50 Best Things To Do in Chicago - Complete Travel Guide

50 best things to do in Chicago the Windy City has impressive skyscrapers food and culture that can completely almost every city in the world but it's just how much you can do for free in Chicago that never ceases to amaze philanthropic donations have given the city superlative museums and over 700 public artworks by renowned artists like Picasso Chagall Miro these have converted the loop and millennium park skyscraper forest into one large outdoor gallery there are also free events to celebrate the enviable music history of the region such as Taste of Chicago the world's largest food festival and music festivals Chicago is also great to walk along the lakefront trail the new Riverwalk or even the innovative ped Way system underground here's the ultimate list of the best things to do in Chicago number 50 Chicago Jazz Festival a completely free extravaganza of four-day music takes place in Millennium Park throughout the weekend of Labor Day the celebration is now in its fifth decade and dates back to 1974 when a Grant Park festival was organized to commemorate the late Duke Ellington the list of artists who took the stage at the Chicago Jazz Festival is a who of jazz including stars such as Dizzy Gillespie Ella Fitzgerald Miles Davis and Sun Ra every year jazz royalty is helping to share the bill with contemporary jazz stars and some undiscovered talents shows are performed at the Millennium Park pavilions as well as at the Chicago Cultural Center number 49 Taste of Chicago Festival Grant Park holds the largest food festival in the world in mid-july the Chicago festivals taste drives home the full diversity of dining options available in Chicago bring your appetite and enjoy a keulen airy trip around the world explore the ingenuity of contemporary restaurants in Chicago or renew your love affair with classics from Chicago such as Italian beef cheesecake pizza and hot dogs there are pop-up restaurants a whole Armada of Street food trucks and stands that represent the top restaurants in Chicago you can go mad with a taste or see highly skilled chefs at live demonstrations doing their thing number 48 Symphony Center the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is among the world's most prestigious classical ensembles as one of America's big five you can see them at the symphony Center on South Michigan Avenue a national historic landmark this venue is a complex consisting of the ballroom of Granger the Buntrock Hall and the Orchestra Hall of tu cama 522 Cedar you can read the names Bach Mozart Beethoven Schubert and Wagner on the frieze above the arches windows of the facade number 47 Navy Pier set where the Chicago portage enters Lake Michigan the Navy Pier is a multi-faceted visitor attraction extending over the water for six city blocks as one of the top days out in the Midwest an attraction of this magnitude is hard to sum up in one paragraph but in 50 acres you will come across the vast multi-sensory funhouse maze and the 65 meter Centennial Wheel footed by fairground rides and amusements there's also weekly fireworks in summer an IMAX theater the Chicago Children's Museum and the Crystal gardens Botanical Garden with more than 80 palms you can use the pier as the jumping off point for cruises on the lake or river take in some live music at the miller lite beer garden and watch the drama unfold at the nonprofit Chicago Shakespeare Theater number 46 Chicago air and water show the air and water show in Chicago dates back to 1959 and remains the second favorite event of the city as well as the largest free show of its kind in the United States over 2 million people line Lake Michigan for an exhibition of supersonic jets training sailing skydiving and skywriting throughout a weekend in mid-august particularly the North Avenue beach these are usually groups of the Army and Air Force such as the parachute team of Golden Knights and the US Thunderbirds of the air force number 45 millennium park created to herald the new millennium this award-winning space in Grant Park is the most popular visitor attraction in the Midwest free to enter the Millennium Park has bold public art spellbinding architecture and some forward-thinking initiatives for a taste the 2.5 acre Lurie garden is part of the world's largest green roof while the Macdonald cycle center is a sleek indoor bike station offering rental repair and an array of services for Chicago cyclists will bring up a few of the showpiece sites in Millennium Park later but you can't miss the Jay Pritzker pavilion this 11 coma zero zero zero capacity van shell was conceived by Frank Gehry and from spring to autumn has a packed calendar of concerts by major recording artists and the likes of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago number 44 Riverwalk Chicago is a city that knows how to treat pedestrians as you will see along the main branch of the Chicago River as it cuts through the downtown a feat of urban planning the Riverwalk is 1.25 miles long made up of six coves or rooms up to World point the route will take you past photo opportunities like the Wrigley building and a whole of host of head-turning works of public art these might be bright for fede panels or large-scale installations like Ellen lanyons gateway recording Chicago story through 28 ceramic tile murals you can board a cruise boat or water taxi of course or take matters into your own hands on an urban kayak or cycle boat tour with dramatic urban scenery Terrace is stepping down to the water and bars grills and cafes it's no shock that the Riverwalk has become a go-to on date night number 43 River and Lake cruises you can sit back on Lake Michigan and along the Chicago River and pay the attention it deserves to the cityscape of Chicago from gentle lake tours to exciting speedboat rides there's a selection of cruises the classic lake tour is a 40 minute sightseeing tour that gives you plenty of time to soak up the sights along with a recorded commentary for interesting tidbits you may take off on a speedboat for a 75-minute architecture cruise at the Old Navy training center on Navy Pier beginning on the lake and continuing up river to the Willis Tower the Chicago River architecture Cruise has a slower pace providing you with a clear view of more than 40 listed landmarks followed by an expert guides live commentary number 42 John Hancock Center a mainstay of Chicago silhouette 875 North Michigan Avenue formerly the John Hancock Center is a free 44 meter skyscraper on the Magnificent Mile tapering as it rises the tower was topped off in 1969 and appears in pretty much any movie that means an establishing shot for Chicago up close you can watch its characteristic X J's racing zigzag up the facades the view from 360 Chicago on the 94th floor has been rated as one of the best in the country and the ride up there takes less than 40 seconds there's a cafe and bar up as well as interactive displays labeling the landmarks on the horizon in each door if you have a steely disposition try tilt a glass capsule that tilts forward at 15 degrees 25 degrees and 40 degrees for a bird's-eye view of the city streets 300 meters below number 41 Chicago Cultural Center formerly the home of the Chicago Public Library in 1991 this striking neoclassical building in the loop became the first free municipal Cultural Center in the United States there are more than 1,000 exhibitions and programs here every year and they're as diverse as you'd expect from a city like Chicago all for free you can catch theatre dance music lectures film screenings and family-oriented events no matter what's on you have to take the opportunity to look inside this building from 1897 the nation's top craftsmen were hired for the interiors working with valuable materials like fine hardwoods rare imported marble polished brass and mother-of-pearl the two domes are not to be missed the South is the largest stained glass tiffany dome in the world while the larger Renaissance style dome on the north side is 12 meters in diameter and has 50,000 glass panels number 40 Wrigley Field the Chicago Cubs play at the second oldest ballpark in the major league Wrigley Field nicknamed the friendly confines by the legendary Ernie Banks is noted for its ivy clad outfield walls and has an iconic manual scoreboard the stadium may catch you off guard as it sits in the middle of a residential neighborhood and has no carpark now a rarity for us sports venues the wind blowing towards or away from Lake Michigan can turn potential home runs into outs or send balls out of the stadium altogether number 39 Maggie Daley Park named for a former first lady of the city who passed away in 2011 Maggie Daley Park is one of Grant park's newest treasures laid out by Landscape Architect Michael Van Valkenburg the park opened in the northeast corner of Grant Park 2014 and shines for its recreation and family facilities the whimsical play garden for kids up to 12 is a playground like you've never seen with six different zones like the watering hole which has a giant breaching whale and the enchanted forest where you will walk under upside-down trees there's also an ice skating ribbon a quarter of a mile in length picnic groves an 18-hole mini-golf course and rock climbing walls number 38 Richard H Driehaus Museum you will step back into America's Gilded Age at the refined Nickerson house built in 1883 for the banker Samuel M Nickerson close to the Magnificent Mile on the near north side the house looks a little out of place dwarfs by the city's bold neoclassical monuments and glass clad skyscrapers in 2003 the Chicago fund manager and philanthropist turned the nickerson house into a museum blending the original furnishings with luxurious Art Nouveau glazed tiles stained glass Onyx carvings and marble all sourced from other places the museum is heaven if you like decorative arts you will find some lovely pieces by louis Comfort Tiffany like a large fire screen a set of vibrant stemware a blown glass humidor and a peculiar centerpiece lamp the ballroom has Edward kalana furniture you can sit in while some other exceptional pieces include several bases a suite of George HST neo Empire chairs pre-raphaelite paintings and a rare Chickering and Sons grand piano number 37 Buckingham Fountain as a center of Grant Park between the ornamental north and south rose gardens is a sight that needs a double-take hewn from Georgia pink marble the Buckingham Fountain is one of the largest in the world standing almost 8 meters tall with nearly 200 Jets and a pool measuring 85 metres across the Rococo design is borrowed from the letona fountain at Versailles and is an allegory for Lake Michigan with four pairs of seahorses representing the states of Illinois Wisconsin Michigan and Indiana at any one time there's five million seven hundred thousand liters of water in the Buckingham Fountain stop by for the 20-minute water display on the hour shooting Jets up to 50 meters into the air number 36 lakefront trail 18 miles of Chicago shoreline can be accessed on a waterfront path threading through all four of the city's lakeside parks the lakefront trail is shared by cyclists joggers and families people use the trail to get to work and to stroll next to Lake Michigan and savor Chicago skyline you can use the path to get to a whole catalog of interesting places from the south shore cultural center to Navy Pier and the Shedd Aquarium in summer you can hop from Beach to Beach and to get a dose of greenery at Grant Park or Lincoln Park there are bike rental companies all along the trail or you could buy a day pass for Divi Chicago's bike sharing system number 35 Museum of Science and Industry limitless inspiration for kids the Museum of Science and Industry has show stopping exhibits on an amazing scale the venue is the old Palace of Fine Arts built in 1933 in Jackson Park for the World's Columbian Exposition some of the jaw-dropping sights here are a full-size German u-505 submarine captured during the Second World War the Pioneer Zephyr a glorious stainless-steel diesel locomotive from 1934 and the first Boeing 727 to enter commercial service young scientists can wrap their heads around big concepts at the science storms exhibit which has a Tesla coil Foucault pendulum and Wimshurst machine there are relics from the Apollo missions at the Henry Crowne Space Center while the central pavilion has a replica of a deep shaft bituminous coal mine in which you'll take a mine train and see historic equipment from the 1930s number 34 Magnificent Mile squeezed into eight blocks on the arterial Michigan Avenue is a whole world of shopping entertainment dining dazzling architecture and more things to do than you could manage in a whole holiday many of the sites or attractions on this list are on this street or a stone's throw from it there are 275 restaurants and more than 460 retailers here from flagship stores for Zahra Disney and Nike to scores at boutiques and ritzy Emporia for Rolex boss Burberry and any other high-end brands you can think of soaring overhead our icons of the Chicago skyline like the Tribune Tower and the Wrigley building in the south and 875 and Michigan towards the north end for a more unassuming sight stop for a snap of the castle like Chicago water tower dating to 1869 and the second oldest surviving water tower in the United States number 33 Garfield Park Conservatory well west of the Chicago Loop Garfield Park warrants the 15-minute cab ride into a slightly down-at-heel neighborhood the trip is for the world's third-largest garden under glass an astounding botanical conservatory with eight indoor display gardens the conservatory was completed in 1908 and designed to resemble the haystacks of the Midwest the moment you step inside you will be in the palm house with more than 80 varieties of palm tree also see the incredible ferns and cycads against the waterfall in the Fen room and one of the nation's most varied collections of cactuses and succulents in the desert house come by any day in summer and there will be something going on like free yoga gardening demonstrations and a chance for kids to get up close to animals like harmless snakes and goats number 32 mob and crime buster now their misdeeds are in the distant past there's no denying the fascination evoked by Chicago's Prohibition era mobsters names like Al Capone bugs Moran and Dion Johnny Torrio remain household names the city has changed so much in the last century that you'd never guess that benign looking neighborhoods witnessed a bitter war that claims scores of lives in the 1920s and 30s so you have to turn to local historians and get your guide.com offers a 19-minute mob and crime bus tour this uncovers the dark past of the Windy City profiling notorious men like Capone and John Dillinger you will visit the site of the Valentine's Day occur and the Biograph theater where Dillinger was gunned down by FBI agents number 31 shedd aquarium sharing the museum campus Chicago with the Field Museum and the obler planetarium the Shedd Aquarium was for some time the largest indoor aquarium in the world donated by the philanthropist John G shed the attraction has an incredible 32,500 aquatic creatures from across the planet these are in immersive zones like Amazon Rising which has Caymans anacondas piranhas and freshwater stingrays in tanks among the roots of rainforest trees also mandatory are the Caribbean reef housing a rescued green sea turtle the wild reef with four varieties of sharks and the historic waters of the world gallery home to colorful starfish and seahorses stingray touch lets you find out what a cow knows ray or yellow spotted ray feels like while marine mammals like sea lions penguins and sea otters can be found in the oceanarium number 30 Field Museum of Natural History one of the best and largest Natural History Museum's in the world the field museums museum collection has swelled to more than 24 million objects since it opened in 1893 this a place to feed your fascination for the natural world with Grandma Oh classical halls housing fossils priceless gemstones and animal and plant specimens there's also compelling anthropology for the ancient Americas and ancient Egypt as well as Tibet China Africa and cultures in the Pacific Islands the geology halls meanwhile have an exquisite collection of Chinese jade and a stained glass window by Louis Comfort Tiffany the star of the show is the 37 meter titanosaur in the Stanley field Hall number twenty-nine United Center there was a time in the 90s when a seat at the United Center was the hottest ticket in town the Chicago Bulls moved to this arena in 1994 when Michael Jordan was on his strange hiatus in minor league baseball and he'd returned to lead them to three straight titles between 1996 and 1998 out on the east side of the building the statue in his honor named the spirit and showing him mid dunk fair to say that the 2010's aren't a golden age for the Chicago Bulls but if you are a fan or want to make a pilgrimage to this hallowed ground you can watch a game in the regular season from October to April at roughly the same time of year the Bulls share the United Center with the Chicago Blackhawks NHL team which has had a much more successful decade winning the Stanley Cup in 2010 2013 and 2015 number 28 Chicago History Museum in Lincoln Park you can lift the lid on Chicago's rich history perusing fascinating themed attic exhibitions facing freedom goes into depth on the various struggles for freedom to beset Chicago from the 1850s to the 1970s covering the Civil War women's suffrage the formation of labor unions and Japanese internment at Crossroads of America you can step into a jazz club or climb aboard Chicago's very first L trains while the Chicago dioramas tracks Chicago's breakneck rise from a lonely frontier outpost to an immense metropolis sensing Chicago lets its jump into a gigantic Chicago style hot dog ride a vintage high wheel bike and hear the roar of the Great Chicago Fire number 27 Lincoln Park Zoo in 37 acres and dating back to 1868 this Zoo deserves extra credit as one of the last remaining free admission animal parks in the United States there are more than 1,100 animals here in habitats that are constantly being revamped the polar bear and African penguin enclosures for instance have just been reopened while a recent arrival in 2014 is the Regenstein macaque forest where you can see Japanese macaques passing in a hot spring as they do in the wild there's a hint of the great age of the zoo at the Koffler lion house constructed in 1912 while some other family favorites to take off are the Helen Brad house 1927 seal pool family petting zoo the superb Regenstein Center for African Apes and the Regenstein African journey this has indoor and outdoor habitats for giraffes pygmy hippos ostriches gazelles and many more number 26 Chicago Picasso Pablo Picasso produced this monumental piece of public art for Chicago in the mid-1960s standing in Daley Plaza the Chicago Picasso weighs almost 147 metric tons and stands over 15 meters tall since it was unveiled in 1967 the work rumored to depict French model Lydia Corbett who set for a series of drawings for Picasso in the 1950s is a landmark for the city and something for kids to clamber on early on in a city that previously only dedicated statues to historical figures the Chicago Picasso was a source of controversy but now inspires affection as a famous meeting point and backdrop to public events on Daley Plaza like the Christ's Kindle Mart at Christmas number 25 Holy Name Cathedral Chicago's Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral by Chicago station on the red line was completed in 1875 after its predecessor burnt down in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 eagle-eyed visitors will be able to spot an overarching Tree of Life theme in the building's fittings on arrival you will be confronted by the cathedrals immense bronze doors each weighing more than 500 kilos and cast to resemble planks of wood inside a few of the fixtures worth closer inspection are the Stations of the Cross in red Rocco alicante marble bronze sculptures depicting the evangelists and the cathedra bishops throne for the Chicago diocese there's also a slice of Chicago gangland history outside where a cornerstone inscription is still chipped from the 1926 murder of mob boss and Al Capone rival Hemi Weiss number 24 North Avenue beach another of the many things to love about Chicago is the way the city has been planned to grant access to the lakeshore in hot weather this means you can slip up your shoes and set foot in Lake Michigan or plan a whole day at the beach being slightly removed from the fabric of the city Lincoln Park has what many people agree to be best beach in the city North Avenue beach runs for a few hundred meters up to Diversey harbor with piers at short intervals to stop the sand being washed away there's a bar on the beachfront as well as companies offering rentals and tuition for kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding international competitions take place at the South volleyball courts here while in August North Avenue beach is the place to catch the chicago air and water show number 23 crown fountain the wonders keep coming in the Millennium Park because we haven't even mentioned the crown fountain yet here the Catalan artist how may planned saw designed to glass brick towers 15 meters in height they faced each other across a black granite reflecting pool those glass bricks are installed with LEDs displaying changing photographic facial images of citizens faces filling the towers for a playful touch water spouts from the annul between their lips from May to October like most of the works in the Millennium Park the crown fountain is interactive and on hot summer days you will see children paddling in the reflecting pools and cooling off under the waterfalls that cascade down the sides of the towers number 22 Michigan Avenue bridge the Burnham plan of 1909 helped shape Chicago cityscape and brought about this trunnion bascule bridge conducting Michigan Avenue over the main branch of the Chicago River an official Chicago landmark the bridge opened in 1920 and once completed helps for the flurry of development that gave rise to the Magnificent Mile go in for a closer look at the north and south pylons which have bold reliefs depicting scenes from chicago's past carved by henry herring and James Earle Fraser respectively the south pylons depict defense and regeneration while the north pylons show the discovers and pioneers the Southwest bridge households the McCormick bridge house and Chicago River Museum chronicling the history of the bridge and the Chicago River number 21 Robbie house to look at this house on the University of Chicago campus and know nothing about its origins you'd never guess that it was Bill in 1910 residential architecture would never be the same after the great Frank Lloyd Wright designed this home for Frederick C Ravi the assistant manager of a company on the south side the Robie house is considered the pinnacle of the early-20th century prairie style and you can go in for tours Thursday to Monday the Robie house has marvelous art glass throughout personally designed by Wright along with the houses curtains rugs furniture bathroom fittings fireplaces and lighting number 20 Museum of Contemporary Art dedicated to art from 1945 to the present the Museum of Contemporary Art is endowed with a serious collection spanning surrealism conceptual art pop art and minimalism you will get to see works by Chuck Close Andy Warhol Jasper Johns Francis Bacon Rene Magritte Alexander Calder and Hamilton and Richard Serra from June to September Tuesday's on the terrace is a program of summer performances by members of Chicago's dynamic jazz community number 19 second city Chicago an absurd amount of comic talent has come out of Chicago over the last 60 years and one of the reasons for that is second city this fabled comedy club and improv company on Wells street counts Steve Carell Billy Murray Tina Fey Amy Poehler Stephen Colbert Dan Aykroyd John Belushi and John Candy among its alumni there are three stages at Second City main stage and deductive sea stage for sketch comedy and improv acts and the up comedy club for stand-up chances are you'll get see a future TV or film star honing their comedic powers here number 18 Chicago Theatre one of five Tony award-winning venues in Chicago the Chicago Theatre warrants a photo even if you're not planning to see a show that's partly because of the marquee and vertical sign which often appear in movies set in the city the venue opened in 1921 as an opulent motion picture house and if you step back across State Street you can get a good look at the facade this has a beautiful central arch that mirrors the false perspective effect of the Palazzo Barberini in Rome and is glazed with Tiffany stained glass now one of Chicago's best spots for performing arts the theater is owned by the Madison Square Garden company and puts on a varied program of comedians world famous musicians dance companies and lectures by renowned cultural figures number 17 Oriental Institute Museum while you're down at the Ravi house head to this awesome Museum at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute opened with funding from john d rockefeller jr. the ivy clad museum is a treasure chest of ancient artifacts discovered during digs in Turkey Israel Egypt Iran Iraq and Syria a couple of the most remarkable exhibits are an imposing statue of King Tutankhamun and a giant human headed winged bull from the assyrian city of Kearse abbott from around the same period there's a set of ornate Luristan bronzes produced in western iran in the early iron age and a stunning array of paper-thin ivories carved in the ancient city of Tel Megiddo now northern Israel like so many places on this list the museum is free but does encourage donations number 16 Tribune Tower built in the mid 1920s for the Chicago Tribune this iconic Gothic Revival skyscraper on the Magnificent Mile is now being turned into condominiums the Tribune Tower is clad with Indiana limestone and came about after a design competition to mark the paper 75th anniversary at night you will get a clear view of the buttresses and tracery at the very top while there are lots of details to discover on the lower stories in the years before the tower went up the tribunes publisher robert r mccormick had asked his correspondence to bring him fragments of famous monuments from around the world so embedded in the stonework are pieces from the Hagia Sophia Taj Mahal the butter Tower of Rouen Cathedral the Alamo the Great Pyramid and the Great Wall of China to name a few number 15 author planetarium in Grant Park the obler planetarium is both a respected institution as a Museum campus and a noble landmark in its own right the planetarium occupies a nub of land sticking out over the lake on Northerly Island by the water to the north is the odd ler planetarium skyline walk blessed with the ultimate view of Chicago skyline inside kids can interact with exhibits dealing with topics like the solar system the composition of planets and the moon missions you can also find more fact heavy exhibitions about the history of telescope II and the origins of the universe projected shows are the cornerstone of any planetarium and the offer has a big choice showing the sky above Chicago with light pollution filtered out and sparkling presentations about the mysterious planet 9 and nebulae number 14 Chicago Children's Museum the Chicago Children's Museum promises a few hours of active engaging fun for youngsters on Navy Pier the museum has 15 interactive exhibits over three stories each mixing play with learning in that spirit the tinkering lab for instance features genuine tools and materials giving kids the freedom to create whatever comes to mind while skyline is a crash course in architectural engineering letting children experiment with skyscraper designs play it safe is a fun indoor play zone in partnership with the city's fire department teaching little ones about fire safety as they escape from a room filled with pretend smoke and shoot down a fire station pole there's a whole calendar of special activities and workshops and something different happening on every visit number 13 Chicago Shakespeare Theatre based on Navy Pier this ador'd non-profit theatre company has done as much as anyone to help keep Chicago on the cultural map over the last 30 years in short order the theater has earned three Laurence Olivier Awards as well as a regional Tony in 2008 its main aim is to introduce people to the works of William Shakespeare through school tours summer plays in parks and productions at its own majestic venue adding up to 600 performances a year the company has been at Navy Pier since 1999 in a complex with two auditoriums the 510 seater courtyard theater and the more intimate upstairs theater the program is crafted for everyone and has meaty productions of Macbeth and Hamlet and light family musicals like Peter Pan and Bedknobs and Broomsticks number 12 alfred caldwell lily pool people go out of their way to visit a masterpiece of landscape architecture in Lincoln Park this pond is named after its designer Alfred Caldwell who worked on it in the second half of the 1930s in the same vein as the Robie house the environment is laid out in the Prairie style you'll definitely sense the Prairie schools love for low horizontal forms and the natural landscapes of the Midwest a National Historic Landmark since 2006 the pool is traced by winding stepping stone paths wide stratified slabs of limestone circular benches plants native to the Midwest a waterfall and waterside pavilion number 11 Peggy no debarred nature museum this child-friendly museum in Lincoln Park presents the natural history of the Chicago region in smart and interactive ways as an institution the museum was founded back in 1857 and moved into a new home in the park in 1999 the old museum now used by the zoo was known for its detailed static dioramas and while these are still here they're joined by spellbinding living environments like the astonishing judaistic butterfly house where 1,000 butterflies flutter in a 250 square metre greenhouse during the critter connection every day at 11:30 kids can get an up-close look at more than a dozen different amphibian species at the Animal House there's also a bird walk leading to a platform over Linkin Park's North Pond as well as hands-on stations where kids can learn about rivers solve nature inspired puzzles and explore a beaver lodge number 10 Chicago pedway under the city streets and spanning more than 40 blocks north to south Chicago has a vast network of pedestrian tunnel as an answer the vicious winter weather and to provide easy links between L stations the oldest sections between state and Dearborn streets date back to before the Second World War the rest of the network was begun in the 1950s and expanded in the 60s and 70s not all of the pedway is subterranean as there are enclosed raised foot bridges as ever there are works of public art adorning the tunnels along with restaurants and shops in the pedway by Macy's check out the beautiful display of 22 stained glass panels a holdover from the defunct Smith museum of stained glass number nine Chinatown strolling along the Chicago River you are sure to see the yellow Chicago Water Taxi zipping past in this part of the city these boats stopped at Michigan Avenue and further west along the Riverwalk one idea for a trip is to catch the taxi down to Chinatown the scenic journey through the loop and South Loop will take about 40 minutes and there are services all day in summer but especially around lunchtime and that's because one Chinatown is a dim sum paradise head for dolo restaurant and bar and Ming hen cuisine where there are so many options you won't know where to start but people come a long way for Ming hence Macau pork belly at deep fried taro puffs number eight juggles four seasons under a glass canopy at the Chase Tower Plaza in the loop is another exceptional piece of public art ready to enchant passers-by this figurative mosaic is by Marc Chagall and was donated by the stockbroker Frederick H Prince the Four Seasons is big by any measure wrapping around a box 21 metres long four point three meters high and three meters across it is made up tens of thousands of inland chips in more than 250 colors and has hints of the Chicago skyline sun's flowers birds fish lovers and musicians while we're talking about Chuck all when the artists came to install the mosaic in the 70s he produced a set of stained glass windows for the Art Institute of Chicago to celebrate America's Bicentennial they are among the most treasured works in the collection and you may recognize them if you've seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off number seven Brookfield Zoo a metro train ride out to the suburb of Brookfield this zoo is in 216 acres of green parkland and boasts more than 450 species the Brookfield Zoo made waves when it opened in 1934 as it pioneered the use of moats and ditches instead of cages and was also the first in America to have giant pandas one of the most recent additions is the Great Bear Wilderness letting you get within inches of North America's mightiest carnivores also new is wild encounters where you can pet tame goats walk through a wall of the enclosure and enter one of the largest free-flight parakeet AVR eyes in the world naturally kids favorites like big cats rhinos giraffes are all at Brookfield Zoo while Humboldt penguins are the stars at the living coast habitat number six live music in a city that gave its name to hold genres of blues and house music you can bet that Chicago is a big live music town to tap into the city's jazz and blues heritage look for a few spots that have achieved legendary status this is an apt time to bring up buddy guys legends founded by the Blues veteran on South Wabash in 1989 and where he still plays a series of shows every January Kingston mines in Lincoln Park dates back to 1969 and has two live shows a night without fail while the venerable Green Mill cocktail lounge was run by mobsters in the Prohibition era and Al Capone's favorite booth is still here on a wider scale there are 225 live music venues in all as well as some of the nation's most exciting festivals both free and ticketed from the Chicago Jazz Festival to Lollapalooza and pitchfork number five Grant Park affectionately known as Chicago's front yard Grant Park fronts the loop on Lake Michigan and is the city's crime open space these 319 a KERS contain lots of Chicago's top attractions like Millennium Park the museum campus Chicago the Art Institute of Chicago Maggie Daley Park and the epic Soldier Field home of the Chicago Bears NFL team you could write a whole article on Grant Park and the layers of things to do in its boundaries but it's also worth remembering that the park is a lively place for Chicagoans just to unwind and be active with baseball diamonds tennis courts and lush boulevards to wander down in July Grant Park hosts the Taste of Chicago Festival the biggest food event anywhere and in October is the start and finish line for the Chicago Marathon number 4 Art Institute of Chicago three of the most studied and celebrated paintings of the past 150 years await at an Art Museum to match the best in the world these works are Nighthawks by Edward Hopper American Gothic by Grant Wood and surahs' a Sunday afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte they are all obligatory as is Picasso's old guitarist but are only a gateway to a whole feast of art the Art Institute of Chicago has the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings outside Paris with more than 30 paintings by Monet as well as works by cézanne Renoir van Gogh and Toulouse Lautrec for modern art there's Jackson Pollock Warhol Jasper Johns and Matisse while the modern architecture and design collection has drawings and models by Frank Lloyd Wright Le Corbusier and more you can also delight in ancient Greek Egyptian Etruscan and Roman artifacts from mosaics to pottery glass coins bronze and jewelry number three food tours if you're after large portions and bold flavors Chicago is the city for you Chicago might be the top food city in America and you'd be brave to disagree the staples are deep-dish pizza 7 topped hotdogs sandwiches of Italian beef brownies and soda Lou Mitchell's and twin anchors have national renown but if you want local spots that may avoid crowds of tourists there are a number of tours for hungry tourists the secret food tour lets you in on these undisclosed locations you can also go on a Chinatown tasting tour fill up on Mexican tortoise and Polish Girgis on a bike tour or return to basics with a 2.5 our walking tour exploring the finest Chicago pizzas hot dogs and craft beer number two Skydeck for 25 years the 442 meter Willis Tower has been the world's tallest building and is still among the top 25 you can waste no time with the chicago sky deck experience ticket skipping the line and speeding to the Skydeck four hundred and twelve point four meters above the loops western side on the meandering road to the elevator is a film detailing the Willis towers 45-year history and the other architectural wonders of Chicago you will be struck by a view stretching over 50 miles and four states after a quick ride the Skydeck ledge will either give you a buzz or make your stomach flutter it's a series of four all glass boxes projected over a drop of over 100 feet number 1 Cloud Gate the anchor for the AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park is an enchanting piece of public sculpture by unnies Cutler installed in 2006 and affectionately dubbed the bean cloud gate is a rounded arch clad with 168 highly reflective stainless steel plates after a few teething problems due to its complicated design cloud gate has quickly become an emblem for 21st century Chicago the monument was designed to bring to mind a blob of liquid mercury and its value lies in how interactive it is you can take photos of your own reflection against the distorted Chicago skyline and while passing under the 3.7 meter look up into the omphalos a concave chamber that twists and multiplies reflections enjoy your visit to Chicago and don't forget to subscribe for more

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Id: z1Pbt_DCA0M

Length: 41min 55sec (2515 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 07 2020