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First called Hardscrabble, this South Side neighborhood is one of the city’s oldest, being settled in the 1830s by Irish laborers who came to help build the Illinois-Michigan Canal. Bridgeport still has a mostly Irish population, and has bred five Chicago mayors, including Richard J. Daley (see Richard J. Daley) and his son, Richard M. Daley. The area centerpiece is US Cellular Field (formerly Comiskey Park), home ground of the Chicago White Sox (see Chicago White Sox).

An old-time movie palace marquee indicates the 1939 building that houses this market. With 85 dealers stocking artwork, jewelry, clothing, and more in styles such as Arts and Crafts, Art Deco, and Victorian, you’re sure to find something that pleases.

A bronze memorial at Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and 35th Street honors the journey many African-Americans made to this neighborhood as they fled the oppression of the South in the early 20th century. Nearby, sidewalk plaques celebrate local luminaries. Chicago’s answer to Harlem offers jazz and blues in its clubs, graceful mansions aplenty, and lots of fine soul food.

Over 5,900 animals live together in themed, naturalistic environments at this popular zoo. Zones include Tropic World, where thunderstorms occur regularly (you stay dry) and Habitat Africa, whose new Forest exhibit has shy okapi and a re-created African village. In Be A Bird House, see what kind of bird you’d be on a machine that measures your flapping ability.

A friendly, local bar (for boys and girls) where deer, elk, moose, and buck heads adorn the walls. The outdoor beer garden is wild in summer.

Once a hot-spot for starving artists, Bucktown and adjacent Wicker Park are now gentrified locales brimming with vintage clothes stores, edgy music shops, high-style designer boutiques, and antiques importers.

Run by bluesman Buddy Guy, this club is arguably the city’s best. To get a table, come early and dine on decent barbecue.

Designed by and named for city planner Daniel Burnham, Burnham Park is the city’s green lawn rolling south from Museum Campus (see South Loop) to Hyde Park. Like Lincoln and Grant parks, it is charted by the lakefront bike path, but unlike its northern counterparts Burnham Park’s section isn’t overrun, making this south-leg journey far more enjoyable. Along the way you’ll find basketball courts and beaches. The return trip north provides city skyline panoramas.

In this feel-good Caribbean joint, jerk chicken is a favorite, and Key Lime pie is the must-do dessert.