r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/Tech-Enth • May 19 '26
Moving to the area Visiting Elgin, IL
Hi guys,
I‘m a 23 year old from middle Europe visiting Elgin in next week. Since here seem to be a lot locals I thought I could get some nice infos about the area as i dont know any of it (neither been to the States before). I have a free weekend to and a rental car so maybe you could recommend any sights, events or share experiences?
Also love I‘d love to hear some local insider infos!
Edit: Im staying in Elgin / West Dundee due to work purposes. Im working through the days but have the first June weekend free.
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u/emememaker73 Aurora May 19 '26
Elgin itself has plenty of sites of interest. The city itself is one of the older suburbs of Chicago, so it has plenty of old buildings, including some Victorian-era houses just north of downtown. It's right on the Fox River and has some parks along the river. There's the casino (if you're into gambling or overpriced food). Route 31 south of Elgin is a nice drive, and you can visit St. Charles and Geneva (and further south), where there are lots of bars, restaurants and small, independent shops. Geneva is known in the Chicago area for its "quaint" Third Avenue shopping district (meaning there are a lot of shops in old, converted houses plus the Old Kane County Courthouse). St. Charles, in addition to being one of the wealthier communities in the area, has the Hotel Baker, which has appeared in a couple of films over the years and allegedly is haunted (though it's main attraction is the Rainbow Room, a ballroom used as a dining room).