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.

Chicago Bears

A football team generating rabid fans and tailgate picnics on Soldier Field (see Soldier Field) game days.
Chicago Blackhawks

NHL ice hockey team sharing the United Center (see United Center) with the Bulls.
Chicago Blues Festival

The raucous weekend-long Blues Festival kicks off summer in Chicago. An estimated 750,000 listeners converge on Grant Park for the world’s largest free blues event. The main stage line-up spans traditional bluesmen like Honey Boy Edwards, jazz interpreters such as Mose Allison, and blues-inflected popsters like Bonnie Raitt. Smaller side stages offer a more intimate audience experience.
Chicago Board of Trade

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was founded in 1848 to create a central marketplace in the fast-developing city, and moved to its current 45-story home in 1930. Designed by Holabird and Root, this landmark building is a stunning example of Art Deco. Capping the majestic limestone building is a huge statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain and harvest. A glittering 23-story glass-and-steel addition designed by Helmut Jahn was completed in 1980.
Chicago Botanic Garden

About 25 miles (40 km) north of Chicago, this attraction comprises 385 acres (155 ha) of natural habitats and beautifully landscaped gardens. Some of the most popular are the romantic Rose Garden, the tranquil island-based Japanese Garden, and the charming English Walled Garden.
Chicago Bulls

Their basketball just hasn’t been the same since superstar Michael Jordan left.
Chicago Children’s Museum

The engrossing, imaginative exhibits here emphasize doing – be it digging up a dinosaur bone or designing a water channel. A central, three-story rope tunnel immediately snares the attention of older visitors, though there are age-appropriate attractions for infants to pre-teens. If this place can’t exhaust the younger set’s energies, nowhere can.
Chicago Cubs

Despite the Cubbies’ losing streak, their baseball games are often sell-outs (see Wrigley Field).
Chicago Cultural Center

Built in 1897 as the city’s first main library, this magnificent Beaux Arts building was described at the time as the “people’s palace.” In 1991, the library moved out, allowing several galleries, performance spaces and a visitor information center to move in. Guided tours offer a historical overview of the building, which occupies an entire block and features one of the world’s largest domes, designed by L. C. Tiffany, and rooms modeled after the Doge’s Palace in Venice and the Acropolis in Athens.
Chicago Ferris Wheel

Truly the best views of the city. Situated on the shore of lake Michigan, this is a sight not to be missed. Let the ferris wheel take you to the top of the city in its colourful cars, but don't blow away!