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Things to Do in Quincy Illinois - 2-Day Road Trip

From the local experts at Quincy Area CVB

Escape to a treehouse in the woods or a historic home in the center of the Maine Street mile in Quincy. A new mural and mid modern architectural tour will take you through the city at your own pace via bike or car, exploring culinary, vintage shopping and culture along the way.

Make sure to check with attractions ahead of time for up-to-date operating hours, travel policies and health and safety information.

  • Day 1: Quincy

Tour Quincy by Bike

Illinois Veterans Home

Passionate about art and food? Celebrate the beauty and power of diversity in the tour that pairs both.

The 10-mile route showcases broad sections of the city, winding through the 6th Street Promenade and the Riverfront, the German Historic District, The Downtown District and North End.

Some of the works are “ghost” murals, weathered by the elements and years, offering glimpses of the businesses and families they once represented. Others are new pieces borne of the revitalization initiatives of the city’s residents and arts organizations. Start your day with a Mexican Spice Horchata with Yam Extract from a locally owned coffee roastery, Electric Fountain Brewing then see “The Hand of God,” a massive new installation depicting creation. (24 stops in all with nearby eats & sips).

Quincy: Off the Record Tour

Brow-raising, spooky, spine-tingling… all the elements of an intriguing fall tour. Peruse the places associated with 13 of the Quincy area’s surprising former residents, famous and infamous alike.

Drive past the girlhood home of Mary Astor, the Hollywood starlet who co-starred with Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon. Learn of the fascinating dual life of Jennie Hodgers, aka Albert Cashier, an Irish born woman who was admitted as a man in the IL Infantry and fought 40 Civil War battles. Albert lived a portion of his later life in the Illinois Veteran’s Home, the state’s oldest and largest veterans home located on 210 acres on Quincy’s north edge, with onsite All Wars Museum and Deer Park. Tour historic Woodland Cemetery, named after the city’s founder John Wood, and where it’s said Wood had his father’s head brought in from New York to be buried in a hat box.

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  • Day 2: Quincy, Nauvoo, Nebo, Warsaw

Heartland Lodge

Mississippi Valley Wine Trail

Mid Mod Quincy

Mad for Mid-Mod style? So are we. This exciting new tour launching in September features 30 premier examples of mid-20th century residential and commercial architecture with modernistic masterpieces like St. Boniface Church, named by the Illinois Association of Architects as one of Illinois’ 150 most important structures. Wind through meticulously maintained subdivisions with sprawling swanky ranch houses and learn of local iconic architect, John Benya, renowned for progressive design and a portfolio as far reaching as the Bahamas. 

Shop vintage Quincy with our new shopping guide to three counties that includes mid-mod, retro, repurposed and antiques. Sip a Bayview Blonde at Quincy Brewing Company, situated in a renovated downtown space, lovingly operated by a young local family.

Let the Great River Road guide you north to a truly green, off-grid stay at Ten Acre Treehouses, outside historic Nauvoo, IL, tucked in soaring trees in a hidden forest. 

Or meander south to one of the country’s premier lodge resorts on 1500 acres in scenic Pike County. Heartland Lodge offers lodge suites or private cabins, miles of trails to be discovered via hikes, bikes, horseback, and Polaris UTVs with the magnificent Mississippi River Valley as the backdrop.

{P.S. All the options in our Off-Grid Stays Guide have a nearby winery too. Peruse all 6 in the Mississippi Valley Wine Trail Guide}.

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