College Season: University of Illinois
- Planet Pluto Travel
- Apr 27, 2021
- 4 min read
By: Alana DeRose
When you hear "Illinois" you might instantly think Chicago or maybe even Springfield, but have you ever thought Champaign?
Well, you possibly could have if you're an alumni at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Fun fact there's actually two University of Illinois one in Champaign and the other in Chicago, however today we'll be focusing on the one in Champaign or also known as U of I.
U of I is located two hours and nine minutes away from downtown Chicago, one hour and 27 minutes away from Springfield aka the state's capitol, two hours and 42 minutes from St. Louis and two hours and two minutes away from Indianapolis, so you'll be in the middle of four major cities, but no one wants to drive out that far.
Luckily U of I has fun things to do on campus, such as Thirteen Thursdays.
Thirteen Thursdays is an event that takes place every Thursday afternoon during the summer and each week has different themes and activities. This includes entertainment, discounts, free parking and U of I merch give aways.
Another weekly thing at U of I is seeing a free movie at the QUAD! Each week the campus will show free movies in the QUAD, which is a big beautiful, green grass area surrounded by the numerous campus buildings.
Another beautiful area with green grass is Crystal Lake Park.
Crystal Lake Park is a 144 acre park that is located five minutes away from the University of Illinois.
In this park you can find amenities such as 'Anita Purves Nature Center', boating, 'Busey Woods', the 'Crystal Lake Park Family Aquatic Center', which is a water park, fishing, grills, facility rentals, labyrinth, lake houses, parking, park rentals, paved and unpaved paths, pavilions, picnic areas, playgrounds, restrooms, sand volleyball and swimming.
They also have many summer events in the park.
Another park that doesn't have many amenities but can still produce a great time is Meadowbrook Park.
Meadowbrook park is a 130 acre park located two minutes away from the campus, so a little closer than Crystal Lake.
The park has amenities such as a playground, community gardens, natural areas, open fields, paved and unpaved paths, pavilions, prairie overlook, sculpture garden, parking, restrooms, grills, drinking fountains and water features.
Another good thing about U of I other than it's beautiful and fun parks is the fact that it's not 20-30 minutes away from the downtown area.
When visiting downtown Champaign you can go shopping, eating, drinking, hear music when walking down the street, catch a movie or show at Virginia Theater and visit museums such as the William M. Staerkel Planetarium.
The William M Staerkel Planetarium is located 10 minutes away from University of Illinois.
Currently due to covid the planetarium is having virtual events and shows such as Prairie Skies and Noche De Estrellas En Champaign, but you still can attend their Friday and Saturday public shows as tickets are sold at the door.
Tickets for the shows are:
Adults - $6 one show/ $9 two shows/ $2 lecture
Students, Seniors, Children <12 - $5 one show/ $7.50 two shows/ $2 lecture
Groups of 20+ - $3 one show/ $4.50 two shows/ $2 lecture
FOSP Members - FREE!
Visiting the William M. Staerkel Planetarium will be one intriguing experience for all as you'll not only see the stars but hear stories about them too.
However, downtown Champaign doesn't only have fun museums but delicious restaurants too! One being Nando Milano.
Nando Milano is an Italian restaurant located five minutes away from U of I.
This restaurant is open every single day and offers foods such as
Cavoletti Ortolani
Rigatoni Alla Beppe
Gnocchi Di Patate Alla Sorrentina
Ravioli Di Ricotta
Pollo Alla Parmigiana
Caciucco Toscano
Insalata Valentino
There's also other restaurants outside of Champaign's downtown area such as Jerusalem Restaurant, Ambar India and Jip Bap Taste of Korea.
Jip Bap is a Korean restaurant located one minute away from the college campus. They're known for their delicious Korean cup-bap and you can get them with beef, chicken, spicy pork, spicy pork kimchi, tofu, tuna mayo, tofu kimichi, spam and sausage, spam pork, masago sausage, masago kimchi and japache. You can also order sushi, dumplings, udon and Korean snacks.
Jerusalem Restaurant lives up to it's name and is also one minute away from U of I. Here you can have a grilled chicken salad, shawarma or chicken kebab, sandwich, or wrap, falafel, lentil soup, hummus sandwich, fava beans sandwich and Baklava. Full Jerusalem Restaurant Menu
Ambar India is an Indian restaurant that also features a buffet also located one minute away from the university. Here they have vegetable samosa, chicken nuggets, aloo tiki, Indian salad, Chicken Biryani, Shrimp Biryani, Saag Cholay, Aloo Gobi, Chicken Curry, Chicken Cholay, Tandoori Kabobs in chicken, shrimp and fish, vegetable fried rice, chilli paneer, naan bread, Kulfi, Rice Kheer and ice cream.
Champaign may not be a major city like Chicago or Indianapolis but it's still a great location for U of I students.
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