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Galena Historic District, Galena, IL

Photo: IvoShandor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

SightseeingHistory BuffDate Night

Galena Historic District

Walk a river town of brick storefronts, hillside streets and 1800s homes that once outgrew Chicago in the lead-mining boom.

Along Main St in downtown Galena · Galena, IL

About Galena Historic District

Galena's historic district covers about 85 percent of the city, with more than 800 properties, and joined the National Register in 1969. Main Street is lined with red brick commercial blocks in Federal, Greek Revival and Italianate styles, now full of shops and restaurants. The DeSoto House, opened in 1855, is the oldest operating hotel in Illinois. The Visitor Center on Bouthillier Street, a short walk from Main Street, has maps and guides for exploring on foot.

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Printable maps

What's around here?

The closest stops to Galena Historic District, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing

    Dowling House

    Check prices

    Galena's earliest surviving house, a limestone building from 1826 that now hosts guided history tours.

    0.2 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing

    General Grant's Home

    Check prices

    Galena house linked to Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th U.S. president, run as a state historic site.

    0.4 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Apple River Canyon State Park

    Check prices

    Hike wooded trails above a limestone canyon cut by the Apple River in the unglaciated hills of Illinois' northwest corner.

    19 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Mississippi Palisades State Park

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    Hike 15 miles of bluff trails to overlooks high above the Mississippi, climb rock towers like Twin Sisters and Indian Head, and camp under the cliffs.

    23 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Museums

    Cedarville Historical Museum

    Check prices

    Local history museum run by the Cedarville Area Historical Society, in a town noted as Jane Addams's birthplace.

    40 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    Outdoor Adventure

    Blackhawk Waterways

    No admission fee

    The official Illinois convention and visitors bureau promoting Carroll, Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties in northwest Illinois.

    53 mi awayMore like this

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