Historic Inns & B&Bs in Galena, Illinois

The neighborhoods

Where to stay, by area

Main Street and the riverfront

The lowest of downtown’s three tiers: Main Street runs along the Galena River, lined with brick commercial buildings mostly from the 1840s and 1850s behind a levee built after the 1937 flood. It’s the flattest, most walkable part of town, with public stairways up to Bench and Prospect Streets. The DeSoto House is the historic stay here.

The hillside: Prospect Street and Jail Hill

Above Main Street, Bench Street holds the churches and Turner Hall, and Prospect Street is a row of 1840s to 1870s houses linked to Main by public stairways. Four B&Bs are up here: the Avery House, The Steamboat House, the Lamberson Guest House and Jail Hill Inn in the old county jail. Parking out front is free, but the walk back from Main Street is a climb.

Spring Street

Historic U.S. 20 runs west from the south end of Main Street past early houses and 19th-century brewery buildings. Farmers’ Guest House, an 1867 bakery that also rented rooms to farmers, and Abe’s Spring Street Guest House, in the 1876 City Brewery icehouse, are here.

The east side: Grant Park and Park Avenue

The residential east bank of the river, reached by walk bridges from Main Street. Grant Park hosts the Galena Country Fair, Park Avenue is lined with mansions, and the 1857 Illinois Central depot is now the visitor center. The Aldrich Guest House is here, next door to the Washburne House State Historic Site.

Before you book

Planning your stay

Getting around

Downtown is compact but built on three tiers rising from the river, linked by public stairways and by walk bridges to Grant Park and the Depot Park lot. From June through October the city runs a free weekend shuttle from the Depot Park and Meeker Street lots to downtown. The nearest airport is Dubuque Regional, which the city puts 20 miles away; Galena is about 164 miles northwest of Chicago.

Parking

Most historic inns have free parking: enclosed parking at the DeSoto House, a lot across the street at Farmers’ Guest House, and free street parking by the house at the B&Bs. Main Street is free 3-hour parking, Water Street and the Depot Park lot are free all day, and the city’s Commerce Street and South Main lots charge $10 a day through ParkMobile. Main Street is cleared of cars on Halloween parade day and Luminaria night.

When to go

The season runs May to October, when the trolley tours and the free weekend shuttle operate. Fall color peaks around the second week of October, when the Galena Country Fair fills Grant Park. The Halloween Parade takes over Main Street on October 31, and the Night of the Luminaria lights downtown in December (December 12 in 2026). 2026 is Galena’s bicentennial year.

Accessibility

Galena is hilly, and many Main Street shops have a step at the entrance. Most B&Bs have no elevator and rooms upstairs: every room is on the second floor at the Avery House and the Aldrich, and Jail Hill Inn’s upper suites are three to four flights up. Farmers’ Guest House has one first-floor suite. The DeSoto House doesn’t say whether it has an elevator, so ask.

Before you book

Most inns are adults-oriented: the Avery House and the Aldrich are 21 and over, Jail Hill takes no children under 15, the Lamberson welcomes children over 16 and The Steamboat House cannot take children. The Lamberson requires two nights, and the Avery House requires two nights on weekends from May 1 through New Year’s weekend. Deposits run from $50 to full payment, and cancellation windows are typically 14 days.