DK Travel : Chicago

Big-city sophistication combined with small-town hospitality create the perfect blend in this, the Mid west’s largest city. Chicago’s influential architecture, cuisine for every budget and taste, great shopping, diverse ethnic neighborhoods, and outstanding museums are reason enough for a visit. And the icing on the cake? The city boasts a lakefront and park system that are as beautiful as they are recreational.

Kingston Mines

The largest of Chicago’s blues joints, Kingston Mines packs its Lincoln Park locale with students, young professionals, and a broader spectrum of tourists. Two stages provide non-stop musical entertainment from 8pm to near 4am (5am on Saturdays). Acts range from homegrown house bands to national touring headliners. The kitchen serves up beer-sopping barbecue.
Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club

Martinis come in 52 flavors at this swanky spot, where female impersonators divert attention from significant others with their lip-synching talent.
La Petite Folie

An upscale French restaurant offering a fixed-price menu, as well as entrées featuring ingredients such as rabbit and quail.
Lao Szechuan

Located in the Chinatown Square shopping mall, this simple eaterie serves authentic Chinese Szechuan cuisine.
Le Bar

In the beautiful Sofitel Hotel (see Sofitel Chicago Water Tower), a fashionable, over-30, mixed crowd fills this lobby lounge after work, lingering until the wee hours. Black-clad servers dispense martinis with scrumptious flavors such as chocolate and raspberry.
Le Meridien

The interior opulence of this hotel, located on hip Rush Street, is undeniable. Contemporary rooms have beds with down comforters, and granite bathrooms with wall-to-wall mirrors. Public areas include a lovely terrace.
Le Passage

Tucked along an alley and down a flight of stairs is the alluring Le Passage. The candlelit, wood-paneled room is divided by gold-wrapped columns. Velvet chairs are free for lounging early on, but later they’re reserved for big spenders. The dance floor fills up late, with DJs playing pop remixes.
Lincoln Antique Mall

This huge mall is chock-full of treasures from vintage purses to kitschy dinnerware and Art Deco glass. Prices are typically negotiable.
Lincoln Park

The greenway Lincoln Park stretches from North Avenue up to Hollywood Avenue, a recreational apron between lakefront and housing. In Chicago’s infancy, the southern portion of the park was a cemetery for Civil War dead, later exhumed and interred elsewhere to make way for the park. Now it’s the North Side’s counterpart to Grant Park. Popular attractions such as Lincoln Park Zoo, the Lincoln Park Conservatory, and Peggy Notebaert Nature Musem supplement the beaches, harbors, playing fields, and bike paths.
Lincoln Park Conservatory

Take a free trip to the tropics at this spacious conservatory, just next to Lincoln Park Zoo. Opened in 1893, the glass structure is a year-round, 80° F (40° C) sanctuary from the Chicago’s bustle, and offers a welcome respite from the city’s long winters. Paths meander past lush palms, flourishing ferns, and exquisite 100-year-old orchids. Avoid the crowds by coming on a weekday when, unless a seasonal show is taking place, it’s a quiet space, with the sound of trickling water as background music.

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