Channel Your Inner Ferris Bueller and Take Your Own Day Off on This Illinois Day Trip

This gorgeous mid-century modern house in Highland Park played a role as Cameron Frye's home in the film. Although it is a private residence that is not open to the public, it's a well-known architectural landmark in the Chicagoland area. It was designed by Modernist architect A. James Speyer, who was a student of the renowned Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the foremost Modernists of the 20th century. In particular, you'll recognize the glass-sided garage from the scenes with Cameron's father's Ferrari.

After Ferris goads Cameron into letting him take the Ferrari, the pair convinces Principal Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) to excuse Bueller's girlfriend, Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara), from school for the day. The pair pulls up to Glenbrook North High School, which happens to be John Hughes' alma mater (he also used it in "The Breakfast Club"), where they find Sloane Rooney waiting, and speed off with her in the Ferrari. All the interior shots of the high school were filmed at Glenbrook North, as well... "Anyone, anyone?"

When Ferris's father (Lyman Ward) goes to work, his office is situated inside the marvelous glass building at 333 West Wacker Drive—as indicated by occasional establishing shots over the course the film. Designed by the architectural firm of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, the famed building's curved façade reflects a bend in the Chicago River, while the other side is straight and conforms with the street grid of the Loop.

Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane spend a moment of their day off on the observation deck of the Willis Tower—known at the time as the Sears Tower, then the tallest building in the world—where they wax existential. As Ferris notes, "Anything looks peaceful from 1,353 feet." Cameron, meanwhile, can only obsess about his poor relationship with his father and laments, "I think I see my dad." Today, you can ponder your own resistance a quarter-mile above the city at Skydeck Chicago in the Willis Tower, and you can even look down through a clear floor to the streets below.

The trio also spends several whimsical moments traipsing through the galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago, studying Chagall's stained glass works and the Impressionist masters. Cameron's existential crisis reaches a peak when he finds himself pupil to pixel, poring over Seurat's pointillist masterpiece, "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." These works remain on display at the art institute, and a visit to this world-class museum should be on your bucket list.

Ed Rooney, in search of Ferris, whom he is convinced is playing hooky, makes an ill-fated mistaken-identity apprehension at a pizza joint. The faux-Ferris turns out to be a young woman who blows soda into Rooney's face through a straw. The pizza place was not in Chicago, but rather was located in Brentwood, California, and it went out of business in the early 1990s. So it's not on this itinerary. However, while Rooney's wiping off his face, Ferris can be seen on television catching a foul ball at a Chicago Cubs game, where the marquee of Wrigley Field reads, "Save Ferris"—referring to Bueller's purported illness. You can still take in a game at the historic ballpark and sit along the third base line where Ferris and his friends enjoyed their game.

None of the eateries featured in the movie actually existed in Chicago, but I know you'll be hungry after spending a day walking in the footsteps of Ferris Bueller and company. After your visit to Wrigley (where you can, by the way, eat pretty well if you attend a game), head about a mile north to the Andersonville neighborhood. There, you'll find Hopleaf, and a world of happiness for your belly.