Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge / Facebook
When you rack your brain for places to get away for a weekend, Havana, Illinois, might not be top of mind.
At first glance, Havana has a lot of raw ingredients needed for tourism. The Mason County seat sits along the Illinois River, about an hour's drive away from Peoria, Springfield, or Bloomington, as the crow flies.
University of Illinois recreation and tourism professor Dr. Sharon Zou says proximity to population hubs aren't the city's only asset.
"The Main Street downtown redevelopment is really impressive. So we kind of have a nice combination of urban kind of feeling, as well as the outdoor recreation parts of it," Zou said.