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Practicalities
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Amtrak
trains
from Chicago and St Louis roll in at Third and Washington downtown, at manageable times. Greyhound drops off two miles east of downtown at 2351 S Dirksen Parkway. The
Convention and Visitors Bureau
, 109 N Seventh St (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm; tel 217/789-2360 or 1-800/545-7300), has brochures and maps. The best selection of budget
accommodation
, including a
Days Inn
(tel 217/529-0171; $50-75), lies off I-55 at the Dirksen Parkway exit. Downtown accommodation is reasonably priced - even the swanky politicians' hotels offer affordable deals on the weekend. Central options include the
Best Western Lincoln Plaza
, 101 E Adams St (tel 217/523-5661 or 1-800/528-1234,
; $75-100), next to the capitol and Amtrak, and the
Mansion View Inn & Suites
, 529 S Fourth St (tel 217/544-7411 or 1-800/252-1083,
; $75-100).
The Inn at 835
, 835 S Second Ave (tel 217/523-4466,
; $100-130), is a charming eleven-room
B&B
converted from a 1900 downtown apartment block.
Springfield's cafAŠs seem to have exclusive rights to a phenomenon known as the
Horseshoe
- ostensibly a sandwich, but fried, covered in melted cheese and very tasty.
Norb Andy's
, 518 E Capitol Ave (tel 217/523-7777), musters up the best Horseshoes around. The
Cozy Dog Drive-In
at 2935 S Sixth St (tel 217/525-1992) claims to be the birthplace of the
Cozy Dog
(also known as the corn dog), a deep-fried, batter-drenched hot dog on a stick. At the other end of the health spectrum,
Augie's Front Burner
, 2 W Old State Capitol Plaza (tel 217/544-6979), serves up good California-style and vegetarian meals, while
Sebastian's Hideout
, 221 S Fifth St (tel 217/789-8988), has a wide-ranging Mediterranean menu with good couscous dishes and occasional jazz or blues. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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United States,
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