This place is so nostalgic for me. I have been coming here since before i could walk. From the candy store, toy store and restaurant you have everything you need in one shop. I would rate it a 100 if i could. read more

I love The Little Traveler. If I am within 50 miles of Geneva, I will make the detour to go the store. The shoe section is the best in the state and one of the best in the country. read more

We usually love the little traveler but had an unpleasant experience at Swedish days on Sunday. The woman working the shoe store was very rude and condescending. My boyfriend and I were discussing discount prices and the cashier interrupted our conversation to tell us, "eventually you need to live in the real world" as we were using a calculator to estimate prices. We would've bought some berkinstocks had it not been for her horrible attitude, unwelcoming behavior and lack of customer service. read more

If you're looking for the perfect place to find the perfect gift for any occasion, then, come here! They have anything that you could possibly think of. Most items come from local artists which, I love. They also have many things from all around the world. Which, makes for a unique one of a kind experience. There's also a little cafe that makes tasty treats for all to enjoy. Everyone was super sweet and very helpful! They have a huge selection of candies from all over the world and local specialties. They also have different bread mixes, cake mixes, dips, jams, jellies, pastas, sauces, and lots of other treats! Their prices are also very fair for the quality of what you get. Which, makes the price worth it. So, if you're looking for a fun festive experience then, go here! You won't regret it. read more

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Fun little shops to get lost in for a good amount of time. If you can't find your gifts, homewares or cards here...I'd be shocked! We had an average lunch, nothing to write home about. Good pricing on most items and friendly service. read more

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A must stop when visiting the charming town of Geneva. Known for its charm and hospitality,this Victorian residence has been transformed into over 40 rooms of unique treasures. Seasonal items,unique gift ideas and known designer items..there is something for everyone at The Little Traveler. read more

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Love the various shopping options especially the Nora Fleming pottery. High-quality merchandise at affordable prices. Friendly staff who walk with you to find your requests. read more

It's always fun to explore all the little shops inside this Geneva treasure trove and today was no exception. The staff is very helpful and there are so many items artfully displayed that I can usually find just the right gift. Prices seem fair for most things but this is specialty shopping. read more

The Little Traveler - Department Stores Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

It's just not the same magical place it was yrs ago. It was always packed with beautiful things at Christmas not any more. It use to be my favorite place to go at the holidays and see the beautiful garlands over the door ways and find that special gift but the magic is gone. It makes me sad read more

Great selection of items to shop. It's your all in one place to get everything and anything. Beautiful setting.

I had a small baby shower in the Atrium Cafe recently and everything was wonderful. Chef David who handles these events was great to work with and very flexible. The food was perfect, we had full service with soft drinks included and they cut/served our cake. We were given a gift table and printed menus with 3 food items for guests to choose from. I would highly recommend Little Traveler for a shower under 50 people. There are 2 event rooms to choose from, size depending. Thank you to all staff for a beautiful special day! read more

The Little Traveler - Lower level, Atrium cafe - Department Stores Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

Wow... more stuff . All kinds of stuff. Stuff I've never seen before... stuff I don't care about. You need stuff or don't need stuff, this is the place to check out . Enough of this stuff . read more

The Little Traveler - Department Stores Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

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A very fun store to window shop or find all of your holiday gifts! Little traveler is a large, multi-room store with different vendors in different rooms. How they keep track of it is beyond me, and it is a bit overwhelming- we lost people several times and had to go searching for them. Its still really fun and this provides a lot of variety. They have a ton of stock similar to other gift shops in the area. You can find everything here including see's candies, jewelry, handbags, lotions, cookware, recipe books, cake mix, etc etc. it's the perfect place to find a housewarming or Christmas gift or pick up some decorations. We went on Black Friday so it was quite busy. It was very difficult to find a place to check out - each section has a checkout are but very few were in operation. We had to wander around for a while before we found an opportunity to buy our things. read more

The Little Traveler - Black Friday! - Department Stores Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

My love and I visited Geneva awhile back on a staycation weekend date. We were impressed by the old homes in downtown Geneva that have been repurposed as cutesy shops and boutiques. One of these classic Italianate Victorian style houses on Third Street is The Little Traveler, a fun place to visit that has the tag line "around the world in 36 rooms." The store apparently has some history going way back to nearly a century ago. Before we could enter through the side entrance, we were prompted by an employee to use some hand sanitizer from a dispenser, so they are taking precautions for the pandemic seriously. Although the establishment is a veritable maze of rooms, everyone pays at a centralized register and exits at the front entrance. It is fun to poke around the different stalls, though there can be some bottlenecks as a buildup of shoppers materialize here and there. There are rooms that sell Christmas merchandise, unique themed gifts (Downton Abbey tea, Big Ten pasta), fair trade items, and wacky foods (care to try a sip of bacon flavored soda?). We loved the tasty yogurt coated pretzels that were marked on sale. read more

Nice little cafe for a light lunch. Emphasis on light lunch. The waiter was outstanding! He was very friendly and engaging. He kept the ice teas flowing - though the glasses were a bit too small in my mind (elementary school sized glass for those who remember those). I had a roast beef and cheddar wrap. The wrap was loaded with fresh red onion and lettuce. There was a modest amount of roast beef and cheese with a nice horseradish accent. The spinach wrap was somewhat small for me. The wrap came with what appears to be store purchased potato chips. The experience was nice. The store is very interesting as it is a color a lot of things. read more

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Wow... what an incredible store. I came to visit the area on a whim, and boy am I glad I stopped in this store. It's truly a marvel! It's a large house that has essentially been turned into part department store, part gift, part cafe, part cabinet of curiosities. It has a very homey, nostalgic atmosphere, like your grandma's house. Get lost in the winding aisles, side rooms, and hallways. There's something unusual around every corner. Seriously, what can't you find here? I found myself taking notes of the ingenious gifts to buy my friends later. I ended up spending about two hours in the store, but I tell you it could have easily been much longer. Do you have a friend who's obsessed with their dog or cat? A cooking fiend who's always on the lookout for the next kitchen gadget? The voracious reader or puzzle-phile? Sartorial savant who can never have too many novelty socks? The Little Traveler has you covered. Parking is on the street, it's not too hard to find a spot. Service was great--there were helpful staff members in every room. If I am ever in the Geneva area again, I am definitely coming back. read more

This is more so for the management of The Little Traveler, and less for customers and guests. I grew up in Geneva and have frequented The Little Traveler plenty of times in my life. I know it's a staple enough to want to show it off to visiting friends and family when they're in town. And for some, it's a usual request when they're visiting Geneva. So I don't want this review to deter anyone from experiencing this landmark. This is to hopefully make someone in management aware of the poor experience I had earlier today, August 3. I'm visiting home this week and took my friend from college, her husband, and her two young children (ages 2 and 4) to see the Little Traveler. We had made it with about 10 minutes to spare before close, but the goal was only to visit the toy room and we kept to that goal. The kids loved it. The toy room is filled with games, toy cars, walls of dolls; a 2 and 4 yr olds heaven. They play an announcement when the store is officially closed. We heard it and were trying to rally the kids, but we didn't make it out at exactly 4 PM. The woman who was working the register in housewares named Donna came into the room at, I'm guessing, 4:01 and in a rude tone said "did you guys hear the announcement? We're closed now". And I said "yes we heard it, we're just trying to get the kids ready to leave". So while my friend and her husband were working on getting the toddlers out with their 2 toys of choice, I asked Donna if we could still make a purchase. She looked incredulously at me and said "I mean you can with a credit card because I've already done the cash" and I said "yes that's fine". The 4 yr old boy comes out with his toy car purchase and we're waiting on the 2 yr old girl. Not 30 seconds go by and Donna says " Hellooo? Are we doing anything here?" And I said "yes, we're just trying to get her to leave with her toy". Donna continued to check us out with a scowl on her face. You could tell she was very over it. And that's fine. I get it. I've worked in customer service for a long time. But we left that store at 4:03 (I checked as soon as we exited because I was so appalled at how she treated us) and she acted as if we took an extra 30 minutes of her precious time. She left such a negative impact on us and the anxiety we felt of trying to gather the kids while she sat there scowling at us was really too much. It was 4:03. And we were paying customers. With two young kids that were so excited to be there. And Donna ruined that experience. Truly so, so rude. So Donna, it's nice that you chose to work at the Little Traveler in your retirement, but if you don't have the patience to check out a customer 3 minutes after close, I think it's time to call it for good. Because if I wasn't already a regular at Little Traveler, I sure wouldn't be coming back after the way you spoke to us. read more

Oh, this place is crazy good. Even if you don't buy anything, you can amuse yourself for hours. I call this an extraordinaire shopping experience. Great during the Christmas season but you can find stuff for year round. I seem to discover new areas everytime I'm here. This time I discovered very unique food section with some old time favorites. read more

GENEVA is an amazing town, Little Traveler is THE landmark in Geneva. You can find gift items for everyone including yourself.The toy department is one of my favorites there are barking battery operated puppies, rolling construction vehicles as well as engaging books. Nearby is the kitchen department where I always find a new life changing inexpensive gadget . I try to avoid the double chocolate malt balls and always fail because they are incredible as are the other sweets you can purchase by the ounce. The children's clothing department has unique and darling pieces, love the Jellycat plush animals. The Ladies clothing and accessories are beautiful and carefully selected by their amazing artistic buyer, Leslie, who has a great eye for style. I always have to buy a scarf in Piano room because they are so lovely. Check out all the hand creams and lotions,I buy my Camille Beckman lotions here because there is a great selection and they are the best.So many rooms, you could shop for days....and eat in the cute cafe in between purchases. You are bound to leave with their signature pink bags filled with gifts for your loved ones. read more

My favorite store when I'm in the area! Make sure I make a planned visit! Each room is filled with beautiful finds. It's my happy place

What's not to love? This is a shopper's paradise as you can find so many treasures in each room. One of my new favorites stops is in their cafe for their chicken salad croissant. It's the perfect lunch in a cute room and the waiters are absolutely fantastic! I can do this again and again and I will!! read more

After getting brunch, I went over to The Little Traveler at the direction of my girlfriend. I really didn't know what to expect coming in given the store's name but I was excited nonetheless. The place is huge...and I mean huge. The outside of the building doesn't look that big but it's easy to get lost. We wandered around the different sections and it seemed like we were going on forever. Oddly enough, there's a whole diner in the middle of everything if you want some food. If you want to find a gift for literally anyone, I'd go here at least. read more

The Little Traveler - Department Stores Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

Had a lunch date with some old friends and decided to spend the day in downtown Geneva....having heard so many good things about The Little Traveler.....the downtown area is indeed gorgeous, and I had super high hopes for The Little Traveler.....however, upon entering, I was soon disappointed. It's very dirty and run down. I realize it's an old building, but it was dumpy and it was just a maze of oddly laid out displays....I feel like in its hey day it was probably fantastic and charming, and I feel like it has so much potential to be a charming store, but the layout is just confusing and all the steps and uneven thresholds and caution tape....and so many people working there who were not at all pleasant....so many times I passed a worker and was not given the right of way and almost shoved aside so they could get through. And I won't even go into the prices. This place could be so beautiful, but it's just room after room of poorly displayed overpriced merchandise. Love the concept, hated the execution. read more

The Little Traveler - Department Stores Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

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Loved this place until 4:30. On the dot. We didn't realize they closed at that time and I was in the process of trying on a boot. I got one on, and said, "It fits!" and I was going to purchase it. I was already standing when a store clerk came up to us and said, "Sorry folks, we're closed". Said she had to walk us out immediately. I didn't even get to put my shoe back on, as she ushered us out (with me carrying my shoe) and shut the door behind us. It was pretty awkward. My boyfriend asked me if I wanted him to go back and buy the boots the next day, but I told him not to. read more

This place is like a time machine. When I was a kid I'm sure I would have hated being dragged through this establishment. I think my grandmother would be proud that I enjoy coming here now. This is also a pre-covid review. They have a bunch of unique products that are very tempting. My husband and I had a nice piece of Rhubarb pie,coffee, and a cranberry mimosa to celebrate our adventure. I highly recommend this haunt to anyone in the mood for a good day of weekend shopping!! read more

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What a neat little place! Or should I say enormous place? We stumbled upon The Little Traveler while walking down this lovely part of Geneva with the husband. We couldn't have had imagined that this store would be so enormous! it seems like it's never ending, with one little store after another little store. Very unique items, from kitchen, to baby stuff, lotions, jewelry, clothes, decor, etc and everything you can imagine! It seems different vendors occupy the different locations - easy to get lost, as it's so huge! Each place has a check out. Very nostalgic - seems like a house or a number of houses were connected to make this into a massive store. Parking is on the street. Pricing is a little high, but items seem to generally be high quality. The area in Geneva is absolutely charming, and my husband kept commenting how impressed he was with the area and the store in particular! We stumbled upon the cafeteria, which is super cute, and offers a pretty reasonable menu for a reasonable price, and they also have tea time! Husband opted for the club sandwich, I opted for the meal that came with 3 tiny sandwiches, soup and a drink. How awesome!! Definitely recommend. read more

The Little Traveler - Little lunch cafe! - Department Stores Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

I love this place. Deceptively large with a wide variety of merchandise. Very cute shop.

Great place with everything you didn't know you needed!! Must visit!! Love all the varieties!

Always a favorite stop for guests when they visit us but I took extreme pride today as I noticed our beloved Betsy Ross Flags displayed around the building. In a quest for a birthday gift I looked no future in town today. LT has such a variety of everything there really is no reason to shop elsewhere! Thank you. read more

The Little Traveler - Department Stores Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

Charming cafe with good food and service then convenient shopping for a myriad of items

Great customer service Wonderful little shop for the holidays or just housewarming gifts read more

We went here for the Sunday brunch, and while the price isn't terrible, almost everything else was. The coffee was undrinkable for me. I had the skirt steak skillet and it was so unbelievably greasy and lacking in flavor. The servers and busboys are fantastic and courteous, and they do their jobs quickly. The shops are very adorable. You can find a gift for just about anyone, from very unique to modern items. I would go back for the shops if I were looking for gifts or home decor, but I would not go back to the restaurant at all. read more

The Little Traveler - Skirt steak skillet. Unbelievably greasy and lacking in flavor. - Department Stores Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

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I have shopped at Little Traveler since 1973. Also employed there in 1973 and 1983. Anyone who gives this place a good rating does not remember the wonderful glory days of this once fantastic shop. The owners should be ashamed of how it looks! Where is the pride of how it looks and items displayed? The once fantastic Christmas room is a total disgrace and should just be closed off! Store looks shabby and run down, very depressing. I won't be back anytime soon. Very sad to see how bad it looks! read more

Cafe: Sign at entrance stated was one of the best places for vegetarians around. There was no evidence of that on the menu. Guess my perception that a place like this would make their own hot chocolate for the amount charged was misplaced, same bags one can buy at the grocery store. Service was okay. Store: Lot of neat sections, oddball things, etc. read more

I was in downtown Geneva having breakfast and I thought o would do some shopping. Most of the stores are cute with fun merchandise. I'm not sure I get Little Traveler. It is a confusing web of stores all in the same spot. There wasn't much of a rhyme or reason to how it was set up. It seems there was a restaurant although I'm not really sure how you get into it. It was crowded and hard to get around and most of the shops had similar items. I don't think I'll go back to this place. The benefits - street parking, garage parking, and a lot of restaurants near by. Outside the little traveler is beautiful. Victorian house in the small downtown area of Geneva. I was able to purchase old school advent calendars without the gross chocolate - this was appealing to me. The staff I encountered was very nice and helpful as well - no complaints there. read more

This is the second time coming here and this place is amazing still. They have everything you can imagine in so many different rooms. When you think you've finished there's another room lol. They have everything from candies to house to kitchen and everything in between. They even have stuff you probably wouldn't find anywhere else. They even have a little restaurant in the middle of the place which I have yet to try. But I would come again whenever I can. read more

What a great little find. Located in the heart of downtown Geneva, which is as quaint as they come, you will find a great value! The food is excellent, service missed a few steps but the quality and price made the missed incidentals very manageable. I had the meat lovers omelette and was it sooooo good! Wifey had the shrimp which she raved about. Looking forward to returning read more

The Little Traveler - You REALLY need to check this out - Department Stores Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

The Little Traveler is a little world unto itself, like a shopping mall if the Mall was an old house and all the stores the separate rooms. Each room has a distinctive personality with different items for sale. Would you like some tea? A room full of it! Candy? Two rooms! Kitchen gadgets? I believe there are three plus a wine room as a subset. There are also rooms of antiques, clothes, purses, jewelry, pottery and garden items. I am sure I have forgotten important areas of the store, it is just fun to come and discover them all for yourself. I've enjoyed coming here for over a decade and just wander about looking for the small gesture kind of unusual gift. I am a fool for the greeting cards as well! My girlfriend and I have even had lunch amongst the antiques with a fashion show thrown in. It makes for a relaxed time as part of a Geneva destination day. The part of the store which makes my heart STOP (in the name of love) is where they have the Hadley pottery. My Mother used to collect Hadley pottery and before I made the trek to the factory store in Louisville, this was my main supplier. And sometimes it still is. I broke my favorite Hadley mug and knew The Little Traveler could mend my grief! It is not a place where I would enjoy shopping with my husband although he has come here for stocking presents for me for more than one Christmas and shopped here by himself, that's how much he loves me! If you have some time to leisurely view some unique merchandise, travel your little self over to Geneva and enjoy! read more

The Little Traveler - Great selection of Hadley Pottery including this replacement for my broken duck mug. - Department Stores Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

We built a trip to Geneva once around the Little Traveler with a friend of my grandmother's, who lives in Schaumburg; she said it was her favorite store in town. It definitely has a whiff of the precious about it, but if you can get beyond being elbowed by all the overzealous old ladies shopping there, you will actually find some cool stuff. The place is gigantic, for one thing (36 rooms in an old mansion), so you'd have to be really picky not to like some genre of giftage that they cover: specialty foods and gift baskets, baby stuff and toys, clothing for men and women, linens and and other home decor, antiques, holiday decorations, and more. For something similar, with better prices, I actually prefer the Tawny Tortoise in Plainfield. Still, it's something of interest to check out in Geneva, if nothing else because it's a landmark. read more

Do you need to find the perfect gift for someone? Or maybe you're looking for that "just what I've been looking for!" home accessory? The Little Traveler has it. If you are coming here alone I recommend telling friend or loved one where you've gone because you may not come out again! There is SO MUCH fun, interesting & lovely things to look at in here they may need to send in a search party to drag you out. Even my husband enjoys perusing this store. Did I say "store"? It's really like 35 stores in one...I believe they have something like 35 rooms in this place - there's even a map! Each with different things from gourmet foods, children's toys, clothing, jewelry, home accents...I could go on and on and on. From high end wedding gifts to fabulous deals. I haven't tried the little cafe they have in here but I've heard it's good as well. I mean, you probably will need some nourishment at some point because you could literally spend an entire day in this one store. I've visited Geneva several times to shop and still have not gone to some of the other stores I'd like to check out because The Little Traveler sucks me in each time! read more