Places irenel Wants to Go

This small island has a dark past as a colony for Chinese lepers and a dropoff point for bootleggers.

Each of these gorgeous, intricately decorated rooms is painstakingly crafted to the scale of 1 inch: 1 foot.

This $3 million model train takes you through Chicago, Seattle, and the thousands of miles in between.

A little-known subterranean street runs under some of the best-known buildings in Chicago's River North.

Assemble a masterpiece at the first and only North American school exclusively dedicated to mosaic art.

Fragments of architectural wonders from around the globe are embedded in the newspaper building's walls.

An avant garde art museum at the University of Chicago.

Home to a protest movement, a bombing, and a dramatic change in labor history.

Rifle through images of skyscrapers, Worlds Fairs, and more in the largest public postcard repository in America.

You can take a class, browse the library, or visit the lavish lair of an international men's humor society.

This small, but long-running hobby club has built one of the largest model rail lines in the US.

Also known as the Osaka Garden, this garden was originally built in 1893 as part of the World's Columbian Exposition.

A 19th-century horse lover's bequest led to the construction of this unique fountain in Chicago.

The rodent-shaped sidewalk imprint that earned worldwide media attention.

Hidden on the seventh floor of a historic building, this Cajun spot features wall-to-wall bottles of hot sauce.

The palatial McDonald's that inspired Wesley Willis.

A century-old network of freight tunnels underneath the city's historic business district.

Louis Sullivan’s dark, swirling cast-iron designs envelop a popular department store in this Chicago landmark.

A historic 1929 art-house cinema that features independent, classic, cult, and foreign films in an atmospheric setting.

The largest interactive exhibition in the U.S. exploring human history through the lens of power, punishment, and psychology.

In 2004, a Dave Matthews Band tour bus dumped 800 pounds of waste off a bridge and onto an unsuspecting tour boat below.

Chicago’s last original drive-in restaurant is a family-run hot dog joint that started in 1948.

These chunky stone towers out in Lake Michigan are the key to Chicago’s drinking water.

Partially submerged Buddha heads freckle Chicago’s neighborhoods.