St. Charles is a bustling small town in Illinois. There are many activities to do in town, specifically a lot of local shops and restaurants to check out. Feel free to visit the St. Charles Business Alliance or The City of St. Charles websites to see what might be happening in town during your stay!

We recommend Alter Brewing (where we had our second date!) and McNally's Pub across the street from the hotel.

We love Chicago and have fond memories of the year we lived there together. The possibilities of things to do are endless! The City of Chicago is around 40 driving miles from St. Charles. You can take Metra from the next town over as well.

We recommend the Art Institute, the River Walk, Lincoln Park Zoo (where we got engaged!) or an architecture boat tour for activities in the city. Cindy's Rooftop, Lone Wolf, and The Dawson are some of our favorite places for cocktails. You cannot go wrong with any restaurant in West Loop. We also like Time Out Market, Publican Quality Meats and Guinness Open Gate Brewery often.

If you're looking to get outside but not go downtown, The Morton Arboretum is a few towns over and is beautiful to explore all times of the year. Naperville and Geneva are also close towns with plenty of shopping, restaurants, and things to see.

We're happy to give more suggestions if you're looking for something specific! Feel free to ask Megan for Chicago-area brewery recommendations if you are interested too :)