Chicago
Built in 1914, Wrigley Field – aka the Friendly Confines – is the second-oldest baseball park in the major leagues. It’s home to the Chicago Cubs and…
Must-see attractions in Chicago
Chicago
There's free admission to Millennium Park, the playful heart of the city. It shines with whimsical public art, both permanent and temporary exhibits, and…
Chicago
The MSI is the largest science museum in the Western hemisphere and a place to completely geek out. Highlights include a WWII German U-boat nestled in an…
Chicago
The second-largest art museum in the country, the Art Institute houses a treasure trove from around the globe. The collection of impressionist and…
Chicago
Willis Tower is Chicago's tallest building (and one of the world's loftiest). Breathe deeply during the ear-popping, 70-second elevator ride to the 103rd…
Chicago
Half-mile-long Navy Pier is one of Chicago's most-visited attractions, sporting a 196ft Ferris wheel and other carnival rides ($9 to $18 each), an IMAX…
National Museum of Mexican Art
Chicago
Founded in 1982, this vibrant museum – the largest Latinx arts institution in the US – has become one of the city’s best. The vivid permanent collection…
Field Museum of Natural History
Chicago
The Field Museum houses some 30 million artifacts and includes everything but the kitchen sink – beetles, mummies, gemstones, Bushman the stuffed ape –…
Chicago
Of the numerous buildings that Frank Lloyd Wright designed around Chicago, none is more famous or influential than Robie House. Because its horizontal…
Chicago
The views from the 94th-floor observatory of this iconic building (formerly known as the John Hancock Center) in many ways surpass those at the Willis…
Chicago
The park that gave the neighborhood its name is Chicago’s largest. Its 1200 acres stretch for 6 miles from North Ave north to Diversey Pkwy, where it…
-
Chicago
Consider it the Art Institute’s brash, rebellious sibling, with especially strong minimalist, surrealist and conceptual photography collections, and…
-
Chicago
Artist-activist Theaster Gates bought a tumbledown bank building for $1 in Chicago's neglected South Shore neighborhood, and transformed it into a…
-
Chicago
Even George Washington gave out campaign buttons, though in his era they were the sew-on kind. Pin-back buttons came along in 1896. Badge-making company…
-
Chicago
Set in the exquisite Nickerson Mansion, the Driehaus immerses visitors in Gilded Age decorative arts and architecture. You'll feel like a Great Gatsby…
-
Chicago
Galerie F is exactly the type of laid-back, ubercool gallery you'd expect to find in Logan Square. It specializes in rock-and-roll gig posters,…
-
St Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
Take a minute to wander past St Nicholas, which is the less traditional of the neighborhood’s main Ukrainian churches. Built in 1913, its 13 domes…
Chicago
This 207-acre park, which lends its name to the surrounding neighborhood, comes out of nowhere and gobsmacks you with Mother Nature. A lagoon brushed by…
Chicago
This hilly, prairie-grassed park has a walking and cycling trail, bird-watching, fishing and an outdoor venue for big-name concerts. It's actually a…
Chicago
This 550-acre, lakefront green space is a gem. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, renowned creator of New York City's Central Park, it comprises bird-rich…
Chicago
From 1957 to 1967, this humble building was Chess Records, the seminal electric blues label. It's now named for the bassist who wrote most of Chess' hits…
Chicago
Built in 1907, these two acres under glass are a lovely spot to while away a few hours sauntering around rooms of palms, ferns, orchids and koi-filled…
Chicago
The famed firm of Burnham and Root built the Rookery – named for the site's previous building, a temporary city hall that was popular with roosting…
International Museum of Surgical Science
Chicago
This small but fascinating museum, set inside a former residential mansion facing the lake, is dedicated to the world of surgery and medicine. Exhibits…
Chicago
The sexual revolution partied hearty for 15 years in the basement ‘grotto’ of this 1899 mansion. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner bought it in 1959 and hung a…
Chicago
Top draws at the kiddie-mobbed Shedd Aquarium include the Wild Reef exhibit, where there's just 5in of Plexiglas between you and two-dozen fierce-looking…
Chicago
This wonderfully restored 1925 train station looks like it stepped right out of a gangster movie. In fact, it has been used to great effect in exactly…
Chicago
It's impossible to get any closer to Wrigley Field without actually crossing the stadium's threshold, making this newly developed plaza (formerly a…
Chicago
The enchanting Lily Pool hides in a plot northeast of the Lincoln Park Conservatory, at the corner of Fullerton and Cannon Drs. Built in 1938 by landscape…
Chicago
Grant Park's centerpiece is one of the world's largest fountains, with a 1.5-million-gallon capacity and a 15-story-high spray. It lets loose on the hour…
Chicago
The Paseo Boricua, aka Puerto Rican Promenade, is a half-mile-long stretch of Division St where many Puerto Rican shops and restaurants do business. It’s…
Chicago
Stands of purple cabbages, red radishes, green asparagus and other bright-hued produce sprawl through Lincoln Park at Chicago's biggest farmers market…
Chicago
Bibliophiles will have a grand time in this museum, where American writers spanning the ages – from Edgar Allen Poe to Elie Wiesel, James Baldwin to Edith…
-
Chicago
The zoo has been around since 1868 and is a local freebie favorite, filled with lions, zebras, snow monkeys and other exotic creatures in the shadow of…
Chicago
Many residents of this area, also known as ‘Little Saigon,’ arrived as refugees from the Vietnam War and subsequently filled the storefronts with lunch…
Chicago
Attention Route 66 buffs: the Mother Road begins in downtown Chicago. Look for the 'Historic 66 Begin' sign at the northwestern corner of Adams St and…
Chicago
Al Capone is now buried in this cemetery in Hillside, west of Chicago. He and his relatives were moved here in 1950. Al’s simple gray gravestone, which…
-
Chicago
Holy Name Cathedral is the seat of Chicago’s Catholic Church and where its powerful cardinals do their preaching. It provides a quiet place for…
-
Pullman National Historical Park
Chicago
Part of the National Park Service, Pullman offers a rare look at a capitalist's fallen utopia. The community's design and architecture make for a…
-
Chicago
This exquisite, beaux-arts building began its life as the Chicago Public Library in 1897. Today the block-long structure houses terrific art exhibitions …
