The capital of Illinois and Abraham Lincoln's adopted hometown, Springfield is one of America's great destinations for Lincoln history. He lived here from 1837 until he left for the White House in 1861, and the city is dense with sites tied to his life — his home, his tomb, the Old State Capitol, and the acclaimed presidential museum. Beyond the Lincoln trail, Springfield offers Route 66 nostalgia, the local horseshoe sandwich, gardens, and the recreation of Lake Springfield.
Fun Facts About Springfield, Illinois
Springfield became the capital of Illinois in 1839, largely thanks to lobbying by Abraham Lincoln and his fellow legislators, nicknamed the "Long Nine" for their combined height of about 54 feet.
Abraham Lincoln lived in Springfield from 1837 to 1861, and it's home to the only house he ever owned as well as his tomb.
The city is the birthplace of the corn dog on a stick, popularized at the Route 66 landmark Cozy Dog Drive In.
Springfield's signature dish is the "horseshoe" — an open-faced sandwich of meat on Texas toast piled with french fries and cheese sauce.
Historic Route 66 runs right through the city, lined with classic roadside Americana.
The Lincoln Home is the only house Abraham Lincoln ever owned, a restored Greek Revival residence where he and his wife Mary lived from 1844 to 1861, the years before he became the 16th US president. Run by the National Park Service, it anchors a four-block historic neighborhood laced with wooden sidewalks that carry you back to nineteenth-century Springfield.
Guided tours lead you through all twelve rooms, where original furnishings fill the spaces the family once occupied, from parlors to private quarters. Walking the surrounding streets is an experience in itself, the plank sidewalks and period setting turning an ordinary block into a window on the life Lincoln left behind when he departed for Washington.
2. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
One of America's most-visited presidential museums, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum brings the sixteenth president's life and the Civil War to life through immersive exhibits, life-sized dioramas, film theaters, and multimedia displays. This high-tech Springfield facility trades dusty display cases for storytelling that pulls you straight into Lincoln's world.
The collection rewards a close look. Highlights include an original handwritten copy of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's own glasses, and Mary Lincoln's wedding dress, each a tangible link to the era. Between the theaters and dioramas, you can easily lose an afternoon here, making it an essential stop for anyone curious about American history.
Anchoring the downtown Springfield square, the Old State Capitol is a restored Greek Revival statehouse crowned by a domed cupola. Designed by John Rague and built around 1840, it served as the seat of Illinois government until 1876. Its dignified stonework and columned facade make it one of the square's most striking landmarks.
The building carries an outsized place in American history. Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous "House Divided" speech within these walls in 1858, and his body later lay in state here before burial. Nearly a century and a half on, Barack Obama chose this same spot to announce his presidential candidacy in 2007, linking two pivotal chapters of the nation's story.
About 15 miles northwest of Springfield, Lincoln's New Salem is a reconstructed 1830s frontier village recreating the place where a young Abraham Lincoln lived and worked before he moved on in 1837. Established as a historic site between 1918 and 1921, it brings the vanished settlement back to life with period residences, working stores, and a tavern.
Costumed interpreters populate the village, lending the reconstructed buildings a lived-in sense of daily frontier routine. A visitor center anchors the experience with exhibits and a film, and a 9-foot bronze statue of young Lincoln, sculpted by Avard Fairbanks, stands as a fitting tribute to the ambitious man who once called this remote Illinois outpost home.
Obed & Isaac's Microbrewery sits in a restored historic mansion a short walk from the Lincoln Home in Springfield. This brewpub pours house-crafted beers and serves local food, whether you settle in indoors or spread out on the leafy outdoor terrace on a warm afternoon.
Come hungry for the horseshoe, Springfield's famous open-faced sandwich piling meat on Texas toast, then burying it under french fries and a blanket of cheese sauce. Flatbread pizzas round out the menu, giving you a genuine taste of local flavor alongside a well-poured pint.
Set within Springfield's Washington Park, which dates to 1901, the Washington Park Botanical Garden spreads across roughly 20 acres of indoor and outdoor gardens. A 9,000-square-foot greenhouse and conservatory shelters tender plantings year-round, while a dedicated rose garden and more than 1,200 plant species reward anyone who wanders the grounds slowly.
The surrounding park invites you to linger long after the gardens. Walking and biking trails thread past quiet lagoons, and picnic spots make an easy place to pause between blooms. Families can turn the kids loose on the playground, and tennis courts round out a green retreat that pairs cultivated beauty with plenty of room to roam.
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for socialite Susan Lawrence Dana, the Dana Thomas House is a sprawling Prairie School mansion built in the early 1900s. With around 35 rooms, it stands as one of Wright's most intact early Prairie houses, showcasing his signature horizontal lines and organic sense of place.
Step inside and you'll find over 100 pieces of original Wright-designed oak furniture alongside roughly 250 original art-glass pieces, all preserved in their intended setting. Guided tours lead you through the interconnected spaces, offering an immersive look at how the architect envisioned every detail of the home as a unified whole.
Knight's Action Park packs a full day of family fun into 60 acres in Springfield, blending amusement rides with plenty of ground to cover. Test your swing at the driving range or batting cages, tackle two 18-hole mini-golf courses, race the go-karts, spin on the Ferris wheel, scale the outdoor climbing wall, or duck into the arcade.
When the temperature climbs, the adjoining Splash Kingdom water park cools everyone down with a lineup built for all ages. Ride the water slides, drift the length of the lazy river, or bob in the wave pool between attractions. It's an easy pairing of dry-land games and water play that keeps kids and grown-ups busy from open to close.
The Illinois State Museum has told the story of the state since 1877, tracing roughly 500 million years of natural history, cultures, and art. Fossils and archaeological artifacts fill its galleries, while exhibits on Illinois' peoples and Native American life bring the region's long human story into vivid focus.
Detailed dioramas recreate the landscapes and creatures that once defined the region, and the collections span everything from ancient geology to fine art. Younger visitors can explore the Mary Ann MacLean Play Museum, an interactive children's space that turns the museum's big ideas into hands-on discovery for the whole family.
Opened in 1970, Henson Robinson Zoo is a small, welcoming spot in Springfield that packs a surprising amount of variety into its grounds. More than 90 species of native and exotic animals call it home, drawn from Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Expect to meet African penguins, chattering monkeys, wide-eyed lemurs, and slow-moving sloths along the way.
It is an easy, family-friendly outing that keeps younger visitors busy from start to finish. A zoo train winds through the property, a playground offers a place to burn off energy, and a petting area invites hands-on encounters with gentler residents. Seasonal events round out the calendar, giving return visitors fresh reasons to come back through the year.
Rising 117 feet at Oak Ridge Cemetery, the Lincoln Tomb is the final resting place of President Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary, and three of their sons, Edward, William, and Thomas. Built by the Lincoln Monument Association and designed by Larkin Mead, the granite memorial is crowned by a soaring obelisk that marks the site from across the grounds.
Inside, a marble burial chamber and bronze Lincoln sculptures set a solemn, reflective tone. At the entrance stands a bronze bust whose nose gleams from generations of visitors rubbing it for luck. A fourth son, Robert, rests apart at Arlington, but here the family lies together beneath one of Springfield's most enduring landmarks.
Opened in 1977, White Oaks Mall is the largest enclosed shopping center in central Illinois, and it remains Springfield's go-to spot for a day of browsing under one roof. Spread across two stories and more than 900,000 square feet, it packs in over 100 stores, mixing familiar national brands with local boutiques you won't find anywhere else.
There's plenty to keep the whole family occupied here, from a dedicated kids' play area for younger visitors to a food court when it's time to refuel. Whether you're hunting for a specific purchase, comparing shops, or simply escaping the weather for a few hours, the sheer scale and variety make it an easy, comfortable place to spend an afternoon.
On the shore of Lake Springfield, the Lincoln Memorial Garden and Nature Center spreads across 100 acres of woodland dedicated in 1936 as a living memorial to Abraham Lincoln. Every plant here is native to Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, the three states that shaped Lincoln's life, giving the grounds a rooted sense of place.
The garden was designed by Prairie School landscape architect Jens Jensen, whose naturalistic hand shows in its winding paths and quiet groves. More than five miles of accessible trails thread through the trees, and each spring a seasonal maple-syrup festival draws visitors to watch sap become sweetness, making the woods worth returning to as the seasons turn.
A Route 66 icon and beloved Springfield landmark, the Cozy Dog Drive In is the birthplace of the corn dog on a stick. Ed Waldmire developed his battered hot-dog recipe in 1946 and first sold it at the Illinois State Fair, and the family opened the drive in here in 1949.
The menu still centers on those famous corn dogs, washed down with house-made Cozy Dog root beer. Inside, the walls are packed with Route 66 memorabilia that celebrates the Mother Road's golden era, and a gift shop lets you carry a piece of that roadside Americana home with you.
The Illinois State Military Museum traces the state's military history and the Illinois National Guard from 1812 to the present. More than 10,000 artifacts fill the galleries, from weapons and uniforms to battle flags, alongside rare curiosities such as the artificial leg of Mexican general Santa Anna.
Step outside and the collection grows heavier. An outdoor display parks historic vehicles, helicopters, and howitzers across the grounds, capped by a tank you can walk right up to. Together the indoor cases and open-air hardware turn two centuries of Illinois service into something you can see up close.
Rising 132 feet above Springfield's Washington Park, the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon is one of the largest carillons in the world and one of the few open to the public. Its 67 bells weigh roughly 82,753 pounds altogether, and a musician plays them live from a manual keyboard inside the tower.
The tower was dedicated in 1962 as a gift from publisher and former state senator Thomas Rees. Each year it anchors the International Carillon Festival, when the bells ring out across the park. Climb up for the view, or simply settle on the grass below and listen to one of the country's grandest instruments perform.
Spread across 365 acres among towering oak trees, Oak Ridge Cemetery is the largest municipal cemetery in Illinois, established in 1860. Thanks to the Lincoln Tomb, it ranks as the second-most-visited cemetery in the United States, drawing travelers who come to pay their respects and wander its historic, tree-shaded grounds.
With more than 50 sections and tens of thousands of burials, the cemetery is the resting place of many prominent Illinoisans. Helpful signs guide visitors toward the notable graves scattered throughout, making it easy to explore at your own pace and appreciate the quiet, layered history preserved across this sprawling and remarkably peaceful landscape.
One of Springfield's finest and oldest buildings, the Illinois Governor's Mansion has served as the official residence of the Governor of Illinois since its completion in 1855. Designed by architect John M. Van Osdel, the elegant 16-room home stands as a landmark of the city and a lasting emblem of the state's civic history.
Today the mansion doubles as an event space and museum, welcoming visitors on guided tours through its bedrooms, libraries, and 19th-century-style parlors. Having hosted numerous US presidents and dignitaries over the years, it offers a rare glimpse into the residence where Illinois governors have lived and entertained for well over a century.
A large man-made reservoir, Lake Springfield was formed in 1935 by the Spaulding Dam and serves as the city's primary drinking-water source and a cooling supply for its power plant. Spanning roughly 4,000 acres with about 57 miles of shoreline, it stands as the largest municipally owned lake in Illinois.
Eight public parks and boat docks line the water, making it a major recreation area for boating, fishing, and water sports. Designated swimming areas invite visitors to cool off, while the sprawling shoreline offers plenty of room to spread out. It's an easy, scenic escape just beyond the heart of the city.
A few blocks from the Lincoln Home, the Lincoln Depot dates to 1852, when the Great Western Railroad built this station, also known as the Great Western Depot. It was here, in 1861, that President-elect Abraham Lincoln delivered his Farewell Address to the people of Springfield before boarding a train bound for Washington, D.C.
Lincoln never saw home again, and that departure lends the depot a quiet gravity that lingers over the platform. The first floor now holds a museum with exhibits, videos, and model trains that trace the story of the railroad and the moment Lincoln stepped aboard, making it a meaningful stop for anyone tracing his Springfield years.
Tucked into a hangar at Springfield's Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, the Air Combat Museum is a free, privately assembled tribute to military aviation. Its collection gathers historic aircraft and aviation memorabilia under one roof, and many of the planes are fully operational rather than static, including a gleaming P-51 Mustang.
A self-guided tour lets you wander the hangar floor at your own pace, getting close to machines that once ruled the skies. The most hands-on moment comes at the MiG-15, where you can climb into the cockpit section and settle into the seat, a rare chance to feel what a fighter pilot's world was really like.
22. Springfield Art Association/Edwards Place Historic Home
Home to the Springfield Art Association, the Springfield Art Association/Edwards Place Historic Home invites you into a house built in 1833 that rose to prominence after Benjamin Edwards bought it in 1857. In its heyday, the home hosted lively social and political gatherings, and today it welcomes visitors as one of Springfield's historic house museums.
Inside, a gallery presents rotating exhibits alongside an art library and studio, while 19th-century furnishings fill the rooms. Look for items connected to the Lincolns, and let the costumed guides bring the home's storied past to life as they lead you through its history.
Set on ground that once held the second-largest Civil War military training camp in Illinois, Camp Butler National Cemetery lies about six miles northeast of Springfield. The site also served as a hospital and a prison, giving the peaceful grounds a layered history that reaches back to the earliest days of the war.
Across roughly 53 acres rest tens of thousands of graves, from Union and Confederate soldiers to veterans of later conflicts. Memorials dot the landscape, including a Confederate monument and a Korean War Veterans Memorial, making a quiet walk here both a moment of reflection and a passage through generations of American service.
Step back in time at the Route 66 Drive In Theater, a classic outdoor movie venue tucked inside Springfield's Knight's Action Park. First opened in 1974, it later went dark for decades before the Knight family lovingly restored it, reviving a nostalgic American pastime for a new generation of moviegoers who gather under the open sky.
Today the theater screens current films seasonally, running roughly from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Tune your car radio to the broadcast station to catch the audio, settle back, and enjoy the show. On-site concessions keep the popcorn and snacks flowing, making it an easy, memorable evening for families and film lovers alike.
A casual Irish-style pub that opened in 1998, D'arcy's Pint has long been a favorite with Springfield locals and visitors alike. Its easygoing atmosphere and welcoming spirit make it a comfortable spot to settle in, order a drink, and soak up the neighborhood-pub feel that has kept regulars coming back for years.
The pub is best known for serving one of the city's finest horseshoes: Texas toast layered with meat or vegetables, then piled high with french fries and blanketed in cheese sauce. Available in several varieties and paired with a good beer selection, this hearty local specialty is reason enough to stop by.
Getting to Springfield
Springfield sits at the crossing of two Interstates, which makes arriving by car straightforward from almost any direction. Interstate 55 runs north-south along the eastern edge of the city, linking it with Chicago to the north and St. Louis to the south, while Interstate 72, carried in tandem with US Route 36, forms the east-west route and skirts the southern and eastern sides of town. From these loops, state highways and a handful of business routes feed you straight into the downtown grid, so the historic core is only a few minutes off the Interstate.
The city has its own commercial airport a few miles northwest of downtown, with a modest schedule of connecting flights, but many visitors fly into the far larger hub at St. Louis and drive up, roughly an hour and a half to the south. Springfield is also a stop on the main rail corridor between Chicago and St. Louis, with several daily trains, and the same downtown depot doubles as the pick-up point for long-distance intercity buses, giving you a genuine car-free way in if you’d rather not drive.
Getting Around Springfield
The downtown historic district, where most of the Lincoln sites, the Old State Capitol, and the government buildings cluster within a few blocks of one another, is comfortably walkable, and seeing that core on foot is the most pleasant way to take it in. Beyond that central grid, though, the city spreads out, and the botanical garden, outlying parks, and the reconstructed village to the northwest are best reached with a car. If you’re basing your visit on the Lincoln attractions alone you can manage a day or two on foot, but a vehicle opens up everything else.
A local bus network covers the main corridors, and rideshare is easy to summon downtown and near the commercial strips, so short hops without a car are workable. Cyclists will find some quiet residential streets and park paths, though the arterial roads are busier. Parking is rarely a headache here: downtown has metered street spots and public lots close to the main sites, and away from the centre most attractions offer their own free lots.
Where to Stay in Springfield
For a first visit built around the Lincoln legacy, base yourself in or near the downtown historic district. Staying central puts the presidential library and museum, the Lincoln home neighbourhood, the Old State Capitol, and the Illinois State Capitol all within an easy walk, and it means you can retreat to your room between sights rather than driving back and forth. This is also where you’ll find the most character, with older streets and a walkable restaurant scene close at hand.
If you’re driving in for a night or two and want easy arrivals and departures, the commercial districts out along the Interstate interchanges on the eastern and southern edges are convenient and typically quieter, with plenty of parking. Families and longer-stay visitors often prefer these outer neighbourhoods for the space and value, trading the downtown atmosphere for a short drive in. Areas near the university campus on the south side are another calm, residential-feeling option that still keeps you a quick drive from the core.
Where to Eat in Springfield
Downtown is the natural place to eat, with cafes, taverns, and sit-down spots scattered among the historic blocks and around the government buildings, making it easy to pair a meal with a day of sightseeing. Beyond the centre, the commercial corridors leading out toward the Interstate hold a broader everyday spread of diners, family restaurants, and international kitchens if you’re staying on the edges of town.
The dish to seek out is the horseshoe, a local invention and a point of civic pride: an open-faced sandwich of toast and meat smothered in a cheese sauce and piled with fries, with a smaller pony shoe for lighter appetites. You’ll find it on menus all over the city. Beyond that, this is hearty Midwestern territory, so expect classic tavern fare, comfort cooking, and a good share of corn-fed regional produce, alongside the pizza, barbecue, and Mexican and other immigrant kitchens that round out the local table.
One Day in Springfield
Springfield rewards a walker’s pace: the Lincoln sites cluster tightly downtown, the parks sit just to the west, and Route 66 threads the whole thing together—so a single well-planned day can carry you from a quiet garden at dawn to a horseshoe sandwich after dark.
Morning: Start before the crowds at the Washington Park Botanical Garden, where shaded paths and a glass conservatory make an unhurried opening to the day; stroll up the rise to the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon, whose bells ring out over the park’s highest point. From there it’s a short drive into the heart of the historic district and the block-sized Lincoln Home, the only house Abraham Lincoln ever owned—its surrounding streets preserved as they stood when he left for Washington.
Afternoon: Give the middle of the day to the two anchors of Lincoln’s Springfield. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum stages his life with theatrical, immersive galleries, and a few blocks north the restored Old State Capitol is where he delivered his “House Divided” speech beneath its handsome dome. When you’re ready to trade history for a hamburger, cut south to the Cozy Dog Drive In, the Route 66 landmark that claims to have invented the corn dog and still serves them in a room full of Mother Road memorabilia.
Evening: Close the loop where every Springfield story circles back—the towering Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge, best seen in the low gold light of late afternoon—then settle in for dinner. Order the local specialty, an open-faced horseshoe, at D’arcy’s Pint, or pair regional beers with pub plates at Obed & Isaac’s Microbrewery back downtown. If you have a second day, drive twenty miles northwest to Lincoln’s New Salem, the reconstructed frontier village where the young Lincoln clerked, split rails, and first ran for office—a full morning on its own. With more time still, it is an easy hour north up the interstate to Peoria, the largest city on the Illinois River.
Free Things to Do in Springfield
Springfield is unusually rich in free attractions, especially along the Lincoln trail. Guided tours of the Lincoln Home and its restored historic neighborhood are free, as is a visit to the Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery. The Old State Capitol and the Lincoln Depot round out a walkable downtown loop through the sites of Lincoln's Springfield years.
Beyond the Lincoln landmarks, the Air Combat Museum is free to tour, and the gardens, trails, and lagoons of Washington Park — home to the Botanical Garden and the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon — cost nothing to enjoy. Add a stroll around Lake Springfield's parks and you can fill a full day without spending a dime.
Day Trips from Springfield
The easiest excursion is a short drive northwest into the rolling countryside along the Sangamon River, where a reconstructed frontier village and its surrounding state historic parkland recreate the world of Lincoln’s early adulthood, a green, walkable outing that pairs naturally with the downtown sites. It makes an ideal half-day trip and gets you out among the woods and prairie that frame this part of central Illinois.
For a bigger day out, Peoria lies about an hour to the north, a larger river city on the Illinois River with its own riverfront, museums, and dining to explore. Farther afield, if you’re willing to spend most of the day on the road, Iowa City sits several hours to the northwest across the state line, a lively university town that rewards an overnight rather than a there-and-back run. Between and beyond these, central Illinois is dotted with state parks and preserved prairie that make for easy detours in any direction.
FAQ: Visiting Springfield
What is Springfield, Illinois known for?
Springfield is best known as the capital of Illinois and the longtime home of Abraham Lincoln, with a wealth of Lincoln sites including his home, his tomb, the Old State Capitol, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. It's also known for historic Route 66, the Cozy Dog's original corn dog, and the local horseshoe sandwich.
Is Springfield worth visiting?
Yes, especially for history lovers. Few cities pack in as many well-preserved sites tied to a single US president, and many of Springfield's top Lincoln attractions are free, making it a rewarding and affordable stop or weekend trip.
How many days do you need in Springfield?
Two days is enough to see the major Lincoln sites, the presidential museum, and a few extras like the Dana Thomas House or Lincoln's New Salem. A single full day works if you focus on the downtown Lincoln landmarks, which sit close together.
When is the best time to visit Springfield?
Spring and fall bring the most pleasant weather for exploring the city's many outdoor and walking attractions. Summers are warm and lively, with the Illinois State Fair each August, while winters are cold but quiet at the indoor museums.
What is a horseshoe sandwich?
The horseshoe is Springfield's signature dish: an open-faced sandwich of Texas toast topped with meat or vegetables, a mound of french fries, and a blanket of cheese sauce. You'll find versions all over town, including at local favorites like D'arcy's Pint and Obed & Isaac's.
Is Springfield a walkable city?
The downtown core, where many of the top Lincoln sites cluster, is very walkable. A car is helpful for reaching outlying attractions such as Lincoln's New Salem, Lake Springfield, and the zoo, but you can cover the central historic sites on foot.
How far is Springfield from Chicago and St. Louis?
Springfield sits roughly 200 miles southwest of Chicago (about 3.5 hours by car) and around 90 miles northeast of St. Louis (about 1.5 hours), making it an easy stop on a drive between the two cities.
