From the viewpoint as a visitor, Naperville is about as good as it gets for shopping and…read moreexperiences for a suburb Southwest of Chicago. Complete with parks, theatres, colleges, a bustling downtown, and even a riverwalk -- there's really everything that one could want conveniently located here without really heading into the city of Chicago. One of the major drawbacks though maybe that traffic around here, Joliet, and Aurora seems to be getting increasingly more congested -- negating some of the advantage that you get when driving around the suburbs, but on the other hand the new shops and shopping centers being opened in the area makes it increasingly more convenient with making this a one-stop city for all your needs. Prices here are a bit higher than I see in Schaumburg or Arlington Heights, but not a ton higher. This is not exactly a one-to-one comparison as there are many premium options located here as well which appear to be in line with the pricing that you'll see at other locations of the same chain around Chicagoland. I highly recommend visiting the downtown here during December, as this does have one of the larger light displays of the suburban downtowns. Unlike some surrounding areas, you can walk directly to restaurants and shopping from the display here instead of having it separated a bit from the main shopping.

Naperville is a nice city. It is rated very highly but the catch is these ratings are for cities…read moreover 100,000 ppl. That filters out a lot of nice suburbs that Naperville really should be competing against. Always check the competition. The point here is it could be better. One area it could be better in is its support for non-fossil fuels for its power source. As of now, it's in a ridiculously long contact with an organization that sources 80% of the fuel we buy from coal. This is a city that brags it's e-friendly and sustainable! Moreover, recently this company it has its power contract with is trying to get Naperville to renew its contract now, 5 years before the renewal deadline and 10 years before Naperville has completed its financial obligations. Naperville shouldn't even consider doing business with this company and find reasons to dump them asap and find new environmentally friendly sources.

They were closed when we stopped by on our travel down Route 66. Even though we only got to see it…read morefrom the outside and for a quick drive around, I'm good with giving 'em a 5. It's every bit like you'd expect from an 'old prison'. It was built in the 1800's and, of course, when checking out the gate where Elwood picked up Jake in the movie Blues Brothers it looked exactly as expected. Even from the outside there's some good photo ops. Probably won't ever be in the area again, but am sure glad we had the opportunity to see it.

Tour guides are wonderful! Very friendly and knowledgeable. More than happy to spend as much time…read moreas you need answering questions and adding extra interesting bits of information.

Beautiful Japanese garden and historic home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The home offers tours…read morefor I think $5 per adult. I've been on it once or twice before but can't remember if I enjoyed it, so I'll have to go back someday. I mostly love visiting the gardens. It's free to enter. The garden is small and takes about 5-10 minutes to walk through, but it's so peaceful and a great spot for photos! I love the bridge and admiring the bright green foliage. It's worth the stop if you are nearby. It is very close to downtown Geneva and Batavia, and both towns have plenty of things to do! You can definitely make a day trip out of it. There's also great walking and bike riding paths in the forest preserve.

My husband and I went to the Fabyan Villa Museum and Japanese Garden with some friends. This is…read morelocated in a forest preserve in Geneva along the Fox River. This entire land used to be owned by George Fabyan and his family. It was given to the town of Geneva and the Cook County Forest Preserve after his death. Tours of the mansion are available only on certain days and certain times. The home was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and is very interesting to see. I recommend going on the guide lead tour to learn more about the history and the family that lived there. There are a lot of artifacts to be seen throughout the mansion. The Japanese garden is definitely worth the visit. The grounds are well maintained with many varieties of flowers and trees to see. There are a couple of different paths you can take and a challenging bridge to traverse. For a fun afternoon out, I highly recommend Fabyan Villa Museum and Japanese Garden!

This free, educational museum was a fun way for me family and me to spend an afternoon. Miss Grace…read moreis a personable, knowledgeable, and inspired interest in the exhibits. The model train set was an unexpected bonus!

Free, educational and fun. Great seasonal programs. A working blacksmith shop and a quaint little…read morestore. Lots to see and enjoy. Nearby Main st. offers good dining options

Absolutely stunning house full of surprises and loaded with detail. Our guide Larry, was top-notch…read moreand explained the architectural theory behind many of the home's features. Lots of bang for your buck here and the grounds are beautiful!

I'm embarrassed to say I was unaware of this beautiful museum so perfectly preserved in the…read moreNorthwest suburbs of Chicago. This is a stunning house/museum located in Schaumburg, Illinois, just minutes from my house. This mid-century modern house was masterfully planned and built by architect Paul Schweikher in 1938 in a former farm field. The grounds are beautifully manicured and maintained. As we turned on the (somewhat obscure) driveway, we were immediately transported back in time. Truly magical. Our docent went out of his way to engage us with not only the details of the house, grounds and construction, but entertained us with stories of the former owners and their friends. You don't want to miss this experience. We will definitely be checking out some of the events planned for this lovely, preserved genius home!

I still remember the first time I came here, shortly after the memorial had been erected, and last…read moreweek I visited again after nearly 20 years when I was in search for a nice, semi-quiet, green spot to escape from the world for thirty minutes to enjoy my ice cream in peace and serenity. Who knew that a little island under a busy bridge near downtown Aurora would be so perfect?! I'm only sad that I didn't think to check it out earlier in the summer. Located under the bridge on Illinois Avenue between Broadway (Rt. 25) and Lake Street (Rt. 31), one wouldn't think that it would be so easy to access, but he would be wrong! If you're heading west across the bridge you'll have to park on either end of the bridge, which basically gives you two opportunities to park; if you're heading east across the bridge you'll turn off into a parking lot about half-way across the bridge right down onto the island. If you parked on either end of the bridge, it's a short walk across the bridge, from which you'll be descending to the island within a few minutes of getting out of your car. The island itself is separated into two halves connected by a short tunnel (my nephew got a real kick out of the echoes in there), with the memorial on the northern half of the island, and the parking lot (and not much else beside a little green space) on the southern half. The memorial itself is nice, if not fairly plain and non-descript, and the grounds are neat and well maintained, with trees and benches all along the perimeter to provide shade and places to sit. I've been here twice recently and found myself all alone both times--which was really awesome--apart from my nephew and the geese, and it was surprising how quiet, serene, and picturesque it felt knowing what madness was taking place right above my head. The first time I came I sat in the shade and enjoyed my ice cream, just loving my surroundings and enjoying the views, but the last time (with my nephew) was a little more solemn, though ice cream was still involved. For anyone with veterans in the family, or anyone who feels the urge or wish to honor them, it's REALLY nice knowing that there's a memorial dedicated to them so close by. With several veterans in my family, this memorial was a wonderful way to begin introducing my nephew to some of his history--if not just history in general--and though still young, I was surprised by how many questions he had and how much he actually understood. I actually didn't think he would find it interesting or would become engaged in it, but I think there's something about not just the solemnity of the place, but particularly the interesting, massive, and otherwise functionless memorial that made him question where we were and what this place was all about. I think I would have rated this place four stars, simply because it was a great spot to escape, but how can I rate a memorial to veterans any less than five stars??? I don't think I could unless it was treated like crap and left to the elements, and this memorial is certainly well-tended, and I genuinely and unselfishly hope to see more people here, even if it means I have to share my quiet spot. So whether you're close by and just need a place to stop and take a break for a little while, or just feeling the need to go and think of, or 'honor' or whatever, a friend, loved one, or stranger, please come down to the island and visit. Oh and just a note, there isn't (unfortunately) a garbage can on the memorial side of the island, so please head through the tunnel and find a garbage can on the other side or take it back with you to dispose of properly--don't be a jerk. And even better, if you see some harmless piece of trash that won't hurt you or threaten your health to pick up, then at least maybe think about it; if you won't do it for the earth, then at least do it for the vets.

We went last week. Wait until after Aug 15 to go. Currently there is little or no explanation of…read morelife in the 1800's (except the mansion - the mansion was the regular docent-led tour - well done). For some insane reason, they have decided to "feature" the 1980's. Poorly. A quiz about TV commercials in the 80's. We were there with children, 30-somethings, and a tourist from another country. No one knew any of these answwers and they wouldn't stop. NOTHING about the newspaper printing in the 1800's. Blacksmith was at least about being a blacksmith, but no history. School - "Well, schools were pretty much the same as they are now. Not like this one." Our kids understood that Twister was a game and movies were on a tape in the 80's. But they were not interested. Nice craft opportunity with the scrunchee. But not about early settlement. If not for the mansion, 2 stars (things were open to go inside, at least). I will check carefully again before I would take kids for any history that they would care about. Must be a big draw for the 50 -60 year olds! Huge disappointment for us and our grade-school kids.

Came here for the Halloween trick or treating. There was lots to do and it was fun for all ages…read morefrom 12 months to 65 years old. We played with the dinosaurs eggs, bubbles, entered the costumes contest, and took a tour of the mansion. The decorations were pretty great!

I love playing Pokemon Go here because it's downtown Batavia so there's stops and gyms everywhere.read more

This is a nice place to stroll but the big draw to me is the giant frog statue (it's large enough…read moreto dwarf an adult); I just love its unimpressed expression. Check it out the next time you are in town!