I learned so much today! The mansion history was very interesting and the history about Ottawa was…read morefascinating too. The tour was ten dollars and was well worth it. I was told Christmas is a really great time to visit. I didn't even know about this mansion until a few days ago. I searched for other things around Starved Rock and foind the mansion. It was the best part of the day.

Beautiful turn of the century home. The docent was very knowledgeable (maybe a bit too…read moreknowledgeable). She shared the history of the home, it's pervious uses and work being done to restore it to the time of the Reddick family's occupancy. We stopped as an activity during a road trip but had to leave a before the end of the tour to get back on the road. The home had beautiful plaster detail, original wood work, windows, doors, and fireplaces. Definitely worth visiting to appreciate the architecture of days gone by.

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.

Everything about the staff--helpfulness, knowledge, and professionalism--just shines! I chose the…read moreself-guided tour and enjoyed exploring the grounds and buildings all by myself. Parking was plentiful and the East Gate entrance (the ONLY entrance to the grounds) was fairly easy to find. The gift shop, on the other hand, is completely hidden and if not for a helpful staff member, I would have never seen it! Please, museum crew, improve the signage near the gift shop so you aren't losing money. This museum is a delight and I hope all Blues Brothers fans and others can enjoy it for years to come.

We had such a wonderful time visiting the David Davis Mansion. Our tour guide, Jeff, gave us a long…read moreand detailed tour that was both informative and engaging. He was extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and made the history of the mansion come alive. One highlight was learning about David Davis's close connection to Abraham Lincoln, which added an even deeper historical significance to our visit. That piece of history was fascinating and memorable. We highly recommend the David Davis Mansion to anyone visiting Bloomington. It's a beautiful historic home with a rich story, and with guides like Jeff, you're guaranteed an excellent experience.

We toured the David Davis Mansion on a chilly December afternoon. There was one else there for a…read moretour so we had our own private tour. The mansion was beautiful and decorated for Christmas. The house has many artifacts that are true to the Davis family. We learned a treasure of information from our tour guide Jeff. He was able to answer both of our questions and we had many of them. Jeff was able to tailor the tour to our interests providing a personalized experience. This tour of an exquisite mansion was top-notch due to Jeff and his wealth of knowledge and pleasant personality.

Great tour, highly recommended and will love to come back for the full 4-hours hour. I love the…read moreguide tour lady!!! Come and enjoy!!

My friend and I had an errand out in this area and decided to see what else there was to see while…read morewe were here. This museum (the home of the Hegeler and Carus families, who were involved in a local zinc company and also a publishing house, Open Court Press) is a national historic landmark and is unique because it was owned by the same family the whole time, & they never made any fundamental updates to the house so it's largely as it was when designed by WW Boyington (who also designed Chicago's Water Tower and the old Joliet prison) in the 1870s. Several rooms have been restored, but you can see in areas where it hasn't where time is taking its toll (for example, the main hall was painted with egg tempera paint, and that organic element [the egg] is now degrading after 150 years). Still, the parquet floors are amazing, and details like pocket doors, carved wooden decorations and historical elements like the speaker tube system in the walls for speaking through the house are unusual! The house also contains the only German-style turnhalle (gymnasium) in a historic home in the US. Other interesting details include an ornate butsudan (buddhist cabinet shrine) due to Hegeler's interest in Eastern religions. We just took the general tour ($15), but you can do half house (upper or lower half for $50 each) or whole house tours ($100). The longest one is apparently 3.5 hours with two breaks and children are discouraged since it is long. You must register for the tours as they max out at 6 people. Despite it saying "masks are required" and our temperatures taken at the door, our guide was initially trying to take his mask off to talk and the other couple on the tour followed suit. When my friend and I left ours on, they all put them back on at some point. The rooms do have 6 foot markers on the floors, but since some of the rooms aren't big, if you had a full tour group this would be an issue. There is an elevator so the Mansion is handicap accessible. Overall, this seems to be one of the bigger attractions in LaSalle, so take a tour if you're in town.

Our guide Tanner was very entertaining. I recommend this tour. great way to see a piece of Chicago…read morewith a little interactive history.

Baylor walked around town telling us all sorts of spooky and gruesome stories. Now, I've been to…read moreChicago several times, but I learned more about locations I thought I already knew! I recommend this tour with hesitation.

This is one of the best tours I've ever been to. It was magical and the owner is so generous to…read moreopen up the home to the public We were enthralled with the fantastic wonders that exist here. It's 3 hours and worth every minute The less you know the better. It's a fantastic surprise once you've entered into this excellent experience

The Sanfilippo Foundation (de la musique) has limited tours of their beautiful and amazing estate…read more It's located in Barrington Hills on over 57 acres. The 52,000 sq. ft Tudor style home has so many unique musical, one of a kind and ornate items that you really have to see to believe! We went on the tour yesterday and it was really enjoyable. They have so many historical Calliope's from Europe and US on the premises. Also many other items including Tiffany lamps, steam trains/engines, a perfume museum and a restored carousel in its own building that is really something to see! It's truly a fascinating tour and very tastefully done. They only collected the very best top of the line pieces for the collection. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Pictures and reviews really don't do this place justice. You need to go and see everything for yourself! It's definitely worth it and you'll leave feeling dazzled!

What a lovely garden in the middle of Streator! Truly you dont even feel like you are in Illinois…read morewhen you are within the walls. A lovely English garden! We chose to have our formal wedding pictures here after our ceremony at the Silver Fox. For a small fee we were allowed full access to the garden, capturing some amazing photographs! Check them out! Thank you Mr. Weber for such a lovely venue!

This place is a bucolic respite, and tour guide Ted Weber is funny, self-effacing and passionate…read moreabout both history and his garden. Great for all ages. Streator clearly doesn't understand the hidden gem in its midst.

My niece and her husband had their wedding reception here a few days ago. The weather was rainy and…read morecool, but as someone visiting from hot and sticky Texas, I gladly welcomed it. An outdoor pavilion surrounded by the forest was where the celebration was held. It easily accommodated all the guests. Because private events here use outside caterers, we were treated to an amazing buffet style dinner that included salad, chicken, steak, salmon, potatoes and vegetables. All were abundant and delicious. The exterior of one of the historic buildings served as the spot for the open bar. I went inside the property and was transported back in time to mid-19th century Illinois. Parts of the building resembled a hotel off the beaten path in Mexico. I confess that I didn't do much research on The Grove beforehand. It appears to be a place where you could get in a quiet weekend walk. Simply put, a must visit for anyone seeking to escape the hurly burly of Chicago proper. Fair warning, however. It's easy to get lost looking for The Grove so be sure to keep an eye out for the sign indicating it while traveling down Milwaukee Avenue.

The nature center is a great place to see some animals and other exhibits. The forest is much…read morebigger than it looks from the street and has nice flat paths. We saw several deer and chipmunks. Great place to go for a hike.

During Parents' Weekend at the University of Chicago, the university offered tours of the…read moreneighborhood through Chicago Detours. My wife did this tour a couple years ago and highly recommended it, but I wasn't especially interested because I had also gone to school here and figured I knew enough about Hyde Park already. However, she insisted that it would be worth our while and so I agreed to climb on the bus. And it was the absolutely right decision, because the tour was excellent. In fact, it wasn't just a tour of Hyde Park. It included the surrounding neighborhoods of Washington Park, Kenwood, Jackson Park, and Woodlawn. Since this was a UChicago sponsored event much of the information related to the University's investment and involvement in the area. Our tour guide and founder of Chicago Detours, Amanda, is herself a graduate of UChicago and thus she had some additional insight into the relationship with the community. Though the 75-minute tour felt a little slow-going at times, there was much to learn about the vibrant but sometimes troubled history of the area. Amanda has tremendous knowledge and the excursion was both fascinating and entertaining. I can imagine that Chicago Detours would have equally interesting tours of other neighborhoods in this diverse city.

Virtual tours are such a cool thing to do right now. I attended a Yelp Elite event that was a…read morevirtual food tour of Chicago. It was incredibly informative and a good balance of history and current trends. Looking forward to attending more virtual tours, like the World's Fair and the Cruise From Your Couch Boat Tour. I loved seeing the pictures of the in-person tours and can't wait to attend some of those too.

They made sure they moved the bachelorette groups to different buses to avoid any issues. We…read moreappreciated the thought. Our tour guide Kenney was great. He made sure we were taken care of. This is the only tour company that includes lunch I believe. Lunch was pretty good as well! I would book with them again.

We were fortunate to get truly excellent weather to head out onto the lake for a boat ride with…read moreHarbor Country Adventures! We went on the Classic Lake Tour. Our tour guide was a retired high school history teacher and football coach with all sorts of interesting stories about the region. We passed Mount Baldy, the "living" sand dune that moves, at Indiana Dunes National Park and made it all the way down to a good view of the Century of Progress homes before making our way back. We also got to hear all about the ship, the Emita II, which is a historic ship from the 1950s, and about how it reached its current home. It was also very cute that Captain Jan had the kids come up and take turns at the wheel on the way back. There is a snack bar on the lower level of the boat, and there are restrooms on board. Free parking is available a little walk away - walk towards the Lighthouse Museum, as the dock is behind there. Definitely a great adventure!