THE ULTIMATE CHICAGO TRAVEL GUIDE 2023 // Best Things to Do & Iconic Foods to Eat (4K Vlog)

[Music] what's good youtube it's luis gusto welcome back to my channel today we're in the city that's the undisputed capital of the midwestern united states it was incorporated as a city in 1837 and its name roughly translates to wild onion that's right we're in chicago illinois and in this film we're going to be answering some questions like what are the best things to do best restaurants to eat at and best areas of the city to visit how can you best plan your trip to the windy city but before we get started you already know what to do go ahead and finesse that like button subscribe if you're new to the channel and be sure to join my patreon community i also have a trivia question for you guys the sears tower is the third tallest building in the united states but it once held the crown for tallest in the world during which years they hold that title and with that all out the way let's go ahead and explore chicago [Music] chicago is located in the midwestern united states in the great state of illinois on the southwestern banks of lake michigan the closest major cities include detroit milwaukee and indianapolis to get to chicago you can fly into one of two major international airports o'hare or midway you can also take an amtrak or metro train into the city finally if you love road trips you can get to chicago via route 66. pro tip if you're flying to one of the airports the best way to get to the center of the city is via cta train the blue line from o'hare or the orange line from midway if you take a train into union station you can hop on a bus like the 151 to get to the core of the city chicago is broken up into three sides north west and south there is no east side that's lake michigan beyond that the city is divided into 77 official community areas like edgewater the loop and the near south side finally chicago has more than 200 rich neighborhoods like chinatown bronzeville and pilsen chicago is relatively flat you won't encounter mountains nor hills the city was built on land that was once prairie sand dunes and swampy marshes the best way to get around the city is via public transportation cta trains and buses not to mention divi bikes [Music] millions of years before mag mile deep dish pizza and the first cubs world series a massively enormous glacier occupied this land it eventually melted to become the prehistoric lake chicago which then receded to become today's lake michigan the oldest and longest tenured occupants of this land include tribes like the ojibwe adawa and potawatomi among their contributions to modest chicago include finding a portage linking the great lakes with the mississippi river blazing trails that would become major roads like clark street state street and milwaukee avenue and of course birthing the name of the city in the 1600s french explorers would become the first europeans to step foot in what is now chicago among them were joliet lasalle and marquette none of them built any permanent settlements that feat would be undertaken by the founding father of modern chicago jean-baptiste juan dusable who built a cabin and a trading post near present-day michigan avenue right on the banks of the chicago river now keep in mind back then lake michigan was only about a hundred feet away settlers from new england eventually began arriving and in 1833 the town of chicago was established four years later the city of chicago was incorporated population boomed and development was rapid but came to a devastating halt due to the great fire of 1871 the city quickly rebuilt and two decades later won the nomination to host the 1893 world's fair the late 18th and early 19th century saw the birth of the skyscraper along with several engineering marvels like reversing the flow of the chicago river and using innovative building foundations to support super tall buildings in the swampy soil the 1920s and 30s were a mixture of progress and depression the end of world war ii brought major changes to the demographics of chicago the 1950s and 60s saw white flight to the suburbs along with urban renewal projects in 1983 chicago elected its first black mayor harold washington and the 1990s was the decade of chicago bulls dominance with michael jordan leading the way bringing six nba championships home to the windy city throughout the 20th century many industries flourished in chicago including architecture academia engineering technology printing financial services law medicine construction fine dining and much more in the new millennium chicago continues to undergo major changes but always retains its heritage expressed best through its people and for more chicago history check out the playlist linked below chicago is well known for its 200 plus neighborhoods each one has a rich history and several qualities that make it a great place to visit i've released several short films on chicago neighborhoods going into depth about each one's location best restaurants and things to do be sure to check out my chicago neighborhood guides playlist ah yes chicago and architecture those two words are simply inseparable early in its history the architecture of this city wasn't too much different from other major u.s cities victorian architecture dominated the skyline with a few unique standouts the great fire of 1871 destroyed the core of the city although it quickly rebuilt the rush for fireproof materials and advances in engineering technologies allowed for bigger and better buildings to be designed architects like burnham hollibert and sullivan were among the legendary designers who put chicago on the map in terms of architecture the chicago school as it was known birthed the skyscraper and even to this day chicago remains a mecca of architecture with so many historic buildings in chicago where do you even begin well for the sake of simplicity here are eight of my favorite buildings the chicago theater is perhaps the most photographed building in the city a throwback to the days when theaters were a huge deal it was constructed in 1921. marina city is one of the most unique set of structures in the country designed by architect bertrand goldberg to be a city within a city these two towers went up in 1967. the board of trade building is actually the second structure designed for the chicago board of trade built in 1930 in the art deco style it famously played a major role in batman as wayne tower constructed in 1889 the rookery is chicago's oldest surviving skyscraper and was designed by two of the windy city's most legendary architects daniel burnham and john welborn root the rookery underwent an extensive restoration in the 1990s and is definitely one of chicago's most unique buildings with moorish romanesque and medieval influences the wrigley building was the first office building north of the chicago river and the first one in the city with air conditioning covered in shiny white terracotta it was built for the wrigley chewing gum company in 1924. though the chicago tribune no longer calls it home the tribune tower is still one of chicago's most imposing buildings designed in the neo-gothic style and built in 1925 today it is being converted into luxury condos the john hancock center was the tallest building in the city when it was constructed in 1969 and is certainly one of the city's most iconic towers a striking example of structural expressionism it is home to 360 chicago and the signature lounge speaking of iconic buildings the most recognizable in chicago is the sears tower when it was completed in 1974 it was the tallest in the world for 25 years until 1998. today united airlines is one of its biggest tenants and it is home to the sky deck in the famous wards of arnold drummond what you talking about willis we know when everyone visits chicago they want to try some deep dish pizza don't worry we got you there are several different options all around the city but if you want something a little bit different check out pequod's in lincoln park they're known for the unique spin on chicago style deep dish pizza because they have a caramelized crust that comes from baking that mozzarella cheese just a little bit longer all right so how about we go inside pequod and try their deep dish pizza they just brought us our pizza we got half pepperoni half sausage it looks incredible but it smells even better it's almost like freshly baked sweet bread from a bakery it's nice and thick out there that's all caramelized mozzarella cheese this pepperoni looks incredible wow oh my god that's an easy bite you're not having to chew through it it has a sweet flavor the tomato sauce is really savory and great the pepperoni perfect oh my god that is just like an incredible combination i think this might be the best piece of deep dish pizza that i've ever had here's my slice of pepperoni i'm gonna eat it backwards because i really want to try the crust that's what everybody's talking about that is like a mozzarella stick on steroids so delicious you get the crunchiness of the caramelized mozzarella on there the little saltiness of the pepperoni wow i'm in heaven other than deep dish pizza hot dogs and italian beefs are two of chicago's most iconic foods we are at luke's chicago style sandwiches right on jackson boulevard we're gonna go inside i'll show you how to order one of each hi how are you go get a hot dog with everything and a beef with hot peppers extra extra extra dip like completely soaked all right a perfect chicago style hot dog is an all beef vienna beef hot dog on a poppy seed bun with mustard onions relish for peppers pickles and two tomatoes absolutely no ketchup i don't care what you say no ketchup let's go just perfect 10 out of 10 100 a plus gold star stanley cup world series trophy what more can you say all right here we have the italian beef sandwich this is chicago's signature sandwich i like it soaking wet that's how i've always enjoyed these sandwiches it's what sets them apart from other beef sandwiches that beef juice makes the bread extra soft it's thinly sliced beef and the jardin air is hot without being too spicy to me this is a perfect sandwich whenever i'm traveling i'm always looking out for the best coffee and tea spots in that city or region where i'm going to be staying we're here at intelligentsia one of our favorite coffee and tea places i got myself a black iced tea and lewis got himself an iced coffee there's one right here on randolph and wabash but you can find them all over the city perfect for a hot summer day here in chicago in chicago we love our rooftop bars especially in the summertime right now marissa and i are at the jay parker the rooftop bar of hotel lincoln right in lincoln park you can see behind us is lake michigan and we got a couple of nice cold drinks [Music] cheers [Music] when it comes to things to do in chicago my number one recommendation is to subscribe to my channel because we bring you the best of chicago so you can experience this town like a local with that said here are some of the most popular things to do in chicago one of my absolute favorite things to do in chicago is to take a river cruise today we're taking the architecture crews put on by the chicago architecture center on chicago's first lady you go to all three branches of the chicago river it's so much fun and it's totally worth the price of admission you're gonna love this cruise come on a day like today where it's sunny a little bit cool and breezy you may even get a chance to grab the mic and share what you know with the crowd all right so the first star represents fort dearborn second star the great fire of 1871 the third star the world's fair of 1893 and the fourth star the 1933 world's fair hey all right [Applause] navy pier is one of the most popular things to do in chicago it was completed in 1916 as municipal pier number two and over the years it has served many different purposes including a training facility for the navy during world war ii and a college campus for the university of illinois at chicago in the mid-1990s it was fully renovated and restored converted into a tourist attraction and now millions of people from all around the world visit navy pier every single year the field museum traces its origins all the way back to the 1893 world's fair it's chicago's natural history museum and if you love dinosaurs ancient civilizations and meteorites from space this is the place for you the art institute of chicago is a must visit during your trip to chicago you've got everything from antiquities to renaissance art and contemporary art by celebrated artists like andy warhol the garfield park conservatory on the west side of chicago this is one of my favorite things to do in the city it is absolutely free and i do highly recommend leaving a donation it's been around since 1908 and it's one of the biggest in the entire country it's definitely one thing that you should check out during your visit to chicago lincoln park zoo houses many animals like rhinos giraffes and monkeys admission is completely free the bean at millennium park is a must visit for any social media influencer and don't forget to take a stroll down magnificent mile as you shop to your heart's content did you get the answer to the trivia question the sears tower was the tallest building in the world from 1973 until 1998 in the comments below let us know what city you'd like us to visit next and if you enjoyed this chicago travel guide go ahead and finesse that like button subscribe if you're new to the channel and i would really appreciate it if you shared this video with your very best friend be sure to check out my patreon page for exclusive community and bonus content thank you so much for watching i will see you next time but for now i'm out of here peace and blessings

Channel: Luis Gusto

Views: 155,287

Keywords: ultimate travel guide, chicago travel guide, what to do in chicago, what to eat in chicago, chicago 2021, things to do in chicago, stuff to do in chicago, chicago vacation travel guide, chicago vacation vlog, chicago vacation guide, planning chicago, planning chicago trip, chicago travel vlog, chicago weekend trip, chicago itinerary, downtown chicago, chicago iconic foods, chicago deep dish pizza, chicago italian beef, chicago youtubers, chicago film, chicago movie

Id: tGH-cO0PLYM

Length: 13min 13sec (793 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 10 2021