Readers' 15 Favorite Midwest Getaways

"Galena, Illinois, has a great downtown to stroll, browse, shop or eat. It has every kind of restaurant from charming to fine food. My favorite shop is La Provencale for its French flair and unusual home decor. After working up an appetite, we stop at Frank O'Dowd's Irish pub in The Irish Cottage hotel for a good meal.

"My first trip to Galena was around age 10. My parents instilled a sense of history in us, so seeing a town that time forgot, browsing in antiques stores and visiting Ulysses S. Grant's home was extremely interesting. My husband and I visited periodically over the years, but in 2004, we had our first trip with our grandson, which included a visit to the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium [in Dubuque, Iowa, about 16 miles northwest]."

-- Lenore Pettinger, Glenview, Illinois

Galena/Joe Daviess County Convention and Visitors Bureau