Des Plaines, IL Area Guide

Despite its small-town feel, Des Plaines has a surprising variety of good restaurants in the downtown area. Thai, Sushi, Vietnamese, Mexican, upscale and casual Italian restaurants are all within walking distance of the Metra station. The Sugar Bowl Restaurant is an old school breakfast and lunch restaurant and neighborhood institution since 1957, located directly across the street from the busy Metra station. A few doors away, Leona’s is a reliable Chicago area casual Italian chain with comfortable atmosphere and dependable delivery.

Des Plaines is also known for the first McDonalds franchise in the world, which is now preserved as a museum for the fast food icon. The neighboring Village of Rosemont has dozens of satellite locations of famous Chicago restaurants geared to the airport and convention crowd.

Far and away, the big advantage of Des Plaines is its location convenient to job-rich areas and transportation. Perhaps more than any other residential area in the Chicago metropolitan area, Des Plaines has some of the best transportation options to avoid the worst Chicago area traffic bottlenecks. The city is nestled between the Northwest Tollway (I-90) and Tri-State Tollway (I-294), just six miles from O’Hare arrival and departure gates and only five miles from the Cumberland Park & Ride facility on the CTA Blue Line. Des Plaines has the benefit of being close to cultural attractions and nightlife in Chicago, while having great driving access to corporate headquarters and shopping in Northwest suburbs like Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Arlington Heights, and Rosemont.

Every weekday, 27 Metra commuter rail trains leave the Des Plaines station on the Union Pacific/Northwest Line for Ogilvie Transportation Center in Downtown Chicago, with selected express trains making the trip in less than 30 minutes. The downtown Des Plaines Metra station in the city’s small central business district is also a major transfer point for several Pace Suburban Bus lines. Access to the CTA Blue Line trains is less than five miles from downtown Des Plaines at the Rosemont or Cumberland stations. The Tri-State and Northwest Tollways provide quick access to Chicago and its North, Northwest, West, and Southwest suburbs.

The Fashion Outlets of Chicago mall, just six miles away in nearby Rosemont, features high-end outlet stores from some of the top retailers in fashion, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Barney’s, Bloomingdales, and Neiman Marcus. The enormous Woodfield Mall (with 2.7 million square feet of retail space) and a busy Ikea store are nine miles west in Schaumburg, IL.

The world-class shopping of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and the exclusive boutiques of Oak Street are just 20 miles away on Chicago’s Near North Side.