Chicago, Illinois - Chicago IL Weekend Getaway

Preview: Chicago has everything for city lovers: culture, commerce, historic buildings, public transportation, ethnic neighborhoods, chic boutiques, and grit and grime. Masterpieces of skyscraper architecture embrace the curving shore of Lake Michigan, creating one of the most spectacular skylines in the world. An elegant system of boulevards and parks encircles the central city. Home to the blues and the Chicago Symphony, to storefront theaters and the Lyric Opera, to neighborhood murals and the Art Institute, Chicago has come a long way in shedding its rough-and-tumble image as “city of the big shoulders,” immortalized in the writings of Theodore Dreiser, Upton Sinclair, and Carl Sandburg. The infamous stockyards have long been closed, and the steel mills to the south lie largely idle. Except for a few bullet holes in the masonry around the Biograph Theater (where John Dillinger was shot), few traces remain of the disreputable 1920s gangster period that made Chicago infamous around the world; the Biograph itself is now run by the Cineplex Odeon chain, and Chicago has become, for better or worse, a hub of finance second only to New York. But Chicagoans remain friendly in the midwestern manner: helpful and generally lacking in pretense. Long and thin (in many spots less than 10 mi wide), Chicago proper hugs the shore of Lake Michigan. Many of the major attractions are clustered within a mile of the lakefront, either in the Loop (defined by the tracks of the elevated train) or near the Loop, in the Near North Side. This chapter contains sections on exploring the region, sights to see, dining, lodging, camping, shopping, arts & entertainment, sports & outdoor activities, and essential travel information.
© Copyright Mary Beth Bohman, Editor published by Fodor's Travel Publications all rights reserved.


Duration: As long as you can getaway for
Best Time to Go: Year-round, best in spring and fall
This travel guide comes from:
Fodor's Great American Vacations Guide Book