Top choice in Chicago
It’s a mixed crowd at Valois. In fact, the clientele is so socioeconomically diverse that a U of C sociology professor wrote a well-known book about it, titled Slim’s Table. It seems hot, fast, Southern-style dishes like catfish, biscuits and pot pies attract all kinds – even Barack Obama, who chowed here regularly when he lived in the neighborhood. Cash only.
It’s a real-deal cafeteria, so know what you want before reaching the front of the fast-moving line.
10.82 MILES
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…
0.69 MILES
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…
5.81 MILES
The second-largest art museum in the country, the Art Institute houses a treasure trove from around the globe. The collection of impressionist and…
5.96 MILES
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…
5.98 MILES
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…
Field Museum of Natural History
4.84 MILES
The Field Museum houses some 30 million artifacts and includes everything but the kitchen sink – beetles, mummies, gemstones, Bushman the stuffed ape –…
6.44 MILES
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
5.86 MILES
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…
0.12 MILES
You can visit Barack Obama’s barber Zariff and the bulletproof-glass-encased presidential barber chair at the Hyde Park Hair Salon. Staff don't mind if…
0.28 MILES
Hyde Park Art Center shows contemporary works by Chicagoans – many of them students (current or graduated) of the center's classes. There's usually a…
0.57 MILES
Muhammad Ali lived for a time in this large brick Tudor home, less than a block from his spiritual mentor Elijah Muhammad.
0.58 MILES
The synagogue is a domed masterpiece in the Byzantine style with acoustics that are said to be perfect. Staff provide tours by appointment on weekdays;…
0.61 MILES
Among the handsome manors lining S Greenwood Ave is the redbrick Georgian-style home at number 5046, where Barack Obama and his family lived from 2005…
0.62 MILES
Elijah Muhammad, founder of the Nation of Islam, built the 21-room mansion at the corner of Woodlawn Ave and 49th St in 1971. Louis Farrakhan, the group's…
0.64 MILES
Runners, cyclists, swimmers, dog walkers and Hyde Park residents of all stripes rub shoulders on the Point, a 12-acre artificial peninsula that juts into…
8. Museum of Science & Industry
0.69 MILES
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…