cathycon

Hello
Going on holiday to Chicago for week in April with husband (as 50th birthday present) and 4 kids(10, 12, 14 and 16) and would like to spend maybe 2 days visiting some nice area within a reasonable distance of the city. Can hire car for that part of the trip if necessary or use public transport. Coming from outside US and really want to make most of our trip so all advice gratefully received.

barbrn

Milwaukee, Wisconsin is pretty close with some nice attractions. TripAdvisor has the top ten attractions and they are pretty spot on. The HarleyDavidson Museum is fun (kids might enjoy). Miller Park if they are having a baseball game is also fun for kids...it's even more fun if it's the Chicago Cubs vs Brewers. I really like the Milwaukee Art Museum because of the location by the lake and the architecture. At noon the wings of the museum open and close which is fun to watch. Milwaukee has some fun festivals too, it would be worth checking to see if any are happening in April. Might be an area close to Chicago to think about. Have fun in Chicago, it's a great city!

bachslunch

Milwaukee is certainly one reasonable option. Will second the idea that Miller Park is a great place to watch a baseball game.

Madison, WI is a little further away, but is a pleasant college large town/small city with a day or two's worth of attractions. Springfield, IL is well worth a visit of one full or two relaxed sightseeing days, and a real must if you're an Abraham Lincoln fan.

Citylghts

What do you want to see? What are your family's interests?
Do you want to visit another city? Resort area? Small town?

The previous poster suggested Milwaukee. If you want something more resort-like, you may want to consider the Wisconsin Dells. It has several hotels that have indoor water parks and is about 200 miles NW of Chicago.

Springfield is about 3 hours SW of the city and has the Lincoln Museum, home and tomb. If you give some additional guidelines, other posters will be able to make better suggestions.

cd

I agree that Springfield for a two day break is great if you like American History and the way life was lived during Lincoln's time.
A lovely small town about 175 miles from Chicago where we spent a delightful wine tasting weekend is Galena, Ill. Here is a menu of their April advents if any interest you. http://www.galena.org/g5-bin/index.cgi

Ozarksbill

I think I'll vote for Springfield where I grew up which now has the wonderful Lincoln Library and Museum that should be liked by all members of your family. Also don't pass by the Linocln Home and the Law Office downtown. You might stop by Lincoln's Tomb (my parents are there too). Not far away near Petersburg is New Salem State Park which is neat.

Must say you are brave celebrating hubby's 50th and also entertaining those kids. They might have their own (and less intellectual) ideas!

Bill in Boston (born in Chicago)
[email protected]

JeanH

I'm not sure how interested people from outside the US would be in lots of US history.

With four kids, I'd consider heading to the Wisconsin Dells. Very touristy, but, might be a nice getaway for the kids.

Otherwise, there is more than enough history/museums in Chicago to take up a week....

bachslunch

JeanH asked: "I'm not sure how interested people from outside the US would be in lots of US history."

When I travel to another country, I enjoy visiting historic museums, old churches, and historic houses. Just counting hard-core historic museums alone, have been (among other places) to and greatly enjoyed the Museo Correr in Venice, the Carnavalet Museum in Paris, the Amsterdam Historical Museum, the Historical Museum of the City of Vienna, the Musee du Fort in Quebec City, and the McCord Museum and Centre d'Histoire de Montreal (both in Montreal).

Perhaps I'm alone in this, but I rather doubt it.

exiledprincess

bachslunch, I agree with your above statement. IMHO, you cannot really appreciate a foreign country without knowing about its history.

And I think that Abraham Lincoln has enough stature that even most visitors from other countries might know at least a little something about his life and legacy. Plus I know and communicate with quite a few who are quite interested with the American Civil War and people/circumstances/places surrounding it.

When in April are you visiting? We can still have snow at the beginning of it. I wouldn't recommend a visit to the Wisconsin Dells in April.

I do think that perhaps that a visit to Galena might be interesting to you as well and it's about right for a 2-day visit (an overnight stay), being about a 4 hour drive from the city. If it's still cold, there is a resort close by. If the weather is nice, you can always see the mighty Mississippi and drive for a short distance on the Great River Road. If you do decide to go to Galena, you will find that Ulysses S. Grant is as much mentioned there as Abraham Lincoln is in Springfield. http://galena.org

rpowell

We love going to Michigan. We recently discovered Silver Lake Dunes about 2 1/2 hours from Chicago. April may be a bit cool, but the dunes are amazing, as are the many small resort towns along Lake Michigan.

Another option is Door County in WI, about a 3 1/2 hour trip from Chicago. It has some beautiful hiking trails in Peninsula State Park.

JeanH

I love to go to historical sites as well when I travel. I still wonder how appreciative four kids would be though.

What I want to see when I travel when I travel is far different than what my kids liked when they were young.

bachslunch

JeanH, good question of course. But I will share something here. At one of the state capitols I visited a couple years ago, I saw a woman with two engrossed single-digit age kids on the tour. I chatted briefly with her at one point and remarked at how well her youngsters seemed to be enjoying the tour. The woman replied that she takes her kids along to lots of historic sites (she mentioned the Biltmore near Asheville as one example), and that she considers it an essential experience for them and that they enjoy such trips. They did, too, from what I saw.

exiledprincess

The OP's children aren't that young. In fact, just the right age for something of this type.

IMHO, travel should inspire, as well as entertain and provide relaxation.

I personally know many younger people who have gone on to very interesting and prestigious careers based on activities, places, things they saw and did as children. Their parents took them to places despite other's warnings that their kids would be bored silly there.

You never know what will strike a chord.

exiledprincess

Sorry for the extra post.

I was just going to add: I bet everyone here reading this has some strikingly clear memory(ies) of something(s) they did as children which they'll remember their entire life.