"The Great Midwestern City" a Chicago Travel Page by Hopkid

The Tribune Tower. The Blues Brothers. Magnificent Mile. Harold's Chicken. Wrigely Field. Lincoln Park. The El. The Art Institute. State Street. Marshall Fields'. The Checkboard Lounge (R.I.P.). ORD. Sears Tower. The Watertower. Oak Park. Louis Sullivan. Old Comiskey Park (R.I.P.). Ferris Bueller. The Dan Ryan Expressway.

These are some of the images I have when I think of Chicago, the largest city in the U.S. midwest and the the third-largest city in the entire U.S. It is truly a great town with lots to offer including interesting architecture, a variety of great restaurants, vibrant blues and jazz scenes, a world-class art collection, major sporting events, and a scenic setting on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan. The visitor to Chicago will have no problem keeping busy and it's an easy city to get around in as well with a good public transportation system and the fact that it's flat which makes it a great place in which to walk.

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Chicago is a big art town. The Art Institute of Chicago is a must-visit for people with even the remotest interest in art. Here you will find many works of art that may be familiar to the casual observer through their use in popular culture or for those who played the board game "Masterpiece" while growing up. The European Impressionist collection is fantastic. Besides Monet, Renoir, and Cassat you'll also find works by Remington, Chagall, Picasso, Sargent, Hopper, Saurat, Miro, Rembrandt, Tintoretto, Botticelli, Whistler, and more. It is truly one of the great art museums of the world and should not be missed. There is also a lot of public art in downtown Chicago. Picasso, Chagall, Miro, and others. All are accessible to the public free of charge and make for a nice walking tour of the area.

Chicago also has an abundance of great architecture. Just a walk up Michigan Avenue from around the Art Institute north to North Avenue Beach will give you a sense of the variety of architectural styles that make up the magnificent skyline. The Chicago Architecture Foundation offers good walking tours with different themes and are well worth it.

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Although I first visited Chicago back in the late 1980s, my tips here will be begin with a trip we recently made prior to a reunion with my graduate school friends in Iowa. My fondest memories are of late night chicken wings from Harold's Chicken Shack, going to games at historic Wrigley Field and old Comiskey Park, listening to great Chicago blues at the clubs on Halsted Street and at the old Checkerboard Lounge on the Southside, and strolling through the galleries at the Art Institute. There aren't many times that we've visited Chicago and not gone to the Art Institute.

For a most comprehensive look at Chicago and all it has to offer, there can be no other place on VT to go than to Dabs' VT page on Chicago. Rita and I had a very nice dinner with her and her husband at the stylish Opera and also had a great private tour of the Art Institute of Chicago with another VTer, L2go.