Attraction
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago is a major encyclopaedic art museum on Michigan Avenue, with collections spanning thousands of years and a separate Modern Wing entrance…
There are plenty of things to do in Chicago, and most first-time visitors start downtown, where the Loop's towers, the Chicago River and the Lake Michigan shoreline meet. Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago sit side by side on Michigan Avenue, the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium share the lakefront Museum Campus, and river architecture cruises explain the skyline from the water. North of the river, the Magnificent Mile, Streeterville and River North hold many of the hotels, with Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Logan Square and the West Loop offering a more local side of the city.
Food is a big reason to come. Chicago is known for pan and deep-dish pizza, Italian beef and hot dogs, and it also has a strong fine-dining scene, including Michelin-starred restaurants such as Alinea and Kasama. Evenings bring blues and jazz clubs, comedy at The Second City and cocktail bars across the North Side. Three to four days covers the main sights, and five allows time for neighbourhoods, a ballgame or extra museums.
Attraction
The Art Institute of Chicago is a major encyclopaedic art museum on Michigan Avenue, with collections spanning thousands of years and a separate Modern Wing entrance…
Attraction
Millennium Park is a free public park in the Loop, home to Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain, Frank Gehry's Jay Pritzker Pavilion and the Lurie Garden.
Attraction
The Field Museum on the Museum Campus is a natural history museum founded in 1893, known for Sue the T. rex and its galleries on ancient…
Attraction
Opened in 1930 on the lakefront, Shedd Aquarium houses aquatic life from around the world in galleries such as Amazon Rising, Wild Reef and the Abbott…
Attraction
Housed in the Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Fair, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry is known for its U-505 submarine and…
Attraction
Skydeck Chicago is the 103rd-floor observation deck of Willis Tower, around 412 metres up, where glass boxes called The Ledge project out over Wacker Drive.
Café
Lou Mitchell's is a family diner dating from 1923 near Union Station, known as the first stop on Route 66 and for its breakfasts, coffee and…
Café
Hendrickx is a Belgian bakery on East Walton Street run by chef Renaud Hendrickx, with artisanal breads, thirteen kinds of croissant, pastries and house-made chocolates.
Café
Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits is a Logan Square bakery-café serving pies, biscuits and coffee, with counter ordering and first-come seating from Wednesday to Sunday.
Café
Doughnut Vault on North Franklin Street sells handcrafted doughnuts from a walk-up counter every morning from 7:30am until 1pm or until they sell out.
Café
Milli by Metric is Metric Coffee's all-day café and bakery in Avondale, where diners can see the roasting and production floor while eating pastries and seasonal…
Café
Star Lounge on West Chicago Avenue was the first café of local roaster Dark Matter Coffee, serving drinks such as the Mayan Mocha and Shiratado from…
Hotel
The Peninsula Chicago is a luxury hotel just off North Michigan Avenue that has held a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating every year since it opened.
Hotel
The Langham, Chicago occupies Mies van der Rohe's last office building on North Wabash Avenue, with river views, the Chuan Spa, an indoor pool and Travelle…
Hotel
Waldorf Astoria Chicago is a Gold Coast luxury hotel near Rush Street, with skyline-view rooms, suites with fireplaces or terraces and a large spa with an…
Hotel
Open since 1920, The Drake Hotel is a historic grand hotel with a Magnificent Mile address, direct access to Oak Street Beach and its Palm Court.
Hotel
The Palmer House Hilton on East Monroe Street is a Loop landmark with more than 150 years of history, the Lockwood restaurant and the original Palmer…
Hotel
The Hoxton, Chicago is a 182-room design hotel in the Fulton Market District with a rooftop pool, Stephanie Izard's Cabra and the Lazy Bird cocktail bar.
Bar
The Green Mill in Uptown is a historic jazz club with Prohibition-era links to Al Capone's Outfit, live music every night and the long-running Uptown Poetry…
Bar
Kingston Mines is a Lincoln Park blues club open since 1968, with bands on two stages and music until 4am on Friday and Saturday nights.
Bar
Buddy Guy's Legends, opened in 1989 by the blues guitarist himself, is a South Wabash blues club with Cajun and soul food and his own shows…
Bar
The Violet Hour on North Damen Avenue is a cocktail bar with a James Beard Award-winning programme, serving pre-Prohibition style drinks from a seasonal menu every…
Bar
Cindy's is a 13th-floor rooftop bar and restaurant on top of the Chicago Athletic Association, with a year-round terrace overlooking Millennium Park and Lake Michigan.
Bar
Three Dots and a Dash is a River North tiki bar entered from an alley off North Clark Street, serving house-made tropical cocktails and food, with…
Restaurant
Grant Achatz's Alinea in Lincoln Park is one of a handful of US restaurants with three Michelin stars, serving theatrical modernist tasting menus in three formats…
Restaurant
Kasama is a Filipino bakery by day and a reservation-only tasting menu restaurant by night, run by chefs Genie Kwon and Timothy Flores on the West…
Restaurant
Stephanie Izard's Girl & the Goat on Randolph Street serves bold, globally influenced shared plates, with a seasonal menu, cocktails and Sunday brunch.
Restaurant
Rick and Deann Bayless's Frontera Grill has served regional Mexican cooking in River North since 1987, with lunch, dinner and a Saturday brunch.
Restaurant
Chef Sarah Grueneberg's Monteverde in the West Loop is an Italian restaurant built around its in-house pastificio, where fresh pasta is made by hand throughout the…
Restaurant
Founded in 1941 by Gene Michelotti and Alfredo Federighi, Gene & Georgetti is a classic River North steakhouse serving steaks, chops, seafood and Italian pasta.
Thing to do
The Chicago Riverwalk runs along the south bank of the river's main branch through the Loop, with plazas, piers, floating gardens, places to eat and boat…
Thing to do
360 Chicago is the 94th-floor observation deck in the former John Hancock Center, about 1,030 feet up, with the TILT ride and the CloudBar.
Thing to do
Founded in 1959, The Second City is Chicago's famous sketch and improv comedy theatre in Old Town, with shows on its Mainstage, e.t.c. stage and UP…
Thing to do
Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs since 1916, is a 1914 ballpark in Wrigleyville with ivy-covered walls, a hand-turned scoreboard and guided tours.
Thing to do
The 606 is a 2.7-mile elevated trail on a former railway line along Bloomingdale Avenue, linking North Side neighbourhoods and four ground-level parks.
Tour operator
The Chicago Architecture Center's river cruise aboard First Lady boats introduces the city's buildings from the water, with commentary from the Center's docents.
Tour operator
Wendella Boats is a family-owned Chicago boat company founded in 1935, running river architecture tours, lake and river cruises and sunset trips all year.
Tour operator
Shoreline Sightseeing has run boat tours in Chicago since 1939, offering architecture river tours, skyline lake tours, fireworks cruises and a water taxi between downtown docks.
Tour operator
Chicago Food & City Tours runs guided food walks through neighbourhoods such as the West Loop, Chinatown, Pilsen and Lincoln Park, plus a tour of classic…
Tour operator
Bobby's Bike Hike runs guided bike, walking and food tours from 540 North Lake Shore Drive, including a city bike tour and a bike tour with…
Three to four days covers the Loop, the lakefront museums and an architecture cruise, and five days adds time for neighbourhoods such as Wicker Park and Lincoln Park.
The Loop, River North and the Magnificent Mile are the most convenient for sightseeing, while the West Loop suits food lovers and Wicker Park suits travellers who want a neighbourhood feel.
The CTA Blue Line runs from O'Hare to downtown and the Orange Line runs from Midway, and taxis and ride-shares are available at both airports.
Hotels and dining downtown can be expensive, but free sights such as Millennium Park, Lincoln Park Zoo and the lakefront, plus good-value local food, help keep costs down.
The main tourist areas are generally busy and well used, but take the usual city precautions, especially at night, and check local advice about specific neighbourhoods.