken. Other destinations include local Amish businesses selling specialties like Shoo-Fly Pie, Apple Butter, quilts, and hand-made furniture. (Note that Amish goods have a reputation for being extremely well-made, not for being bargains.) More information and directions are available from the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center.

• The town of Arcola itself is also home to the official Raggedy Ann & Andy Museum, as well as the world's only Hippie Memorial, a 62-foot monument erected by local eccentric Bob Moomaw (worth driving by if the weather is good). Arcola also boasts the world's largest broom and brush museum. More information is available from the Arcola Chamber of Commerce.

• Bloomington-Normal is about 45 minutes west on I-74. Among residents, it is thought that Bloomington boasts the most franchise restaurants per capita of any city in America, but this is likely a local legend. Still, a wide variety of your favorite chains are represented.

• Rantoul is 12 miles north on I-57 or US-45. On the south side of Rantoul is the site of the former Chanute Air Force Base. Now it is the site of the Chanute Air Museum. The museum contains traditional indoor exhibits as well as a broad collection of aviation equipment and aircraft from WWII era up to a F-15A jet.