More North Shore

Along the lakefront, Sheridan Road winds, dips and arches over stone bridges between Evanston and its well-to-do neighbors. Bicyclists hug the roadside, and signs caution drivers about "Hidden Entrances Ahead" that lead to lakeside estates.

In Wilmette, a community of 27,000 just north of Evanston, old-fashioned lights line brick streets. Gardens surround Bahai House of Worship, a soaring six-story structure. A bit farther north along Sheridan Road, waves wash the beach at 60-acre Gillson Park.

On summer evenings, Wilmette's Starlight Theatre group performs free concerts and shows at the park's Wallace Bowl amphitheater. Gracious homes line the blocks north of the Victorian train depot. You'll see residences that Prairie School architects designed, including some by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Winnetka, neighboring Wilmette and about half its size, has become a haven for boutique shoppers. A mile inland from the lake along Green Bay Road, antiques and home-decor stores fill stone-timber-and-stucco buildings in the Hubbard Woods district.

Prufrock florist specializes in garden accessories, and Sawbridge Studios sells handmade custom furniture and decorative arts. The smell of silver polish fills the air at the tiny Bellows Shop, crowded with chandeliers and brass mailboxes.

Continuing north, pretty little Glencoe comes into view. The town's center includes specialty shops, but the 385-acre Chicago Botanic Garden a few miles inland draws most visitors. Swaths of blossoms blanket the landscape like the pastels of a giant Impressionist painting. In the English Walled Garden, you can admire orderly rows of blooms. Fragrant flowers sweeten the Rose Garden. At the Children's Garden, kids head for the winding willow-branch tunnel.

The Chicago Symphony makes its summer home less than a mile north at Ravinia in Highland Park, where the world-renowned outdoor concert series hosts famous musicians. You can see one of Ravinia's historic arched wooden gates as you drive up Sheridan Road.

Inland, noteworthy galleries star in bustling downtown Highland Park. Citywoods displays creations of some 500 artists from across the nation.

Working-class Highwood wedges between estate-filled Highland Park and Lake Forest. Diners won't go wrong at any of the ethnic restaurants, such as local favorites Gabriel's for gourmet French-Italian fare and Two Guys from Italy for more traditional Italian.

In Lake Forest, the shore's crown-jewel community of 18,000, serpentine driveways disappear into woods, stone walls and iron gates. This historic community, which inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, centers on Market Square, capped with two English Tudor towers. South Gate Cafe's patio is the place to be seen, and Gerhard's Elegant European Desserts displays cakes as if they were museum exhibits.

Lake Forest's Deer Path Inn, a small, lordly boutique hotel modeled after a 15th-century manor in Kent, England, embodies the refined lifestyles of the North Shore's residents. The Union Jack flies from the gabled landmark, where generations of privileged have brunched on Sundays in the English Room.

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