Places istnbl Wants to Go

Half-sized replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa built to honor Galileo.

A curious collection of miniatures in a quiet corner of the Chicago Children's Museum.

This botanical garden outside Chicago boasts an array of more than 300 varieties of lilacs.

Quirky water tower advertises the long-gone Brooks Tomato Products Co.

World's second largest particle accelerator, where nature reveals its secrets.

Former bath house turns gastropub.

Small and slightly hidden, the American Writers Museum is preserving the legacy of America's finest authors.

A small abandoned and abused cemetery that has become a magnet for ghost hunters.

One of the last functioning antique elevators in Chicago.

Even with only two residents and one building, this tiny Illinois town is famous for its burgers.

The final resting place of up to 6,000 Confederate soldiers, the largest mass grave in the Western Hemisphere.

Eclectic collection of rare and beautiful stones in a historic home.

The 40-year-old machine serves soda quicker than you can catch it for a mere 75 cents a pop.

The mysterious white squirrels of this Illinois city are treated like sacred cows.

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

An actual 1957 Cadillac De Ville, encased in 15 cubic yards of concrete.

The legacy of an unsolved, gruesome murder rests beneath the spans of this historic bridge.

In the Shawnee National Forest, amazing rock formations peer through the treeline.

Buy a token from the liquor store and you can make this beast spew flames on command.

The 606 is a decade in the making.

Oversized statues are just the tip of this nostalgic Americana roadside attraction.

The final resting place of the world's first nuclear reactor.

A six-story-tall golden pyramid, surrounded by a moat.

What was once the second largest steel mill in the US is now a sprawling complex of modern ruins.