Overview
Oak Park is a city of 52,000 people (2018) in the Chicagoland area. It's essentially an outdoor museum dedicated to architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
6 sights · 3 things to do · 3 places to eat · 3 bars & cafés · 2 places to stay
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Best things about Oak Park
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
This amazing house is not very large and admission is strictly limited. You may be able to turn up on a wet February day and gain immediate entrance but for most of the year you will have to book in advance. Walking tour…
Unity Temple
A National Historic Landmark. The small temple, which celebrated its centennial in 2009, is a fascinating piece of architecture. One of eight buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright to be listed as a world heritage site.
Oak Park Festival Theatre
The Midwest's oldest outdoor theatre. Performances run Jun-Aug.
Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Home
Where Hemingway spent his first six years and The Hemingway Museum (200 N Oak Park Avenue).
Oak Park River Forest Museum
A small museum in a historic 1898 firehouse.
Pleasant Home museum
A 30-room prairie-style house designed in 1897 by George W. Maher.
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: May–Oct. Summer highs reach about 85°F; winter lows dip to about 20°F. Cold months (Jan, Feb, Dec) can bring snow and ice; check road conditions. Wettest: May and Jun. (climate data from nearby Chicago)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- MDW Chicago Midway International Airport, Chicago — 7 mi away (major hub). Directions
- ORD Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago — 9 mi away (major hub). Directions
Only about 10 miles (16 km) west of downtown Chicago, Oak Park is easily accessible by the CTA Blue Line, Green Line or Metra Train.
Full “Get in” guide ↓Budget & where to stay
No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.
Sample 2-day itinerary
Day 1
- Morning Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Grace Episcopal Church
- Lunch Cucina Paradiso
- Afternoon Unity Temple, Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Home
- Dinner NRebozo
- Evening Avenue Ale House
Day 2
- Morning Oak Park River Forest Museum
- Lunch Maya del Sol
- Afternoon Oak Park Farmers' Market
- Evening Poor Phil's
Stops are grouped by area so each day needs little backtracking. Check opening hours before you go.
Food for you
A variety of restaurants representing numerous cultures are intermingled with the shops mentioned above.
Cuisine (tap to filter)
What to ask about, for your diet
Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder
Photos
Map
Every listing with a location. Tap a pin for its Google Maps link.
Understand
Municipal information
- City of Oak Park website
Get in
Only about 10 miles (16 km) west of downtown Chicago, Oak Park is easily accessible by the CTA Blue Line, Green Line or Metra Train.
Metra or the Green Line are most convenient for getting to the more scenic parts of Oak Park. Metra's service is limited outside of rush hour. Take the Union Pacific West line out of Ogilvie Transportation Center (schedule). The Green Line runs regularly every day and is accessible from the Loop; exit at the Austin, Ridgeland, Oak Park or Harlem stop.
Taxis will go to Oak Park, but Chicago taxi drivers are unlikely to know the streets in this suburban destination.
Oak Park is close to both of Chicago's major airports. Taxi fare to either O'Hare or Midway is around $35.
Get around
Oak Park is very pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly. A self-guided walking tour starting and ending on the Green Line would allow you to see most destinations within a few hours.
Oak Park does not follow Chicago's street numbering system. East-west streets start at 0 at Austin Boulevard and increment as they head west, reaching 1200 at Harlem. North-south streets include a north-south designation in their addresses. The zero line is the elevated freight/Metra/Green Line track running through the center of the town. Visitors from Chicago are sometimes confused that Madison Street, the north-south zero line in Chicago, is 500 south in Oak Park.
Two local taxi companies serve the Oak Park area: 303 Taxi and Blue Cab. Both companies congregate near the Metra/Harlem Green Line stop. Their dispatch services are professional and fast.
See
Frank Lloyd Wright
Oak Park has the world's largest concentration of Wright's Prairie School works, including his workplace home.
See Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
This amazing house is not very large and admission is strictly limited. You may be able to turn up on a wet February day and gain immediate entrance but for most of the year you will have to book in advance. Walking tours to other Frank Lloyd Wright houses in the Oak Park area are also organized.
See Unity Temple
A National Historic Landmark. The small temple, which celebrated its centennial in 2009, is a fascinating piece of architecture. One of eight buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright to be listed as a world heritage site.
Other sites
See Grace Episcopal Church
Notable for being the filming location for the interior church scene of the movie Home Alone. This building holds an active congregation, so it is not usually open for film tourism, but they have hosted screenings of the movie in the sanctuary in previous Decembers.
Do
Do Grace Lutheran Church and School
A church and elementary school on the grounds of Concordia University, it is particularly notable for its monthly Bach Cantata Vespers, in which the church choir, orchestra and organist perform the sacred cantatas of the German baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach for Sunday evening prayers. The sacred works of other classical composers are also often performed alongside the Bach cantatas.
Buy
Oak Park offers a variety of independent boutique shops. The most active cluster of these shops is called Downtown Oak Park, on Lake Street from Harlem east to Oak Park Avenue. This stretch includes the historic Unity Temple and post office. Don't miss the rebuilt stretch of shops on Marion Street south of Lake. Continuing from this stretch, more shops and restaurants can be found in the Hemingway District, which centers on Oak Park Avenue from Lake Street south to Pleasant Street.
Eat
A variety of restaurants representing numerous cultures are intermingled with the shops mentioned above.
Eat Cucina Paradiso
A lovely Italian restaurant near the Oak Park Avenue Green line stop..
Eat NRebozo
A one of a kind authentic Mexican food restaurant where the chef owner takes an active approach to providing superb dishes. The restaurant is also well known for its drinks.
Eat Maya del Sol
Upscale Latin American fusion, blending cuisines from all over the western hemisphere.
Drink
Until the 1970s, Oak Park was a dry town. Alcohol restrictions have been lifted, though as a relic of this law, there are still no free-standing liquor stores in the city, and some grocery stores do not sell alcohol.
Owing to Oak Park's past prohibition, bars emerged on the borders of the city. The largest quantity of bars can be found on Madison Street in Forest Park, just west of Harlem Avenue. Roughly 16 bars exist on this stretch of about five blocks. All Forest Park bars are casual, focused on beer, and offer basic pub fare.
Drink Poor Phil's
In the Carleton Hotel, it specializes in seafood and has a large, rotating selection of beers on tap, including real ale. Though it is in a hotel, it is not owned by the hotel. Its atmosphere is casual and its prices are reasonable.
Drink Avenue Ale House
It offers quality bar food.
Drink Fitzgerald's
A popular spot for live music, just across the street from Oak Park. Their bar has a friendly pub feel, and their nightclub next door offers a variety of reasonably-priced entertainment most nights of the week.
Sleep
Oak Park contains no major chain hotels, but it does have several independent hotels and B&Bs for visitors.
Stay safe
Oak Park borders Austin, a rough neighborhood on Chicago's Far West Side. The Oak Park police are active, but this nearby influence cannot be completely removed from Oak Park. Behave as you would in any urban environment. That warning aside, most destinations in Oak Park are removed from the Chicago border and are not risky to visit.
Go next
If you liked the dense, urban-like suburb of Oak Park, you might like Evanston, Chicago's other urban-like suburb.
Other Frank Lloyd Wright-designed landmarks in the area include Hyde Park's Robie House and The Loop's Rookery.
Nearby
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My experience
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