Springfield Illinois Tourism at a Glance

Best Time to Visit Springfield Illinois
Springfield busiest tourism seasons are spring, summer and fall, when there are more outside activities and events. All historic sites and all but a few local attractions are open throughout the year, except on certain holidays, making Springfield a year round destination. Click Here to find hotels in Springfield. If you need additional visitor information for Springfield, Click Here.

Average Springfield Weather
Moderate year-round temperatures. In the summer months, average temperatures range from 70-85°; in the winter months they range from 30-40°.

Transportation
Springfield’s central Illinois location and easy accessibility via interstates 55 and 72 make it an idea drive-to destination. Located in the heart of the Midwest, it’s within a day’s drive or less for much of the countries driving population.

Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport has at least five daily connecting flights to both St. Louis and Chicago. AMTRAK runs to both Chicago and St. Louis at least three times daily.

In-Season Costs
Most of the historic sites are free. Rates for attractions remain constant throughout the year. Hotels often offer various seasonal packages.

Illinois Tourism - Springfield Attractions, Activities and Day Trips
Springfield is within a several hour drive from Chicago and Indianapolis, and is just 1½ hours from St. Louis. It’s an ideal day or weekend getaway. A day trip would allow time to visit some of the six Abraham Lincoln historic sites, including the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum (opens April 2005), In addition, Lincoln’s New Salem is located just 20 miles NW of Springfield. It offers a variety of historic re-enactment events that bring the pioneer village to life, as it would have been during Lincoln’s time there. We suggest an overnight visit to ensure a full Lincoln experience and to enjoy other sites in Springfield. For example, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s best and most-complete “prairie” houses, the Dana-Thomas House, is located here. We also have the world’s 3rd-largest carillon and one of the few open to the public. Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon hosts the annual International Carillon Festival each June, bringing in carillonneurs from around the world for a week of concerts and other cultural presentations. There are more than 100 annual events including horse shows, cars shows, LPGA golf, fine arts fairs, musical and stage productions, motorcycle races, air show, agricultural fair, antique marketplace and more. Springfield is right in the heart of the Illinois portion of Route 66 and has several internationally known "Mother Road" attractions. Bill Shea's Gas Station Museum, the Cozy Drive Inn and Joe Rogers' Chili all get visitors from around the globe looking for adventure on Route 66. In Illinois, all but 11 miles of Route 66 are still drivable. A drive down Route 66 between Chicago and St. Louis is a perfect weekend getaway. There are 38 hotels properties with more than 4,000 rooms. Properties range from economy chains to luxury hotels to historic B & Bs. Several are located in the downtown area close to the major historic sites. The others are just minutes away.

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Find more fun and exciting things to do at Springfield tourist attractions.

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