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The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in the state outside the Chicago metropolitan area. [3] It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents in 2020.
- Downtown Champaign. Cozy and welcoming like a small town, but with sophisticated cultural venues and a bustling events calendar, downtown Champaign is an obvious first port of call in the city.
- Krannert Art Museum. One of the best university museums in the country is also Illinois’ second-largest fine art museum, welcoming some 120,000 visitors each year.
- Virginia Theatre. This opulent movie house opened in 1921, with an extravagant Renaissance Revival facade and Spanish Revival decor in its lobby and auditorium.
- Spurlock Museum. This extraordinary UoI museum in Urbana is dedicated to ethnography and has an inventory exceeding 50,000 objects. Some of the Spurlock Museum’s most important collections include Amazonian bark cloth, Merovingian bronzes, Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets and casts made from the Parthenon frieze.
- Relaxing to live music at the Sipyard beer garden, which operates out of a shipping container in downtown Urbana.
- A full arena to cheer on the Fighting Illini basketball team at the University of Illinois.
- The manicured gardens at Allerton Park & Retreat Center.
- A horse and buggy traveling through the fields of Illinois Amish Country.
There’s no excuse to be bored in Champaign. With countless street festivals, museums, sporting events, art galleries, parks, concerts, and more…the calendar is always packed with fun things to do.
Visiting Champaign. Located conveniently near Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis, Champaign is an easy place to visit on your next trip to the Midwest. Find resources for those new to Champaign on the Visitor’s Resource page.
Champaign was founded in 1855, when the Illinois Central Railroad placed its tracks two miles west of downtown Urbana. Originally called “West Urbana”, it was renamed “Champaign” when it acquired a city charter in 1860. Both the city and county name were derived from Champaign County, Ohio.
Visiting Champaign. The City of Champaign is proud to welcome visitors from around the world to our wonderfully diverse, micro-urban community. The best source of local tourism information is through the local visitor’s center – Experience Champaign-Urbana.
