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Champaign

Good times in a Big 10 town

  • by Laura
  • An October 2001 travel journal
  • Last Updated: November 25, 2003
Journal Usefulness Rating 2 out of 5
Journal Usefulness
5
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I spent 3 years in Champaign and have many fond memories. It is basically a campus in a cornfield, however the Champaign-Urbana population is about 100,000 so there is more to offer than just a campus.

Good times in a Big 10 town

Overview

Catch a football or basketball game at the Univeristy of Illinois. Another lesser known favorite - ice hockey!

Quick Tips:

With a population near 67,000, Champaign is considered a big town to its neighboring small communities. Home to the University of Illinois, Champaign offers a wide variety of entertainment, leisure, and sporting activities. Champaign, French for level, open country, is also known for its bountiful farmland.

Best Way To Get Around:

There is bus service around town, but driving is easy and parking is normally not a problem. Champaign, and its sister city, Urbana, both located in the heart of east central Illinois, are 135 miles south of Chicago, 180 miles northeast of St. Louis, and 120 miles west of Indianapolis.

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Fairfield Inn Champaign

Hotel

Fairfield Inn

The Fairfield Inn is on the outside of town, off the interstate and near the mall and other big box stores. So if you plan to bar-hop on campus, a designated driver is needed. The room includes a free continental breakfast. The room is not fancy, but it is clean and well kept. There are a lot of restaurants nearby. The price is right, especially when the campus hotels are sold out or have a two-night minimum for game days.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Laura on November 25, 2003

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Fairfield Inn Champaign
1807 MORELAND BLVD Champaign, Illinois 61821
217-355-0604

Alexander's Steak House

Restaurant

Alexander's Steak House

Alexander's welcomes you with a large meat case. Diners pick out their own steak and grill it themselves at large communal grills. You can also have the chef grill yours for $2 - generally my choice. You also grill up your own texas toast and choose a blake potato. All the seasonings are there for you. My favorite is the marinated filet. The steak is absolutely excellent. They also have swordfish, chicken and pork chops on the menu (you don't cook those yourself). All dinners come with unlimited trips to the salad bar that usually has some good chips and salsa.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Laura on December 27, 2001

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Alexander's Steak House
202 W. Anthony Drive Champaign, Illinois 61822
(217) 359-1789

University of Illinois: Campus Shops

Activity

Campustown shops

Green Street abd Sixth Street are the heart of the campus town shopping district. There are pleanty of University of Illinois logo items to buy - shirt, hats, pants, glasses, mus, lamps and more. There are also book stores - the non academic kind, cafes, cheap restaurants food, card shops and more. My favorite store for U of I stuff is T.I.S. Bbookstore on Sixth Street.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Laura on December 27, 2001

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University of Illinois: Campus Shops
1401 W Green St Champaign, Illinois 61801
(217) 333-4666

JBJ The Collectors Shop

Activity

JBJ The Collectors Shop

If you collect anything JBJ will have it. Precious Moments, Enesco, Lladro', Disney, anything you can possibly think of. They have Christimas ornaments and collectables. The place is huge. They sometimes have sales if you watch the local papers.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Laura on December 27, 2001

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JBJ The Collectors Shop
723 S. Neil Street Champaign, Illinois 61820
(217) 352-9610

Krannert Art Museum

Activity

KRANNERT ART MUSEUM

The Krannert Art Museum is the second largest art museum in Illinois next to the Chicago Art Institute. A large part of the Museum's permanent collection of over 9,000 works of art are displayed in 10 different galleries, ranging from the fourth millennium B.C. to the present. It is attached to the Fine Arts School and sometimes you get lucky and find a student exhibition in the neighboring space. The museum is very quite and nice place to walk around. It can be done in about an hour.

The Palette cafe and bookstore offers art books, exhibition catalogues, artist-designed jewelry, and an assortment of coffees, pastries, and sandwiches in a pleasant, casual environment.

Hours: Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 2pm-5pm

  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Laura on December 27, 2001

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Krannert Art Museum
500 East Peabody Drive Champaign, Illinois 61820
(217) 333-1861

About the Writer

Laura
Laura
Chicago, United States

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