LGBTQ-friendly places to visit around the Windy City

Chicago

Thrillist

We're Out Here

<p>Discover LGBTQ-welcoming hotels in top destinations, plus tips and inspiration on where to go</p>


We're Out Here: A New LGBTQ Travel Vertical

Travel

Explore adventure guides and design a custom itinerary for the destination of your choice in and around the city.

Best Travel Guides, Cool Hotels and Interesting Events - Thrillist

Take a Tour of Drag Superstar Shea Couleé's Favorite Chicago Spots

Orbitz_628626_May21

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

The post-holiday winter months might be the best time to hit the pavement and embark on a mini road trip.

Perfect Winter Road Trips for When You Need to Escape Chicago

Unsplash/Sean Pierce

Even with the sub-zero temps and frozen appendages, there’s something magical about Wisconsin in the wintertime.

Embrace Winter in This Cozy Wisconsin Town with a Huge Ice Castle

BigPineapple/Shutterstock

Compared to other sleepless cities, like Las Vegas and New York, Chicago may not be the most obvious destination for late-night revelry, but the Second City is really second to none when it comes to past-your-bedtime fun.

12 Things to Do in Chicago After Dark

The Morton Arboretum

There’s really nothing like the holidays in Chicago.

The Most Dazzling Light Displays in Chicago This Holiday Season

The Berghoff Restaurant

We’re deep in the throes of the holiday season, which means frantic Christmas shopping, politically charged dinner conversation with relatives, treating batter as a beverage, and the inescapable omnipresence of themed marshmallow treats.

Where to Eat and Drink at Chicago’s O'Hare International Airport

First Look

Thrillist takes you inside the hottest new restaurants, from upscale destinations to casual cafes.

First Look - Thrillist

Photo courtesy of Harry Potter™ Magic at Play

Chicago continues to prove it’s second to none: this time, with the worldwide debut of Harry Potter: Magic at Play, an immersive 30,000 square foot experience transporting you into the fantastical world of wizards that’s also one of the few places you can get Butterbeer outside of Orlando’s Universal Studios.

A 3-Floor Immersive Harry Potter Experience Just Opened in Chicago

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

Chicago may be the best city in the world, but there’s no denying that experiencing the best of what the city has to offer is, unfortunately, incredibly expensive.

11 Completely Free Things to Do in Chicago

RozenskiP/Shutterstock

It’s time for everyone's favorite autumnal activities: apple picking, leaf peeping, pumpkin spice latte drinking, and of course, thrill-seeking (it is a spooky season after all).

The Most Bone-Chillingly Haunted Places Around Chicago

Weed

Everything You Need to Know About Legal Weed, Smoking, Edibles, CBD and More

Dispensary 33

In addition to laying claim to many of America’s largest weed corporations, Chicago continues to solidify its reputation as the “Weed Capital of the Midwest,” with 18 shops in the city plus another 53 in the surrounding suburbs (view the full list of Illinois’ 100+ facilities here).

Your Guide to Every Weed Dispensary in Chicago

Flickr/MIDWST.BLUR

From national forests and state parks to historic sites and a suburban arboretum—Illinois has it all.

The Most Beautiful Places to Visit in Illinois

Photo by Alice Achterhof, Photo Courtesy of Choose Chicago

Spanning 77 diverse neighborhoods, each offering its own sights, sounds, tastes, and history, Chicago offers myriad adventures and points of exploration.

The 8 Best Neighborhoods in Chicago to Spend a Weekend

MAIMELO26/Shutterstock

Follow Lake Michigan’s curving shoreline about an hour or so east of Chicago to the Michigan-Indiana border, and you’ll find gargantuan singing sand dunes (more on that later), some of the country’s most ecologically rich vegetation, and neon lakefront sunsets that will remind you that God does, in fact, exist.