Travel Lemming, an online travel guide, has named Oak Park one of 50 best places to travel worldwide in 2025.
The online guide names 50 best places to travel annually. Locals and expert travelers work together to compile the list and get travel information out to its more than 10 million readers, according to the website.
Oak Park is the only location in Illinois to make the list. Rachel Kapelke-Dale, a senior travel writer at Travel Lemming, called it a “gorgeous Chicagoland suburb” and “stunningly beautiful.”
“At first glance, you may think that Oak Park is nothing more than an affluent suburb of Chicago,” Kapelke-Dale writes. “But it’s so much more.”
She describes Oak Park as the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway and points out that Frank Lloyd Wright also lived and worked here. Visitors can see his historic designs and houses.
Kapelke-Dale suggests coming in the fall to participate in the Frank Lloyd Wright 5K, 10K or youth races. She lists the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Oak Park Conservatory botanical garden and Mills Park as places to visit.
Locals know that in addition to Wright and Hemingway, Oak Park scientist Percy Julian is a significant historical figure that brings the village pride. Julian was a famous Black chemist and entrepreneur who registered more than 130 chemical patents. His daughter, Faith, still lives in their East Avenue home. Oak Park approved setting aside $1 million in its 2025 budget for the preservation of the home.
Travelers looking to come to Oak Park can also look forward to a streetscape design, once completed, that’s in the works intended to honor Julian. It’ll be on Chicago Avenue between East Avenue and Austin Boulevard. The streetscape project could include gateways, banners, wayfinding signs, art or other site features.
Airbnbs are often a popular travel aid. In February 2024, the village board approved increasing taxes on transient occupancy rental units such as Airbnb to help support affordable housing efforts. At the time, Oak Park had 120 of these rentals.
Local sites like Visit Oak Park can also provide visitors with ideas about what to do when traveling to the village.
Other United States locations on the Travel Lemming top 50 list include Harbor Springs, Michigan, Grand Valley, Colorado, and Portland, Oregon. International locations span from Italy to Australia to South Africa.