Travel Site Names Illinois’ 8 “Cutest Small Towns”

I hate to sound like a travel commercial trying to convince people from other states to come and visit the Land of Lincoln, but I've seen enough lists about Illinois' cities and towns to know that we really have it all here in Illinois.

We've got charming cities and towns. We've got romantic ones, too. We've got Christmassy towns, we've got scenic towns, we've got historic towns ("visit us because Lincoln once used an outhouse here when he was passing through on his way to give Stephen A. Douglas a good debate thrashing!")

Well, it turns out that Illinois also has an abundance of "cute towns." Alright, maybe not an abundance...but we have at least eight of them, according to an educational geography, environment, and current events website.

WorldAtlas.Com Went Looking For The Cutest Towns In Illinois, And Unsurprisingly, A Certain Illinois Town (Galena) Made The List...Like They Make Every List Involving Illinois Towns And Their Levels Of Attractiveness

Look, I get it. I'm very fond of Galena, too. But, I'm also fond of pieces about Illinois cities and towns that recognize that Galena does not have the market cornered when it comes to beautiful places--even though they've been named the most charming, the most scenic, the most Christmassy, etc.

There are other places in Illinois that have loads of charm, or in this case, an abundance of cuteness.

By the way, when it comes to the "Cutest (or, prettiest) Town in America," several websites have some very different choices:

• TravelAndLeisure.com: Girdwood, Alaska
• EnjoyTravel.com: Stockbridge, Massachusetts
• Aarp.org: Essex, Connecticut
• CNTraveller.com: Portland, Maine

WorldAtlas.Com Put This List Together For Those Outside Of Illinois Who May Be Planning A Trip Here, And Who Want To See What's Going On In Illinois Outside Of Chicago

Oh, and I'm guessing that those same people who are planning an Illinois trip demand a certain level of cuteness in their vacation plans.

Regardless, here are the 8 towns that WorldAtlas.com calls Illinois' cutest:

• Galena
• Woodstock
• Fulton
• Princeton
• Ottawa
• Mount Carroll
• Sycamore
• Rockton