The northern half of Illinois is dotted with industrial cities like Rockford and Chicago--long known as America's Second City until Los Angeles passed it in population in the mid-1980s. The diverse manufactures produced in urban industrial complexes are the state's leading source of wealth.  Most of the Prairie State is fertile farmland--seemingly endless, gently rolling miles of black loam.  Half a hundred crops are grown on this land that ranks with the richest on Earth. The farms yield an agricultural income exceeded only by that of Illinois, Texas, Iowa, and Nebraska.

Chicago is the main attraction in Illinois, with its business and convention activities, outstanding museums, and cultural offerings, and of course, inviting bed and breakfasts, urban inns, B&B homestays, and historic B&B hotels. Southern Illinois is rural and agricultural, home to Springfield, the state capital and hometown of Abraham Lincoln. Other areas of interest lie along the Mississippi, starting with the Victorian bed and breakfast inns of Galena, in the north, to St. Louis, on the Missouri side, in the south. Enhance your visit to the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbanna with an overnight at a fine bed and breakfast inn.  Chicago, the windy city, was home to the world's first skyscraper, built in 1885 and is home to The Sears Tower, the tallest building on the North American continent. The first Aquarium opened in Chicago, 1893 and the first Mormon Temple in Illinois was constructed in Nauvoo. Illinois offers a fine selection of b&bs ranging from Chicago inns to suburban Petersburg guesthouses.

For the history buff, Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy and Alton hosted the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates that stirred interest all over the country in the slavery issue. Peoria, site of a riverboat casino is the oldest community in Illinois. Illinois, is home to the Chicago Bears Football Team, Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, Chicago Bulls basketball team, Chicago Cubs and Chicago Whitesox baseball teams, and the Chicago Fire soccer team, is a wonderful place for a sports fan to visit. So definitely plan to pack your days full in Illinois, whether the exciting city life in Chicago or the scenic countryside, you shall be well treated at whatever Illinois bed and breakfast you choose.

Central Illinois Bed & Breakfasts and Inns