Hots online trading indonesia

Saham Indonesia Dukung IDsaham di Facebook Uang Zimbabwe 100Trilliun 1 lembar Rp 100.000 (blm ongkir) Buruan stock terbatas Harga naik terus. Hub: 081362054088 Saham Chat 22-Feb-17 19:42 Bekskicoot guest: AHAAYYY SAHAM JAGOAN FPNI MALAH NGGAK NGACENG COYY AHAAYY ANE LIBUR DOELOE AH NTAR KALO UDH DIATAS GOPEK ANE BROMO LAGEE DEH AHAAYYY COYYYY 22-Feb-17 19:36 kalijodo guest : Rpta kalijodo bisa jadi karena gubernurnya berani dan tegas. Jakarta butuh org tegas. Coba klo gubernurnya manis manis dan santun kapan jadinya..paling2 masih tempat pelacuran Oh ya..bisa jadi sih ntar lebaran kuda .. 22-Feb-17 19:29 tetap .. bermimpi tamu: megapolitan. kompasread2017022217083711ahok. disambut. warga. saat. datang. ke. rptra. kalijodo ------- Kok Anies gak ke kalijodo sambil tanya warga: Ahok ada datang kemari gak ya. Ha ha ha ha 22-Feb-17 19:15 bego satu tamu: Trus begonya lagi. Pas dia bikin angket Orgnya lagi cuti ha ha ha. Gede nafsu bikin bikin angket. Nafsunya keliatan Wakwakwak Ketahuaaan Loee..nge loco aja. Klo kegedean nafsu Wakwak 22-Feb-17 19:11 Bego dipelihara tamu: Ente bego sih satu. Duh orang pesantren masuk ke forum. Sok pintar makar lagi. Bego loe hak hak. Sono belajar banyak lagi. Dungu dan bodoh hak hak 22-Feb - 17 19:07 Bego dipelihara tamu: Putusan pengadilan belum selesai semua minta angket. Lucu dah, bego dipelihara ha ha ha ketawa dan lucu 22-Feb-17 19:06 tamu makar: Hakhak. Tidak ape ape gua dungu dan goblok Tapi nggak ada niat mau makar. Karena gua lugu Buat elu kepintaran sampai niat mau makar. Hak. Ooo kamu ketahuan Oooo 22-Feb-17 19:04 Nuh Ok tamu: angket yuk, mantab bro. Lanjutkan Interaktif chart klik di sini Berita Pasar Internasional Berita Bisnis Internasional Berita pasar AS update Indeks Dunia Bisnis Dunia Headlines Ekonomi - Ekonomi Asia - Ekonomi Eropa - AS Google Bloomberg Market News Komoditi Berita Currencies News Harga Pasar Ringkasan Pasar UangCom Pasar briefing Berita Keuangan Berita Bursa Saham 29 - Nov-16 07:00 jpnn. IHSG Potensial Rebound, Momen Tepat Beli Saham Diskon - JPNN Baca .. 29-Nov-16 07:00 detik. Seorang Ayah Wajib Mempunyai Investasi Ini Baca .. 29-Nov-16 07:00 vivanews. OPEC Tak Ada Kesepakatan, Harga Minyak Naik Baca .. 29-Nov-16 07:00 inilah pasar-modal. Bursa Saham London Turun 0,6 Baca .. 29-Nov-16 07:00 inilah pasar-modal. Aksi Ambil Untung Landa Dolar AS Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:45 bisnis. liputan6. Laju IHSG Bergantung Data Inflasi - Bisnis Liputan6 Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:45 mediaindonesia. Alokasi Dana Desa 2018 Naik Dua Kali Lipat Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:45 mediaindonesia. Serangan di Ohio, Pelaku Tabrakan Mobil dan Lukai Korban Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:45 mediaindonesia. Hormati Castro, Aktivitas Disetop Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:45 mediaindonesia. Pengguna Medsos agar Lebih Beradab Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:45 mediaindonesia. Warga AS Anti-Castro Terus Berpesta Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:45 mediaindonesia. Kesehatan Gigi Anak Kurang Terawat Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:45 mediaindonesia. Pelaku Penyerangan di Ohio Diduga Mahasiswa Keturunan Somalia Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 antaranews. Harga minyak naik karena Irak-Iran mau pangkas produksi Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 antaranews. Indeks DAX 30 Jerman berakhir turun 1,09 persen Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 antaranews. Uni Eropa sambut keputusan WTO soal subsidi ilegal Boeing Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 okezone. INSPIRASI BISNIS: Daur Ulang Botol Bekas Disulap Jadi Tas Unik Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 okezone. Wall Street Melemah karena Sektor Keuangan dan Konsumsi Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 okezone. TERPOPULER: 2017, Ketiga Provinsi Ini Akan Ikuti UMP Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 okezone. UMP DKI Rp3,3 Juta, Buruh: Tak Wakili Kondisi Real Jakarta Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 market. bisnis. BURSA PRANCIS: Indeks CAC 40 Turun 0,88, Saham BNP. - Bisnis Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 bisnis. news. viva. co. id. Wall Street Tergelincir, Siapa Pemicunya - VIVA. co. id Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 market. bisnis. BURSA INGGRIS: Indeks FTSE 100 Ditutup Melemah 0,6 - Bisnis Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 antaranews. Wall Street turun akibat aksi ambil untung - ANTARA Baca .. 29-Nov-16 06:30 economy. okezone. TOP BISNIS: Kenaikan UMP 2017 di Tengah Investasi Bodong. - Okezone Baca .. Berita Bursa Saham Lainnya Komentar indeksekonomi di Saham Chat 22-Feb-17 17:18 INVESTORASING: Indeks Properti JSX berada di Support yg kuat sekali yaitu antara 500 dan 518. Nah satu sektor yg juga akan sektor Komo besar Naik ke depan adalah Sektor Properti yg sementara tertinggal cukup besar. Indeks itu akan lebih dari 20 naik ke depan. Harga tanah naik terus terus di seluruh RI, di tempat yg sdh ada gratis dan juga di tempat yg sedang tidak ada apapun kecuali rumput liar atau batu yg biasa saja. Jadi semua Emiten Properti yg sudah punya masalah utang, akan sukses dengan restrukturisasi utang itu ke depan dan juga inline. Satu di antara Emiten itu adalah ELTY. Karena tidak lagi dijual di atas, maka saham tersebut akan bbrp kali naik ke depan, khusus juga saham. Secara historis pernah terjadi selalu begitu. Dan di RI tidak seperti di banyak negara lainya. Di RI masih jutaan Orang belum punya Rumah, Villa atau Apartemen sendiri. Kemudian sesuai posting yg lama, buy kuat. Kemudian terima kasih juga untuk semua pihak yg tidak bermuka iri dan juga bukan tukang becak. Terima kasih banyak Kami heran. Bakrie sdh kerja keras buat kamu nggak merugih ke depan dan pemegang saham yg relevan juga demikan. Kami juga secara langsung dan tidak langsung. Tapi ternyata masih ada Tikus yg kecil, yg buka mulut iri setiap kaliitu profit taking sementara sangat ke dalam. Dia adalah Orang asli RI. Dia mau orang indonesia sendiri di akhirnya kehilangan modal orang yang seharusnya keluar dari indonesia dan tinggal di negara lain. Tapi apakah Negara lain mau pihak seperti itu, yg di Negara sendiri menjadi seperti Yudas Iskariot Kalau tidak di terima di mana pun, untung masih ada Antartika. Di sana dia boleh main2 dengan Pinguin. Selamat sukses. h13 22-Feb-17 15:47 yokoono tamu: Kurang 4menit pasar tutup DEWA masih bertahan di harga 70 22-Feb-17 13:22 admggajahtunggal: INDY awas bursa ASIA mulai Hijau 22-Feb-17 08:20 prediksi tamu: Jokowi harus Waspada ada upaya makar yang didanai. oleh CIA dan antek usa Arab Saudi terkait kontrak tambang emas di papua dan mereka mendanai sejenis FPI FUI kelompok agama garis keras. BIN agar di sebar di timika papua karena CIA mulai. provokasi warga sana dengan. isu PHK. Jokowi jadi ancang bagi. kepentingan USA. Jokowi patut. mewaspadai aksi merongrong kewibawaan pemerintah via ormas ormas yang didanai CIA dan. antek usa yaitu Arab Saudi yang bawa rombongn staff oleh raja Arab Saudi. Ihsg 22-Feb-17 08:05 Philipp Lahm tamu: Waspada saham batubara Batubara turun 2 8453 tutup malam malam bergantung bergantung kenaikan 4 hari di bursa Newscatle. 21-Feb-17 18:16 tamu undang: JOKOWI AGAR. JANGAN. MAU BICARA DENGAN. PRESDIR FREEPORT DI USA. JOKOWI MINTA UNDANG PEMEGANG SAHAMNYA Mr CARL ICAHN. Bahas kontrak dan. smelter agar presdir di usa dipecat saja oleh Carl Icahn. Ihsg 21-Feb-17 18:12 tamu undang: JOKOWI AGAR. UNDANG PEMEGANG SAHAM FREEPORT DI USA. UNDANG Mr CARL ICAHN ke ISTANA BOGOR b membicarakan hal smelter. Ihsg 21-Feb-17 15:53 ​​BUMI LQ45 tamu: BUMI satu2nya saham LQ45 tapi tak bisa transaksi di margin akun. Coba tanya ke BEI. Ada apa. Kmrin saya sudah infokan dimari 21-Feb-17 13:28 INVESTORASING: DOID inline dengan posting sy dari tahun yg lalu. DOID melunasi 8 triliun hutang dan dengan demikian m TP ke depan dari 2000 akan jadi. Seperti biasa diluar pendapat dari pihak2 yg tidak relevan, pemegang saham yg bersangkutan sangat penuh DOID. Kemudian harga batubara naik lagi ke atas 84 USD per ton dan sekarang karena di Eropa bbrp negara mau keluar dari Euro, khusus Negara Perancis dulu, maka inflasi akan naik lagi dan harga komo juga, jadi banyak analist akan salah lagi seperti sebelumnya. Apalagi lagi Trump nggak mau USD yg kuat. BUMI sdh lebih maju dari sebelumnya dan dengan harga Batubara yg ke depan akan ke atas 100 USD per ton atau lebih, maka profit bersih bisa menjadi kira2 500 juta USD ke depan, jadi bisa bayar lebih dari 30 Sisa utang yg ada Tentu masih bbrp hal seperti biaya produksi harus di depan ke depan, m TP 2000 tidak akan sulit utk ke depan. Yg menarik ada juga keuntungan bersih dari DEWA yg akan ratusan naik ke depan. Maka UNSP akan sukses ke depan setelah sukses dengan reverse stock. Sama nanti dengan ENRG. Lama lama IDX bersih dari bbrp pihak yg menjual saham Batubara dan saham lainya secar habis. Pada waktu mereka sdh keluar secara 100, maka saham2 itu akan naik. selamat sukses besar. H13. 21-Feb-17 10:18 kpud jakarta tamu: WARGA MENUNTUT COPOT KETUA KPUD JAKARTA YANG TIDAK INDEPENDEN DAN KEPERGOK BERTEMU ANIS SAAT COBLOS ULANG DAN BUKTI KETUA KPUD DKI MAIN MATA DENGAN ANIES. COPOT. KETUA KPUD DKI. Ihsg 21-Feb-17 10:10 Wanita kesukaan: Salam ihsg. Smoga hari ini sudah meningkat ada sidang ahok. Dalam hal ini ahok selalu penuh sidang dan taat hukum. Menurut sy ini adalah sikap islam. Beda dg RS yg suka mangkir dg alasan yg sptnya dibuat2. Sdh gitu bw rombongan lg jd tdk gentlement. Bg mana ini kok bikin malu islam. Katanya mau bela islam. Coba tunjukan lewat pribadi RS dulu. Pantaskah 21-Feb-17 04:23 gambarou: thn kemarin BRI luncurin satelit habis 3t klo ga salah. Trus Telkomsel ga mau kalah dia luncurin satelit juga. Gile gile enak bgt ngerampok nya ya. Banyak yg ga sadar thu langit sebenarnya ga bisa di tembus anak2 sekolah banyak yg telen mentah2 belajar geografi dari guru nya. Jika Anda punya rencana untuk Menganalisa sederhana saja pasti Anda. Konkret nya begini Kalau anda menemukan kejanggalan dari bumi bulat yang bisa di bantah sudah pasti teori yg selama ini di gembar gemborkan sampai dibuatkan imitasi universal studio (bumi bulat) itu semua h o a x. Gile lu ndro Lari Kemana thu duit 3t ya. Emiten BRI aja cuma mandek harga segono. Huayam Telkom juga thu. Et dah, ihsg 21-Feb-17 04:11 gambarou: di kompas ada yg buat artikel ahok keok, gmn nih tanggapan sesepuh idsaham semua kemungkinan masih bisa terjadi. Kalau di sistim ekonomi Pilkada putaran 1 itu trilema putaran kedua dilema. Semoga indeks tdk ikut2an dilema. Xixixixixixi nih link nya yg bilang ahok tumbang cek ke TKP aja ---- m. kompasianaangrybirdpdip-sudah-tahu-ahok-di-atas-kertas-akan-kalah-di-pilgub-dki58aa3b6481afbde43c1f768e 21-Feb-17 00:16 tegas Saja tamu: kasus. kontrak freeport bisa jadi adu ketegasan nih hua ha ha JOKOWI vs TRUMP. Ihsg JOKOWI HARUS PANGGIL PEMEGANG SAHAM. MAYORITAS CARL ICAHN dan pasti lebih realistis karena CARL ICAHN orang bisnis. Semua bisa dinegosiasikan 20-Feb-17 22:05 AManCallAnonymous guest: Cara membandingkan cimb dengan panin Membandingkan ekuitas dan tutup pasar. 127867Chicago adalah kota besar dengan beberapa artikel kabupaten yang berisi tamasya, restoran, kehidupan malam dan daftar akomodasi yang bisa dilihat masing-masing. Chicago terletak di Midwest. Ini adalah kota terbesar ketiga di Amerika Serikat dengan populasi mendekati 3 juta. Chicago adalah kota yang sangat ramai dan area metropolitan yang terbentang lebih dari 10.874km. Yang terkenal dengan musik rumah, blues, jazz, komedi, belanja, makan, arsitektur, dan atraksi budaya yang bagus. Sebagai pusat kota Midwest. Chicago mudah untuk menemukan pemandangan indahnya yang indah di perairan Danau Michigan air tawar yang besar, pemandangan yang mengesankan yang segera mengungkap museum seni dan sains kelas dunia, bermil-mil pantai berpasir, taman besar, seni publik. Dan mungkin koleksi arsitektur terbaik di dunia. Dengan kekayaan pemandangan dan lingkungan ikonik untuk dijelajahi, cukup untuk mengisi kunjungan berminggu-minggu atau bahkan berbulan-bulan tanpa pernah melihat akhirnya. Bersiaplah untuk menutupi banyak tanah: makna Chicago hanya ditemukan dalam gerakan, melalui kereta bawah tanah dan jalur tinggi yang diangkat, dan mata terangkat ke langit. Distrik edit Bagian yang paling banyak dikunjungi di Chicago adalah area pusatnya yang besar, yang berisi lingkungan seperti Downtown, River North, Streeterville, Old Town, Gold Coast, Central Station, South Loop, Printers Row, dan Greek Town. Secara kolektif, lingkungan ini berisi banyak gedung pencakar langit, atraksi, dan institusi berperingkat tinggi. Tapi ada juga banyak objek wisata yang bisa ditemukan di kota-kota kabupaten lainnya. Chicago terdiri dari Downtown, North Side, South Side, dan West Side - masing-masing Side dinamai sesuai arahannya dari Downtown. Loop adalah area keuangan dan budaya yang terletak di Downtown. Sisi Utara, Selatan, dan Barat bukan lingkungan mereka masing-masing memiliki banyak dan beragam lingkungan. Warga Chicago cenderung sangat mengenal lingkungan mereka, mencerminkan tempat tinggal dan budaya yang nyata. Letak cakrawala Chicagos di Chicago dilihat dari Millennium Park Memahami bahwa Chicago dikenal sebagai tempat yang bagus untuk menemukan bawang liar jika Anda adalah anggota suku Potawatomi, yang tinggal di daerah Illinois ini sebelum pemukim Eropa tiba. Sebagian besar rawa-rawa, padang rumput dan lumpur telah lama melewati pendirian Fort Dearborn pada tahun 1803 dan bergabung sebagai kota pada tahun 1833. Kota ini kemudian melakukan proyek teknik sipil dalam skala yang belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya untuk membangun selokan kerja, bahkan membalikkan aliran sungai Chicago untuk dijaga Air kotor dari persediaan minum kota, dan menghentikan bangunan agar tidak tenggelam kembali ke rawa-rawa dan itu hanya beberapa dekade pertama. Pada tahun 1871, pertumbuhan kota yang ceroboh ini merupakan pemandangan yang harus dilihat, penuh dengan kebisingan, kegilaan Gothic, dan perdagangan yang ramai. Tapi pada tanggal 8 Oktober, Ibu Olanna menabrak sebuah lentera di tempat imigran ramai di West Side, dan Great Chicago Fire dimulai. Dengan cepat menyebar melalui padang rumput kering, membunuh 300 dan menghancurkan hampir seluruh kota. Menara Air batu di daerah Near North adalah struktur yang paling terkenal. Tapi kota ini menyita kehancuran ini sebagai kesempatan untuk membangun kembali lebih besar dari sebelumnya, bahkan menemukan gedung pencakar langit di Chicago yang tentu saja akan diambil dan dimanfaatkan di kota-kota di seluruh dunia di zaman modern. Selain itu, beberapa arsitek dan perencana kota Chicago akan menjadi legenda arsitektur modern. Pada akhir 1800an, Chicago adalah kota dengan pertumbuhan tercepat di dunia. Pada puncak kelahiran kembali, Chicago dikenal sebagai The White City. Budaya dari seluruh dunia dipanggil ke Pameran Columbian Dunia 1893, yang Chicago kalahkan New York sebagai tuan rumah, untuk menjadi saksi atas karya Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, dan masa depan itu sendiri. Krim Gandum, minuman ringan, lampu jalan dan listrik yang aman, mesin faks, dan penemuan baru yang disebut Roda Ferris telah dipesan lebih dahulu colossus yang sekarang tinggal di tepi Danau Michigan. Karena setiap jalan pernah menuju ke Roma, setiap kereta menuju Chicago. Carl Sandburg menelepon Chicago the Hog Butcher for the World untuk gudang ternak dan tempat makannya di piring makan negara-negara. Sandburg juga menyebutnya Kota Bahu Besar. Mencatat gedung-gedung tinggi di tempat kelahiran gedung pencakar langit dan kota-kota mengangkat kepala bernyanyi begitu bangga menjadi hidup, kasar, kuat, dan licik. Tapi Chicago adalah kota yang tidak memiliki julukan pendek. Lagu Fred Fishers 1922 (yang paling dikenal dalam penampilan Frank Sinatras) menyebutnya sebagai Kota Toddlin. Dimana di State Street, jalan yang bagus itu. Mereka melakukan hal-hal yang tidak mereka lakukan di Broadway. Ini juga direferensikan oleh standar blues yang tak terhitung jumlahnya seperti Sweet Home Chicago. Chicago juga dikenal sebagai The Second City. Yang mengacu pada pembangunan kembali setelah kebakaran, kota saat ini benar-benar merupakan kota Chicago kedua, setelah kota yang hampir terbakar pada tahun 1871. Moniker tersebut telah terjebak saat Chicago telah lama memegang posisi negara-negara kota terbesar kedua. Dan banyak yang tahu julukan dari teater komedi Chicagos yang hebat di Kota Kedua yang terletak di Kota Tua yang telah memasok bakat yang tak terhitung jumlahnya ke televisi Saturday Night Live dan banyak komedi situasi. Selama era Larangan, dunia kriminal Chicagos, dihiasi oleh nama-nama seperti Al Capone, Baby Face Nelson, dan kemudian Sam Giancana, praktis mengelola kota ini. Dunia politik lokal kurang memiliki legitimasi di kota di mana jumlah pemilih paling tinggi di antara orang mati dan hewan peliharaan mereka, dan kapten polisi menyebarkan berita untuk memilih lebih awal, sering memilih. Bahkan Sandburg mengakui arus wakil yang tak kenal ampun yang berada di bawah permukaan kota yang optimis. Chicago juga dikenal sebagai The Windy City. Berjalan di sekitar kota, Anda mungkin menduga bahwa nama panggilan ini berasal dari angin di Danau Michigan yang kadang-kadang bisa membuat beberapa hari berangin. Sejujurnya, Chicago jauh dari berangin. Sebenarnya, menurut Pusat Data Climatic Nasional Amerika Serikat, Chicago tidak menempati peringkat teratas dalam daftar kota berangin. Asal usul Windy City berasal dari politik beberapa mengatakan bahwa hal itu mungkin telah diciptakan oleh saingannya seperti New York City sebagai referensi penghinaan pada saat kedua kota tersebut berjuang untuk Pameran Dunia 1893, yang dianugerahi Chicago ultimatley. Yang lain mengatakan bahwa istilah tersebut berasal dari iklim politik kota yang kuat. Akhirnya, kota ini juga dikenal sebagai The City That Works yang dipromosikan oleh Walikota lama Richard M. Daley, yang mengacu pada tradisi perburuhan Chicagos dan kesediaannya untuk menangani proyek-proyek sipil besar. Daley dan ayahnya, mantan Walikota Richard J. Daley, terus-menerus memilih masuk ke kantor untuk banyak persyaratan dan memerintah kota ini selama beberapa dekade. Seperti kota manufaktur lain seperti Cleveland. Detroit. Dan Buffalo mengalami kemunduran, Chicago berkembang pesat, berubah dari kota budaya dan manufaktur menjadi kota budaya dan keuangan. Chicago sekarang menjadi tempat pertukaran masa depan terbesar di dunia (Chicago Mercantile Exchange). Dengan Richard M. Daley memutuskan untuk tidak mencalonkan diri lagi sebagai walikota karena istrinya yang sakit, dan mantan Kepala Staf Gedung Putih Rahm Emanuel mengundurkan diri dari jabatan tersebut untuk menjadi walikota Chicago, kota tersebut memilih pemerintahan Daley-less pertamanya dengan Emanuel sejak Walikota Richard M. Daley menjabat dari April 1989 sampai Mei 2011. Sementara kota ini memiliki banyak atraksi menarik di daerah pusat kota yang sangat luas, banyak warga Chicago tinggal dan bermain di luar distrik pusat juga. Wisatawan juga pergi ke lingkungan yang ramai di kota untuk menyerap kehidupan malam lokal, mencicipi berbagai macam makanan yang fantastis, dan melihat pemandangan lainnya yang merupakan bagian dari Chicago. Berkat sistem angkutan umum besar-besaran di kota ini, yang mencakup lebih dari 140 stasiun kereta bawah tanah Stasiun Kereta Bawah Tanah Chicago Transit Authority, jaringan kereta api Metra Citysuburban yang terpisah, dan rute bus melintasi kota setiap beberapa blok, semua bagian kota Chicago dapat diakses. Perubahan iklim Pemandangan musim dingin di Chicago. Sejauh cuaca Chicagos berjalan, mari kita katakan saja bahwa Chicago adalah kota yang sangat besar sehingga beberapa hal cenderung diterbangkan dari porportion lebih banyak daripada di kota lain, termasuk cuaca. Musim dingin di Chicago memang dingin, tapi hal yang sama bisa dikatakan untuk sebagian besar Amerika Serikat dari Maine sampai Utah, kecuali di selatan yang ekstrem. Faktanya, Chicago kurang mendapat curah hujan (salju dan hujan) di musim dingin daripada kota-kota Pantai Timur seperti New York City atau Boston. Dan meskipun Chicago dingin di musim dingin, tetangga Midwestern di Minneapolis pada umumnya lebih dingin di musim dingin. Musim panas Chicagos tidak jauh lebih panas dari Pantai Timur, dan pastinya tidak sepanas A. A. Amerika Selatan. Ada saat yang tepat untuk bisa berada di musim di Chicago, dan musim panas ini menawarkan serangkaian parade, festival, dan acara. Bulan-bulan musim dingin dari bulan Desember sampai Maret akan melihat suhu dingin dengan faktor dingin angin dingin. Salju biasanya terbatas pada segelintir badai berat per musim, dengan sedikit debu di antaranya dan sedikit lebih sepanjang danau di daerah setempat, itulah efek danau salju. Chicago adalah kota yang terbiasa dengan musim dingin, sehingga layanan kota dan transportasi umum sangat tidak mungkin ditutup. Fakta yang sedikit diketahui: ada hari yang lebih banyak dengan suhu maksimum 80-84F (27-29C) daripada rentang lima derajat lainnya, ini termasuk bulan-bulan musim dingin. Hari musim panas Chicagos bisa terasa sepanas Honolulu atau lembab dan lengket seperti Miami. Selama musim panas yang acak, suhu pada bulan Juli atau Agustus bisa melampaui rata-rata normal 83F dan menjadi panas dan lembab dengan titik dewpoint yang serupa dengan yang ditemukan di dekat Teluk Meksiko. Namun, gelombang panas ini tidak untuk seluruh durasi musim panas, tapi biasanya dalam beberapa hari. Malam musim panas biasanya masuk akal dan Anda akan mendapatkan beberapa tingkat istirahat di sepanjang danau di lingkungan setempat lagi, yang lebih dingin di danau. Chicago memang memiliki cuaca bagus selama beberapa bulan. Juni dan September sangat menyenangkan April dan Mei cukup baik, meski badai petir bisa terjadi secara tiba-tiba. Juli dan Agustus baik-baik saja asalkan hasnt gelombang panas melanda seluruh negeri. Meskipun mungkin ada sedikit kedinginan di udara, Oktober jarang memanggil lebih dari sekedar mantel ringan dan beberapa hari bahkan tidak perlu dilakukan. Dan dalam beberapa tahun, suhu musim panas yang berkepanjangan seperti musim panas tumpang tindih bulan November. Sastra mengedit sastra Chicago menemukan akarnya dalam tradisi kota jernih, jurnalisme langsung, memberi pinjaman pada tradisi realisme sosial yang kuat. Akibatnya, fiksi Chicago yang paling menonjol berfokus pada kota itu sendiri, dengan kritik sosial yang membuat kegembiraan diawasi. Berikut adalah beberapa pilihan karya Chicagos yang paling terkenal tentang dirinya sendiri: Karen Abbotts Sin in the Second City adalah penjual terbaik baru-baru ini tentang wakil distrik Chicagos, Levee, dan beberapa kepribadian yang terlibat: gangster, politisi korup, dan dua saudara perempuan yang berlari Rumah bordil paling elok di kota Nelson Algrens Chicago: Kota di Make adalah puisi prosa tentang gang, jalur El, neon dan tempat menyelam, keindahan dan kekejaman Chicago. Yang terbaik disimpan untuk setelah perjalanan, ketika setidaknya dua puluh baris akan Anda terpesona dalam pengakuan. Perjuangan Saul Bellows of Augie March menggambarkan kehidupan melayang panjang dari seorang Chicagoan Yahudi dan kenalannya yang beragam eksentrik sepanjang awal abad 20: tumbuh di lingkungan Taman Humboldt di Polandia. Cavorting dengan ahli waris di Gold Coast. Belajar di University of Chicago, melarikan diri dari para preman serikat di Loop. Dan mengambil jalan memutar yang aneh untuk bergaul dengan Trotsky di Meksiko sementara burung iguana raksasa berburu dengan menunggang kuda. Buku ini mengklaim sah sebagai epik Chicago (untuk tujuan praktis, itu berarti Anda tidak akan menyelesaikannya di pesawat). Gwendolyn Brooks A Street di Bronzeville adalah kumpulan puisi yang meluncurkan karir penyair Chicago yang terkenal, berfokus pada aspirasi, kekecewaan, dan kehidupan sehari-hari mereka yang tinggal di Bronzeville tahun 1940an. Ini sudah lama dicetak, jadi Anda mungkin perlu membaca puisi ini dalam koleksi yang lebih luas, seperti Puisi Selected-nya. Sandra Cisneros Rumah di Mango Street adalah novel zaman Meksiko-Amerika yang baru, berurusan dengan seorang gadis Latina muda, Esperanza Cordero, tumbuh di ghetto Chicago Chicano. Theodore Dreisers Suster Carrie adalah batu penjuru pergantian abad ke-20 Chicago Literary Renaissance, sebuah kisah seorang gadis negara di kota besar yang tidak bermoral, dijual kembali-ke-kekayaan dan kembali lagi. Stuart Dybeks The Coast of Chicago adalah kumpulan dari empat belas cerita pendek yang menakjubkan tentang tumbuh di Chicago (sebagian besar di Pilsen dan Little Village) dengan gaya yang memadukan alam berpasir dengan mimpi itu. John Guzlowskis Petir dan Abu mengisahkan para penulis pengalaman tumbuh di lingkungan imigran dan DP di sekitar Taman Humboldt di Chicago, berbicara tentang pegawai toko peralatan militer Yahudi dengan tato Auschwitz di pergelangan tangan mereka, perwira kavaleri Polandia yang masih berkabung atas kuda-kuda mereka yang telah meninggal, dan wanita yang Berjalan dari Siberia ke Iran untuk melarikan diri dari Rusia. Erik Larsons Devil di White City adalah sejarah pop terlaris tentang Pameran Kolombia tahun 1893 tentang pembunuh berantai yang mengintai kota pada saat bersamaan. Untuk sejarah Eksposisi yang lurus dan juga surga pekerja di Pullman, cobalah James Perfect City yang sempurna: Chicagos Utopia tahun 1893. Audrey Niffeneggers The Time-Travelers Wife adalah kisah cinta baru-baru ini yang diadakan di klub malam Chicago, museum, dan perpustakaan. Mike Roykos Boss adalah biografi definitif Walikota Richard J. Daley dan politik di Chicago, yang ditulis oleh kolumnis Tribune akhir yang dicintai. Firaun Amerika (Cohen dan Taylor) adalah praktik ilmiah yang baik dari subjek yang sama. Carl Sandburgs Chicago Poems tidak diragukan lagi merupakan kumpulan puisi paling terkenal tentang Chicago oleh kelompoknya sendiri dari kelas pekerja. Upton Sinclairs Jungle berada di antara kanon dari literatur Chicago dan sejarah perburuhan AS karena penggambaran gaya muckraking tentang kesusahan yang dialami oleh imigran Lithuania yang bekerja di Union Stockyards di Chicagos Southwest Side. Richard Wrights Native Son adalah keluarga Chicago klasik yang tinggal di Bronzeville dan Hyde Park tentang seorang anak laki-laki muda yang malang dan hitam yang dengan putus asa diliputi oleh rasisme yang bercokol di masyarakat Amerika pada saat itu. Film edit Union Station. Stasiun kereta api ini digunakan dalam sebuah adegan di film The Untouchables. Berpegang pada kereta bayi Anda Chicago adalah industri film ketiga yang paling produktif di Amerika setelah Los Angeles dan New York, dan ada banyak nilai pada sejumlah film dan serial televisi yang direkam di sini. Berikut adalah daftar yang sangat kecil dari beberapa film Chicago-sentris yang diproduksi di kota. Ini hanya beberapa: Ferris Buellers Day Off (John Hughes, 1986). Mimpi pinggiran utara: untuk menjadi muda, pintar, dan longgar selama sehari di Chicago. Ferris dan teman-teman bermain-main di distrik teater Loop yang lama, bermain game di Wrigley Field, dan menikmati rasa tak terkalahkan yang dimiliki Chicago dengan anak kesayangannya saat semuanya baik-baik saja. Petualangan di Penjagaan Anak (Chris Columbus, 1987). Sisi lain dari Ferris Bueller adalah bahaya yang menanti orang-orang pinggiran kota di Loop di malam hari, termasuk perjalanan yang tak terlupakan ke Michigan Avenue yang lebih rendah dan dekat dengan cakrawala Chicago. The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980). Mungkin film favorit Chicagos tentang dirinya sendiri: musik blues, pria kulit putih berpakaian hitam, misi dari Tuhan, hati nurani yang setiap pendengar Chicago membawa tanpa pertanyaan, dan hampir pasti merupakan mobil pengejaran terbesar yang pernah difilmkan. The Untouchables (Brian De Palma, 1987). Dengan skenario jangkung persegi oleh David Mamet, ini adalah menceritakan kembali fasad Chicagos tentang kebaikan vs kejahatan: Eliot Ness dan pencabutan legendaris Al Capone. Tidak ada film (kecuali mungkin The Blues Brothers) telah memanfaatkan lebih baik dari begitu banyak lokasi Chicago, terutama Union Station (kereta bayi), Chicago Cultural Center (pertarungan atap), dan ngarai LaSalle Street. High Fidelity (Stephen Frears, 2000). John Cusack meninjau hubungan yang gagal dari sekolah tinggi di Lane Tech sampai perguruan tinggi di Lincoln Park dan merenungkannya dalam perjalanan melalui Uptown, River North, di seluruh kota di CTA, toko rekamannya di lingkungan sapu batu Wicker Park, dan kembali Akhirnya apartemennya dibanjiri apartemennya di Rogers Park. Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005) dan sekuelnya The Dark Knight (2008). Membuat penggunaan L yang spektakuler dari L, Gedung Dewan Bangunan Chicago, gedung pencakar langit Chicago, Loop di malam hari, dan Lower Wacker Drive, seri aksi yang dihidupkan kembali akhirnya menetapkan kekuatan yang mengesankan dan korupsi yang tak tergoyahkan dari Gotham City di tempatnya, di Chicago. Beberapa lainnya termasuk Harrison Ford vs. satu orang bersenjata di The Fugitive. CTA vs cinta sejati saat Anda sedang tidur. Autobots vs Decepticons di Transformers 3. Yang terbesar Patrick Swayze hillbilly ninja vs film massa Italia sepanjang masa, Next of Kin. Dan film John Candy yang sederhana Hanya The Lonely yang menangkap mentalitas Irlandia selatan, cinta dan kenyamanan bar selam lingkungan, serta kelas pekerja Chicago, dan kekuatan politik, bertema dengan garis berulang Terkadang bagus untuk menjadi polisi. . Merokok suntikan Merokok dilarang oleh undang-undang negara bagian di semua restoran, bar, klub malam, tempat kerja, dan bangunan umum. Juga dilarang dalam jarak lima belas kaki dari pintu masuk, jendela, atau pintu keluar ke tempat umum, dan di stasiun kereta CTA. Denda untuk pelanggaran larangan tersebut bisa berkisar antara 100 sampai 250. Informasi wisatawan edit Chicagos visitor information center menawarkan peta, brosur dan informasi lainnya. Pusat Informasi Pengunjung Pusat Budaya Chicago. 77 E Randolph St. 1 312 744-8000. 1. M-Sa 10: 00-5: 00, Su 11: 00-4: 00 (ditutup 1 Jan, 4th Th Nov (Thanksgiving), 25 Des). Sebuah tempat yang berlokasi di tempat untuk mengambil sejumlah bahan yang berguna dan gratis. Pusat Kebudayaan sendiri membuat pemberhentian pertama yang baik di tur Anda, dengan pameran seni dan sejarah yang gratis dan berharga sepanjang tahun. 160edit Macys di Pusat Informasi Pengunjung State Street. 111 State St. 1 877 244-2246. 2. Sama seperti Macys store hours (ditutup 1 Jan, 4th Th Nov (Thanksgiving), 25 Dec). 160edit Masuk edit Dengan pesawat edit Chicago (IATA CHI untuk semua bandara) dilayani oleh dua bandara utama: Bandara Internasional OHare dan Bandara Midway. Ada banyak taksi ke dan dari pusat kota, tapi harganya cukup mahal, terutama pada jam sibuk. Harapkan ke atas dari 40 untuk OHare dan 30 untuk Midway. Kereta CTA memberikan layanan langsung ke kedua bandara yang lebih besar untuk 2,25 dari manapun di kota lebih cepat daripada taksi pada jam sibuk dan jauh lebih murah. Banyak hotel besar menawarkan van antar jemput gratis ke salah satu atau kedua bandara, atau dapat mengaturnya untuk biaya (15-25) dengan pemberitahuan terlebih dahulu. OHare edit Bandara Internasional OHare (IATA ORD) terletak 17 mil (27km) barat laut pusat kota dan melayani banyak operator internasional dan domestik. United Airlines memiliki kehadiran terbesar di sini (sekitar 50) diikuti oleh American Airlines dengan sekitar 40, maskapai transatlantik termasuk British Airways, Lufthansa, Iberia, dan KLM. Sebagian besar penerbangan untuk menghubungkan kota-kota kecil di Midwest berjalan melalui OHare. Salah satu bandara terbesar di dunia, dan itu selalu terkenal karena penundaan dan pembatalan. Sayangnya, terlalu jauh ke barat laut bagi sebagian besar pelancong yang terjebak semalam untuk menuju ke kota. Akibatnya, ada banyak hotel di daerah OHare. Lihat artikel OHare untuk daftar. Jalur Biru CTA berjalan di antara Loop dan OHare setiap 15 menit, 24 jam sehari dan 7 hari seminggu. Banyak pekerjaan perbaikan telah selesai di jalur Biru dan perjalanan dari OHare ke Loop sekarang memakan waktu 35-50 menit. Stasiun OHare adalah akhir dari jalur dan pada dasarnya berada di ruang bawah tanah bandara OHare. Berjalan dari platform ke loket tiket harus memakan waktu 5-10 menit untuk Terminal 2 atau 3, sedikit lebih banyak untuk Terminal 1, dan lebih lama lagi untuk Terminal Internasional 5 (Perlu membawa penggerak orang bebas untuk transfer). Tarif untuk naik kereta di OHare adalah 5 - berlawanan dengan 2,25 di tempat lain - namun masih murah dibandingkan dengan taksi dan bahkan bisa lebih cepat saat lalu lintas buruk. Midway edit Midway International Airport (IATA MDW) berjarak 10 mil (16km) ke barat daya pusat kota. Midway terutama melayani maskapai dengan biaya rendah, kecuali beberapa penerbangan Delta, dan merupakan bandara terbesar untuk Southwest Airlines. Jika pilihannya untuk perjalanan Anda, Midway lebih kompak, kurang ramai, memiliki sedikit penundaan, dan biasanya lebih murah. Dan, tentu saja, secara signifikan lebih dekat ke pusat kota. Maskapai yang melayani Chicago-Midway (MDW): Kereta CTA Orange Line berjalan di antara Loop dan Midway sekitar 25 menit. Ada terowongan tertutup yang menghubungkan stasiun dan bandara namun dibutuhkan sekitar 10-15 menit untuk berjalan kaki dari satu ke yang lain. Ada sejumlah hotel berkerumun di sekitar Midway, juga melihat artikel Southwest Side untuk listing. Yang lain mengedit Bandara Eksekutif Chicago (IATA. PWK) terletak sembilan mil sebelah utara OHare, melayani sektor penerbangan umum dan bisnis, dan merupakan bandara tersibuk ketiga di Illinois. Sekitar tiga ratus pesawat terbang berbasis di lapangan dan sekitar 200.000 pesawat lepas landas dan pendaratan terjadi setiap tahunnya. Taksi udara dan perusahaan charter udara seperti Piagam Jetset. Monarch Air Group. Jins Mercury menerbangkan berbagai pesawat charter pribadi dan jet, mulai dari penerbangan mewah Gulfstream hingga kembar piston ekonomis untuk kelompok kecil dan individu. Bandara Internasional Mitchell Mitchell 3 (IATA MKE) dilayani oleh 7 kereta Amtrak per hari (6 pada hari Minggu), dan Layanan Hiawatha memiliki peringkat 95 saat ini. Perjalanan dari Chicago Union Station ke Mitchell Airport Station sekitar satu jam 15 menit. Ada juga bus dari Bandara Mitchell ke Bandara Chicago OHare. Dengan bis edit Burlington Trailways. 630 W Harrison St. 4. 24 jam. Beberapa bus sehari menuju ke Davenport, Iowa City, Des Monies dan Omaha dengan harga bersaing. Koneksi ke arah Denver. 160Modifikasi Greyhound 630 W Harrison St. 1 312 408-5800. 5. 24 jam. Sangat sering melayani tujuan di seluruh Midwest dengan koneksi ke sebagian besar AS, Kanada dan Meksiko. The main terminal is near the southwestern corner of the Loop. There are secondary terminals at the 95thDan Ryan red line station and the Cumberland blue line station. 160edit Indian Trails. ( at the Greyhound Station ), 6. Frequent service to East Lansing, Grand Rapids with onward destinations availible. Daily service to Michigans Upper Peninsula connecting via Greyhound in Milwaukee. Wifi and power outlets onboard. 160edit megabus. 1-877-462-6342. 7. Express bus service tofrom Ann Arbor. Atlanta. Chattanooga. Cincinnati. Cleveland. Columbia. Columbus. Dallas. Des Moines. Detroit. East Lansing. Grand Rapids. Indianapolis. Iowa City. Kansas City. Little Rock. Louisville. Madison. Memphis. Milwaukee. Minneapolis. Nashville. New York Omaha. State College. St. Louis. St Paul and Toledo. Double Deck Coaches with WiFi, Restrooms, Power Outlets and seats starting at 1. 160edit Peoria Charter Coach Company. OHare Airport. 1 800-448-0572. 8. Offers daily service between several collegesuniversities and cities around the Illinois area. Common destinations are Peoria, Normal, Champaign, Chicago. 160edit Wisconsin Coach. OHare Airport. 1 877-324-7767. 9. Offers 14 buses daily, departing every hour, from OHare to Southeastern Wisconsin and Milwaukee, including Milwaukee Airport. ORD: 26. 160edit By train edit Three-level streets in the Loop Chicago is historically the rail hub of the entire United States. Today, Amtrak . 1 800 872-7245, uses the magisterial Union Station (Canal St and Jackson Blvd) as the hub of its Midwestern routes, making Chicago one of the most convenient U. S. cities to visit by train, serving the majority of the passenger rail companys long-distance routes, with options from virtually every major U. S. city. With its massive main hall, venerable history, and cinematic steps, Union Station is worth a visit even if youre not coming in by train. Most (but not all) Metra suburban trains run from Union Station and nearby OgilvieNorthwestern Station (Canal St and Madison St), which are west of the Loop. Some southern lines run from stations on the east side of the Loop. The suburban trains run as far as Kenosha. Aurora. and Joliet. while the South Shore line runs through Indiana as far as South Bend. Several CTA buses converge upon the two stations, and the Loop CTA trains are within walking distance. By car edit Chicagoans refer to some expressways by their names, not the numbers used to identify them on the signs youll see posted on the U. S. interstate highway system. So youll have to commit both name and number to memory. I-55 (the Stevenson Expressway ) will take you from the southwest city and the southwest suburbs to downtown Chicago. I-9094 (called The Dan Ryan south of downtown) comes in from Indiana to the east (via the Chicago Skyway - I-90 and Bishop Ford Freeway - I-94 ) and from central Illinois (via I-57 ). I-90 (called The Kennedy north of downtown) comes in from the northwest city and northwest suburbs. I-94 (called the Edens Expressway ) comes in from the North Side and the northern suburbs to downtown. I-80 runs south of the city in an east-west direction, linking with several north-south expressways. The Illinois tollway, which in addition to I-90 . consists of I-88 which serves the west suburbs, I-355 (called The Vets or The Veterans Memorial Tollway ) which connects Joliet with Schaumburg, and I-294 - The Tri-State which runs from the South Side to the far Northwest Side and passes next to OHare Airport. Be prepared for toll booths off to the right hand side of the tollway which will cost about 1.50 per booth, a much lower cost than you will find on tolls in New York City or the Los Angeles area. When traveling the tollway, always have a few dollars in cash and coins to pay at the booths, which are staffed on mainline toll plazas. If arriving downtown from the south on I-94 or I-90 . or from the north on I-9094 . great views can be seen as you approach the downtown skyline. If arriving on I-55 from the southwest, or on I-290 (the Eisenhower Expressway . formerly and sometimes still called The Congress Expressway ) from the west, the skyline is also visible. If arriving from north or south on Lake Shore Drive ( U. S. Highway 41 ) a scenic introduction will be provided, day or night, on what has to be the most beautiful thoroughfare in the world. Get around edit CTA trains route map Navigating Chicago is easy. Block numbers are consistent across the whole city. Standard blocks, of 100 addresses each, are roughly 18th of a mile long. (Hence, a mile is equivalent to a street number difference of 800.) Each street is assigned a number based on its distance from the zero point of the address system, the intersection of State Street and Madison Street. A street with a W (west) or E (east) number runs north-south (indicating how many blocks East or West of State St. it falls), while a street with a N (north) or S (south) number runs east-west (indicating how many blocks North or South of Madison St. it falls). A streets number is usually written on street signs at intersections, below the street name. Major thoroughfares are at each mile (multiples of 800) and secondary arteries at the half-mile marks. Thus, Western Ave at 2400 W (3 miles west of State Street) is a north-south major thoroughfare, while Montrose Ave at 4400 N is an east-west secondary artery. In general, avenues run north-south and streets run east-west, but there are numerous exceptions. (e. g. 48th Street may then be followed by 48th Place). In conversation, however, Chicagoans rarely distinguish between streets, avenues, boulevards, etc. Several streets follow diagonal or meandering paths through the city such as Clark St, Broadway, Milwaukee Ave, Archer Ave, Vincennes Ave, and South Chicago Ave to name a few. Interestingly, many of the angled streets in Chicago (including Archer Ave. Clark Street and Lincoln Ave.) were originally Native American trails established long before Chicago was a city. On foot edit Downtown Chicago is very walkable, with wide sidewalks and minimal congestion. Walkers looking to avoid cold, heat, rain and snow find the Chicago Pedway System to be helpful. It is a system of underground, ground-level, and above-ground passages that connect downtown buildings. By public transit edit The best way to see Chicago is by public transit. It is cheap (basically), efficient (at times), and safe (for the most part). The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) oversees the various public transit agencies in the Chicagoland area. You can plan trips online with the RTA trip planner or get assistance by calling 836-7000 in any local area code between 5am and 1am. The RTA also has an official partnership with Google Maps, which can provide routes with public transit. CTA edit The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates trains and buses in the city of Chicago and some of the suburbs. Put simply, the CTA is Chicago. It is a marvel and a beast, convenient and irreplaceable. Even if you have the option of driving while youre in town, no experience of Chicago is complete without a trip on the CTA. Fares are paid with a card system called Ventra . Passes can be bought and re-filled at kiosks in the lobby of every CTA station, or online. The kiosks accept cash and credit cards. You have the option of buying a pass, good for unlimited rides for a set number of days, or simply putting cash on the card. A Ventra card costs 5, but you can get that amount back as credit on your card if you register the card online. With an online account, you can add more credit to your card or buy additional unlimited ride passes as needed. Note that the system will use an unlimited rides pass before it uses any transit credit thats already on the card. Unlike many cities rail system that are set up on zone fares, Chicagos L network, regardless of how many miles youre travelling, only cost 2.25. At many stations, you can transfer to another L line at no additional cost. If you have exited the turnstiles, entering another CTA station or boarding a CTA bus costs an additional 0.25 with your transit card, and transferring a third time is free provided it is still within two hours of when you started the trip. Locals refer to Chicagos public train system as the L. (Most lines run on el - evated tracks get it) All train lines radiate from the Loop to every corner of the city. The Loop name originally referred to a surface-level streetcar loop, which pre-dated the elevated tracks. A CTA bus - note the numberdestination and symbol for wheelchair accessibility CTA train lines are divided by colors: Red, Green, Brown, Blue, Purple, Yellow, Orange and Pink. All lines lead to the Loop except the Yellow Line, which is a shuttle between the suburb of Skokie and the northern border of Chicago. The Red and Blue lines run 247, making Chicago and New York City the two American cities that offer 24-hour rail service running throughout their city limits. Hours for the other lines vary somewhat by the day, but as a general rule run from about 4:30am-1am. Before you travel, find out the name of the train station closest to your destination, and the color of the train line on which it is located. Once youre on-board, youll find route maps in each train car, above the door. The same map is also available online. The name signs on platforms often have the stations location in the street grid, e. g. 5900 N, 1200 W for Thorndale. There should be an attendant on duty at every train station. They cannot provide change or deal with money, but they can help you figure out where you need to go and guide you through using the machines. A CTA bus stop: note the symbols for wheelchair accessibility and late-night hours. Buses run on nearly every major street throughout the entire city, and in many cases, every four blocks apart. Look for the blue and white bus stop sign, which should show the route that the bus will take. Once inside, watch the front of the bus, a red LED display will list the names of the streets as they pass by, making it easy to know that your stop is approaching if youre unfamiliar with the city. Rides of any length cost 2 with a transit card or Chicago Card or 2.25 in cash. Chicago has a large and comprehensive bus system, and buses typically run frequently. This allows Chicagoans to go to bus stops and wait for the bus without even looking at bus schedules, as buses usually run every few minutes apart. The major bus routes run every 7-15 minutes apart during the morning and afternoon hours. In the evening, these same routes run about every 15-20 minutes apart. The less traveled bus routes may run about 15-20 minutes apart during the day. There are many bus routes that run 24 hours a day these are called OWL routes and the bus stop sign usually has a picture of an owl to belabor that point. Overnight OWL service is approximately every 30 minutes. (See individual district articles for major bus routes through different parts of the city.) If you have a web-enabled mobile device, the CTA runs a little godsend called the CTA Bus Tracker . which uses GPS to provide reliable, real-time tracking information for almost all bus routes. CTA buses accept transit cards but do not sell them. They also accept cash but do not provide change. Like any bus system, you pay exact fare or forfeit your change. In compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, all CTA buses and some train stations are accessible to wheelchairs. Wheelchair-accessible L stations are indicated by the international wheelchair symbol and have elevators or are at ground level. If you are trying to get to a place with a non-accessible station, there will be alternate routes by bus so contact the CTA for more information. Crime on the CTA is low, but as with any major urban area, travellers should be aware of their surroundings, especially when travelling in the wee hours of the night. Some L cars have a button and speaker for emergency communication with the driver, located in the center aisle of the car on the wall next to the door. This is for emergencies only: do not press this just to ask questions, as the driver is required to halt the train until the situation has been confirmed as resolved, and your fellow passengers will not be amused. Metra and South Shore edit Metra train on the way to the Loop Metra system map Metra 1 312 322-6777, runs commuter trains for the suburbs, providing service within Illinois, to Kenosha. Wisconsin. out west, and to the South Shore railroad, which provides service to South Bend. Indiana. Metra trains are fast, clean, and punctual, but unpleasantly crowded during rush hour. Generally, every car or every other car on the train has a bathroom. Metras Electric Line provides service to the convention center (McCormick Place), Hyde Park (Museum of Science and Industry, University of Chicago), and the Far Southeast Side s Pullman Historic District and Rainbow Beach. The Electric Line is fast . taking at most 15 minutes to reach Hyde Park from the Loop. Unfortunately, service outside of rush hours is infrequent (about oncehour), so be sure to check the schedules while planning your trip. Although there are plans to change this in the future, none of the commuter trains currently accept CTA transit cards as payment. The fare to McCormick Place and Hyde Park, however, is only 2. Buy your tickets before boarding the train at a window or one of the automated vending machines. You can buy a ticket on the train, but that comes with an extra 3ticket surcharge if the station youre leaving from had an open ticket window or an operational ticket machine. Ten-ride, weekly, and monthly passes are available. If you have a group of four or more people, it may be cheaper to purchase a ten-ride card and have all of your fares punched from that one card. If using Metra on Saturday andor Sunday, you can purchase an unlimited ride weekend pass for just 7. Keep in mind that Metra only accepts cash at this time. Pace edit Pace runs buses in the suburbs, although some routes do cross into the city, particularly in Rogers Park at the Howard (RedPurpleYellow Line) CTA station and the Far Northwest Side at the Jefferson Park (Blue Line) CTA station. Pace provides paratransit services should you need to go somewhere inconvenient via CTA. By car edit Avoid driving in downtown Chicago if at all possible. Traffic is heavy and garages in the Loop can cost as much as 35 per day. Free websites like ParkWhiz and ParkingPanda let you book off-street parking in advance after searching by location and price, which is often discounted. Other sites like ChiParking provide tips about where to park in different parts of Chicago. Although downtown streets are laid out on the grid, some streets have multiple levels which can confuse even the most hardened city driver. Even outside of the city center, street parking may not be readily available. If you do find a spot, check street signs to make sure that a) no residential permit is required to park, and b) parking is not disallowed during certain hours for street cleaning, rush hour or something along those lines. Parking restrictions are swiftly enforced in the form of tickets and towing be especially wary during snowy weather. On-street parking is handled by one-per-block kiosks, which will issue a slip for you to put in your front window. The kiosks will accept cash in the form of quarters ONLY, or credit cards. If the kiosk fails for any reason (such as the printer running out of paper), there should be a phone number to call to report it and ensure you dont receive a ticket. Be advised: talking on a handheld cell phone while driving is illegal . and the police will write you a ticket. If you need to take or make a call, use a hands-free headset or better yet, pull over. Drivers on the city expressways can be very aggressive. For those used to driving on expressways in the Northeast US or Southern California, this may simply be a reminder of home. For everyone else, though, it may be intimidating. Rental cars are available at both airports (OHare and Midway) as well as from numerous rental offices in the Loop as well as other locations scattered throughout various neighborhoods and in the suburbs. OHare has the most and largest rental car offices, with many agencies operating 24 hours. OHare hasnt built any sort of consolidated rental car facility, so youll need to proceed out the door from baggage claim and find the shuttle bus belonging to the rental company youre renting with and ride it to their office a few minutes away. (Check rates and book a reservation before boarding a bus.) Some companies are closer than others--the better companies are located just up the main airport access road, while the lower-end discount agencies might be several miles away around the other side of the airport. When returning, be sure to allow plenty of time to find the rental lot, return the car, and ride the bus back to the terminal. Midway now has a consolidated rental facility hosting the rental counters and parking areas for all major companies. A dedicated rental facility bus for all companies picks up from the lower level of the main terminal building once you arrive, find the counter for the company youre renting with. By taxi edit Your Name Here As in most cities, naming rights are all the rage. While official city tourism guides rush to comply, using the new names will earn an eye roll or an oblivious look from most Chicagoans (and cab drivers). A few of the worst offenders: Sears Tower 36 years after it was built, the Western Hemispheres tallest building was renamed the Willis Tower. For most Chicagoans, however, it is still and will always be the Sears Tower. Comiskey Park Winning the citys first World Series in nearly a century helped earn some acceptance for the US Cellular Field moniker (nicknamed the Cell), but its still regarded as profanity by the old-timers in Bridgeport. where the first Comiskey Park was built in 1910. Hollywood Beach The favorite beach of Chicagos gay and lesbian community was renamed Kathy Osterman Beach for one of the mayors Edgewater - based political friends who died of cancer. But more than a decade later only city signage knows it by that name everyone else still calls it by its original name, Hollywood Beach. Chicago has some of the least expensive taxi fares in the US for a major city. Taxis can be hailed from the street throughout the entire city, and are most plentiful in the downtown and North Side areas. Rates are regulated by the city fares are standard and the initial charge (flag pull) is 2.25 for the first 19 mile, then 0.20 for each additional 19 mile or 0.20 for each elapsed 36 seconds. There is a 1.00 fuel surcharge added to the initial charge. There is also a flat 1.00 charge for the second passenger, and then a 0.50 charge for each additional passenger after that (for example, if four people take a taxi together, there will be 2.00 in additional flat fees). Rides from OHare and Midway to outer suburbs cost an additional 50 over the metered fee. Give the driver the nearest major intersection to which you are heading (if you know it) and then the specific address. There is no additional charge for baggage or credit card use, although some drivers discourage credit card payments if the distance travelled is short. If you are outside of Downtown, North Side, Near West, or Near South neighborhoods, it may be less easy to find cabs from the street and easier just to call one. Taxis typically take 10-15 min from the time you call to arrive. The principal companies are: The above applies only to Chicago taxis. Suburban taxi cabs have their own fares and rates, depending on the laws and regulations of the town in which they are based. By shuttle edit Shuttlewizard. To From OHare Airport. 1 310-626-0067. 12. Offers airport transportation rides with shuttles, private sedans, SUVs, and limos. 160edit By bicycle edit Chicago has bike paths along the north shores of Lake Michigan, making northsouth travel convenient near the lake as long as the weather is favorable. Riding off the bike paths is very inadvisable as Illinoisans drive very recklessly and without regard, and will rear end a cyclist and keep right on going. Do not ride on either the street or sidewalk in the city. However, you can legally and safely ride in some of the alleys as Chicago has a lot of them. The mid and inner city, especially including the west and south sides, also has many high crime areas where cyclists get shot and murdered while riding through and then their bikes stolen out from under them, even in broad daylight. If you really want to take bicycle trips and be safe, it is wise to head to the western suburbs. The Illinois Prairie Path is a bicycle trail that runs through DuPage and Kane Counties where it connects with the Fox River Trail, both of which make for some very scenic bicycle riding. Most other areas of DuPage and Kane County are crisscrossed with bicycle trails. There is also the Salt Creek Trail that starts around west suburban Brookfield and goes west to around Interstate 294. By water taxi edit In the summer, water taxis are sometimes more convenient than the CTA, if you are traveling around the fringes of downtown. They are also a relatively cheap way to take in some offshore views. Two private companies operate water taxi services around the Loop. Chicago Water Taxi ( Wendella Boats ) 13 1 312 337-1446, uses yellow boats and has three stops (Michigan Ave, LaSalleClark, Madison St), plus Chinatown on weekends (2, 4 Chinatownall day pass). Taxis run roughly M-F 6:30AM-6:30PM, Sa-Su 10:30AM-6:30PM. Shoreline Sightseeing 14 1 312 222-9328, has blue and white boats. It is more expensive (5-7), but it serves seven destinations including some on Lake Michigan (Union StationSears Tower, Wells amp Wacker, Michigan Ave Bridge, Navy Pier-Ogden Slip, Navy Pier-Dock St, Buckingham Fountain, and Museum Campus). Shoreline taxis run 10AM-6PM every twenty minutes and 6PM-9PM every half hour Memorial DayLabor Day, with occasional and less frequent service in the spring and fall. See edit add listing Itineraries edit Along the Magnificent Mile one day and night in Chicago, with skyscrapers, shopping, food, parks, and amazing views of the city from high and low. Loop Art Tour a 2 to 4 hour walking tour of downtown Chicagos magnificent collection of modern sculptures. Museums edit Penguin triumphant, Lincoln Park Zoo Chicagos set of museums and cultural institutions are among the best in the world. Three of them are located within a short walk of each other in the Near South. on what is known as the Museum Campus . in a beautiful spot along the lake: the Adler Planetarium . with all sorts of cool hands-on space exhibits and astronomy shows the Field Museum of Natural History . which features SUE . the giant Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, and a plethora of Egyptian treasures and the Shedd Aquarium . with dolphins, whales, sharks, and the best collection of marine life east of California. A short distance away, in Hyde Park. is the most fun of them all, the Museum of Science and Industry or, as generations of Chicago-area grammar school students know it, the best field trip ever. In the Loop. the Art Institute of Chicago has a handful of iconic household names among an unrivaled collection of Impressionism, modern and classical art, and tons of historical artifacts. And in Lincoln Park. a short trip from the Loop, the cheerful (and free) Lincoln Park Zoo welcomes visitors every day of the week, with plentiful highlights like the Regenstein Center for African Apes. Also, Chicago has some knockout less well-known museums scattered throughout the city like the International Museum of Surgical Science and the Loyola University Museum of Art in Gold Coast. Chicago History Museum in Lincoln Park. DuSable Museum of African American History in Washington Park. National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen. the Polish Museum of America in Wicker Park. the Museum of Photography in the Loop, and the Driehaus Museum in Near North. The University of Chicago, in Hyde Park. has several cool (and free) museums that are open to all visitors, showcasing a spectacular collection of antiquities and moderncontemporary art. Discount packages like the Chicago CityPASS 15 and the Go Chicago Card 16 can be purchased before you arrive in town. They cover admission to some museums and other tourist attractions, allowing you to cut to the front of lines, and may include discounts for restaurants and shopping. Also, programs such as Bank of Americas Museums to Go offer free admission at multiple Chicago museums for designated times which can save you a small fortune on admission fees. Ticket comparison sites like Trevii . 17 automatically calculates you the best ticket option for your trip itinerary with consideration of various discount options, such as CityPASS, Bank of Americas Museums to Go, age-dependent discounts, and etc. Architecture edit See the Chicago skyline guide to find out more about the citys skyscrapers. Prairie School Style Home, Oak Park From the sternly classical to the space-age, from the Gothic to the coolly modern, Chicago is a place with an embarrassment of architectural riches. Frank Lloyd Wright fans will swoon to see his earliest buildings in Chicago, where he began his professional career and established the Prairie School architectural style, with numerous homes in Hyde ParkKenwood. Oak Park. and Rogers Park over 100 buildings in the Chicago metropolitan area Frank Lloyd Wright learned his craft at the foot of the lieber meister . Louis Sullivan . whose ornate, awe-inspiring designs were once the jewels of the Loop. and whose few surviving buildings (Auditorium Theater, Carson Pirie Scott Building, one in the Ukrainian Village ) still stand apart. The 1871 Chicago Fire forced the city to rebuild. The ingenuity and ambition of Sullivan, his teacher William Le Baron Jenney (Manhattan Building), and contemporaries like Burnham amp Root (Monadnock, Rookery) and Holabird amp RocheRoot (Chicago Board of Trade) made Chicago the definitive city of their era. The worlds first skyscrapers were built in the Loop as those architects received ever more demanding commissions. It was here that steel-frame construction was invented, allowing buildings to rise above the limits of load-bearing walls. Later, Mies van der Rohe would adapt Sullivans ethos with landmark buildings in Bronzeville (Illinois Institute of Technology) and the Loop (Chicago Federal Center). Unfortunately, Chicagos world-class architectural heritage is almost evenly matched by the world-class recklessness with which the city has treated it, and the list is long of masterpieces that have been needlessly demolished for bland new structures. Today, Chicago boasts three out of Americas five tallest buildings: the Sears Tower (1st), the Trump Tower (2nd), and the Aon Center (5th) (although the local favorite is actually 6: the John Hancock Center ). For years, the Sears Tower was the tallest building in the world, but it has since lost the title. Various developers insist theyre bringing the title back with proposed skyscrapers. Until they do, Chicago will have to settle for having the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere with the Sears Tower, although the Hancock has a better view and is quite frankly better-looking. Chicago is particularly noted for its vast array of sacred architecture . as diverse theologically as it is artistically. There were more than two thousand churches in Chicago at the opening of the twenty-first century. Of particular note are the so-called Polish Cathedrals like St. Mary of the Angels in Bucktown and St. Hyacinth Basilica in Avondale. as well as several treasures in Ukrainian Village beautifully crafted buildings with old world flourishes recognized for their unusually large size and impressive scope. The National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini in Lincoln Park is the masterpiece of renowned architect Leonard Gliatto. Architectural tours cover the landmarks on foot and by popular river boat tours, or by just standing awestruck on a downtown bridge over the Chicago River see individual district articles for details. For a tour on the cheap, the short trip around the elevated Loop train circuit (BrownPurple Lines) may be worth every penny of the 2 fare. African-American history edit Chicagos African-American history begins with the citys African-American founder, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable . Born to a Haitian slave and a French pirate, he married a woman from the Potawatomi tribe, and built a house and trading post on the Chicago River on the spot of todays Pioneer Court (the square just south of the Tribune Tower in the Near North ). Du Sable lived on the Chicago River with his family from the 1770s to 1800, when he sold his house to John Kinzie, whose family and friends would later claim to have founded the city. Relative to other northern cities, African-Americans constituted a fairly large part of Chicagos early population because of Illinois more tolerant culture, which was inherited from fervent anti-slavery Mormon settlers. As a non-slave state generally lacking official segregation laws, Illinois was an attractive place to live for black freedmen and fugitive slaves. By the 1920s, Chicago had a thriving middle class African-American community based in the Bronzeville neighborhood, which at the time became known as The Black Metropolis, home to a cultural renaissance comparable to the Harlem Renaissance of New York. African-American literature of the time was represented by famous and local poetess Gwendolyn Brooks and the novelist Richard Wright . most famous for his Native Son . nearly all of which takes place in Chicagos Bronzeville and Hyde ParkKenwood. The Chicago school of African-American literature distinguished itself from the East Coast by its focus on the new realities of urban African-American life. Chicago became a major center of African-American jazz, and the home for the blues. Jazz great Louis Armstrong got his start there other famous black Chicagoans of the day included Bessie Coleman the worlds first licensed black pilot, the hugely influential African-American and womens civil rights activist Ida B. Wells . the great pitchermanagerexecutive of Negro League Baseball Andrew Rube Foster . dan masih banyak lagi. Helping to fuel Chicagos black renaissance was one of the single most influential parts of African-American history: the Great Migration . African-Americans from the South moved to the industrial cities of the North (particularly Chicago) due to the post-WWI shortage of immigrant industrial labor, and to escape the Jim Crow Laws and racial violence of the South. The massive wave of migrants increased Chicagos black population alone by more than 500,000. With it came southern food, Mississippi blues, and the challenges of establishing adequate housing for so many recent arrivals. Black Chicagos renaissance was halted momentarily, as was the entire world, by the Great Depression. In 1937 came the creation of the Chicago Housing Authority which sought to build affordable public housing for the city. However well-intentioned, the results were not good. The largest housing projects by far were the 1940 Ida B. Wells projects the Cabrini Green projects, which developed a reputation as the most violent housing projects in the nation and the massive 1962 Robert Taylor Homes, which stretched for several miles. In the beginning, the housing projects were indeed decent. As the years passed, unsavory people and less maintenance proved to be the downfall of the projects. The Black Metropolis was unable to cope with this development, and surrounding neighborhoods fell with it. Today, the city has torn down most of these structures and replaced them with lower rise, mixed used buildings which has shown to have more success than the previous dwellings. Further damaging to Chicagos black population was the phenomenon of white flight that took place across the nation. Unwilling to live beside black neighbors, many white Chicagoans fled desegregation to the suburbs. This trend was accelerated by the practice of blockbusting, where unsavory real estate agents would fan racist fears in order to buy homes on the cheap. As a result, most of Chicago neighborhoods never truly integrated at that time, and the social, educational, and economic networks that incoming non-whites had hoped to join disintegrated in the wake of fleeing white citizens. Today, integration has come a long way and integration exists in many Chicago neighborhoods including the communities on the entire eastern half of the North Side that border the lakefront, as well as communities such as Hyde ParkKenwood. Logan Square. Little Italy. Auburn Gresham, Beverly. and Hegewisch. However, there are still parts of the city that are predominantly composed of one race. In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. decided to come north and chose Chicago as his first destination. However, from the moment of his arrival on the Southwest Side. King was utterly confounded. The death threats that followed his march through Marquette Park were challenge enough, but nowhere in the South was there a more expert player of politics than Chicagos Mayor Richard J. Daley. King left town frustrated and exhausted, but Rev. Jesse Jackson continued civil rights efforts in Chicago through his Operation PUSH. The 1983 election of Mayor Harold Washington . the first black mayor of Chicago, was a watershed event for Chicagos African-American population, and although long battles with obstructionist and racist white politicians lay ahead, it marked the moment when Black elected officials became major, independent forces in Chicago. Today, comprising well over a third of the city, Chicagos black population is the countrys second largest in overall numbers, after New York City. However, blacks make up a larger percentage of Chicago than they do of New York City. The large South Side is the cultural center of Chicagos black community. The South Side along with the adjoining south suburbs constitutes the largest single Black region in the entire country, and boasts the countrys greatest concentration of black-owned businesses. Some Chicagoans and outsiders from other parts of the country who are ignorant of this area may tell you that it is dangerous. North Siders in general do not think much of the West Side or the South Side (similar to the way Manhattanites in New York City do not think much of the other four boroughs of that city). Although the West Side of Chicago does contain many economically challenged neighborhoods, the reality of the South Side is more complex. On the South Side there are affluent, middle class, and economically challenged neighborhoods. Affluent and upper-middle class areas on the South Side include the South Loop. Hyde ParkKenwood. upper Bronzeville. Chatham. South Shore. Beverly. Mount Greenwood. West Lawn. and western Morgan Park. Chicago is a very large city and the South Side is large, thus, many people outside the South Side may not be familiar with these affluentupper-middle class areas on the South Side. The local newscasts also have a bad habit: When a crime happens on the North Side, the commentator will put an emphasis on the neighborhood in which it happened, which tends to not give the entire North Side a bad image. However, when a crime happens on the South Side, the emphasis is put on South Side . thus giving the entire South Side a bad image. For those interested in African-American history, Bronzeville is a top destination. The Kenwood area also boasts interesting recent history, as it has been (or is) home to championship boxer Muhammad Ali, Nation of Islam leaders Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan, and President Barack Obama . No one should miss the DuSable Museum of African-American History in Bronzeville. adjancent to Hyde Park, the first museum of African-American history in the United States. And if your interest is more precisely in African-American culture than history, head down to Chatham and South Shore to enter the heart of Chicagos black community. Ethnic neighborhoods edit Wentworth Ave, Chinatowns main street Chicago is among the most diverse cities in America, and many neighborhoods reflect the character and culture of the immigrants who established them. Some, however, do more than just reflect: they absorb you in a place that can make an entire neighborhood feel like a chunk of another country. The best of Chicagos ethnic neighborhoods are completely uncompromised, and that makes them a real highlight for visitors. Chicagos Chinatown is among the most active Chinatowns in the world. It even has its own stop on the CTA Red Line. Its on the South Side near Bridgeport. birthplace of the Irish political power-brokers who have run Chicago government for most of the last century. More Irish communities exist on the Far Southwest Side. where they even have an Irish castle to seal the deal. The Southwest Side houses enormous populations of Polish Highlanders and Mexicans, as well as reduced Lithuanian and Bohemian communities. No serious Chicago gourmand would eat Indian food that didnt come from a restaurant on Devon Avenue in Rogers Park. Its paradise for spices, saris, and the latest Bollywood flicks. Lawrence Avenue in Albany Park is sometimes called Seoul Drive for the Korean community there, and the Persian food on Kedzie Avenue nearby is simply astonishing. At the Argyle Red Line stop, by the intersection of Argyle and Broadway in Uptown. youd be forgiven for wondering if you were still in America Vietnamese, Thais, and Laotians share space on a few blocks of restaurants, grocery stores, and even dentists. Neither the Swedish settlers who built Andersonville or the Germans from Lincoln Square are the dominant presence in those neighborhoods any more, but their identity is still present in restaurants, cultural centers, and other discoveries to be made. Likewise, Little Italy and Greektown on the Near West Side survive only as restaurant strips. A more contemporary experience awaits in Pilsen and Little Village. two neighborhoods on the Lower West Side where the Spanish signage outnumbers the English in fact, Chicago has the second largest Mexican and Puerto Rican populations outside of their respective home countries. Pilsen and its arts scene is an especially an exciting place to visit. Its hard to imagine displacement being a concern for the Polish community on the citys Far Northwest and Southwest sides. The Belmont-Central business district is what you might consider the epicenter of Polish activity. Bars, restaurants, and dozens of other types of Polish businesses thrive on this strip, and on a smaller section of Milwaukee Avenue (between Roscoe and Diversey) in the vicinity of St. Hyacinth Basilica which bears the Polish name of Jackowo - Chicagos Polish Village. Polish Highlanders, or Grals, on the other hand dominate the citys Southwest Side with a cuisine and culture that is decidedly Balkan. A host of restaurants and cultural institutions visibly display the rustic touch of their Carpathian craft such as the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America at Archer Avenue just northeast of its intersection with Pulaski Road. Taste of Polonia . held over Labor Day weekend on the grounds of the Copernicus Foundation at the historic Gateway Theatre . draws an annual attendance of about 50,000 people and is touted as the citys largest ethnic fest. Do edit add listing Shedd Aquarium ( Shedd Aquarium ), 1200 S. Lake Shore Dr. Chicago, IL 60605. (312) 939-2438. 18. 9 am - 5pm. Chicagos Shedd Aquarium is the citys premier location for aquatic life and family fun With over 32,000 creatures, ranging from fish to crustaceans and everything in between, Shedd is the perfect place for children to learn and inspire curiosity about oceanic and aquatic life Various exhibits include Aquatic Shows, Amazon Rising, Caribbean Reef, Jellies, Abbott Oceanarium, Polar Play Zone, Waters Of The World, Wild Reef, and A Holiday Fantasea. General Admission Adults - 8, Children - 6, special exhibits cost extra. ( 41.8676 N. 87.6140 W ) 160edit Chicago Architecture Foundation ( CAF ), 224 S. Michigan Avenue ( at Michigan and Jackson ), 312-922-3432. 19. 9-6. provides over 90 tours by boat, bike, trolley, bus and on foot of Chicagos architecture. Tours offered every day except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day. Multiple walking tours through out the day one bus or trolley tour daily, Chicago River Cruise from April thru November. prices vary. 160edit Beaches edit The five Great Lakes together form one of the largest masses of freshwater on Earth, containing around 20 of the worlds surface fresh water alone, and Chicagoans enjoy flocking to the beaches of Lake Michigan. Chicago has great beaches and anyone can show up and swim. There are no admission fees on the citys miles upon miles of beaches, and nearly the entire waterfront is open as public beach and parkland what amounts to terrific planning by the city. The water is quite warm in the summer and early fall (check with the NOAA for temperatures 20 ). The Chicago shore has been called the second cleanest urban waterfront in the world . and thats really saying something for a metropolitan area of nearly 10 million people. Bacteria levels in the water do force occasional closures, but they are very rare. Lifeguards will be posted when the beach is officially open. Oak Street Beach and North Avenue Beach (in the Near North and Lincoln Park ) are the fashionable places to sun-tan and be seen and are usually crowded due to their proximity to downtown and area hotels. Rogers Park. Edgewater. and 35th Street Beach allow visitors more individual space and an enjoyable vibe as well. Hyde Parks Promontory Point is beautiful, and offers skyline views from its submerged beach by the rocks, although a swim there is technically against city rules. Hollywood Beach in Edgewater is the main gay beach. Montrose Beach in Uptown is the citys largest beach and hosts a large dog beach and a full service, outdoor restaurant in addition to July 3 fireworks and a variety of live music events. A large bird sanctuary and one of the few hills in Chicago are also located near Montrose Beach. Volleyball tournaments are occassionally held at Chicago beaches. The city has 33 beaches of various sizes within the city limits alone. There are additional beaches in the northern suburbs as well. Parks edit The Osaka Garden on Jackson Parks Wooded Isle Where there are beaches, there are waterfront parks. During the summer months, the parks are a destination for organized and impromptu volleyball and soccer games, chess matches, and plenty more, with tennis and basketball courts dotted along the way. There are also terrific parks goin inland. In the Loop. Grant Park hosts music festivals throughout the year, and Millennium Park is a fun destination for all ages, especially during the summer. In Hyde Park. Midway Park offers skating, and summer and winter gardens in the shadow of the academic giant, the University of Chicago, and Jackson Park has golf, more gardens and the legacy of the citys shining moment, the 1893 Worlds Colombian Exposition. In Bronzeville. Washington Park is one of the citys best places for community sports. Lincoln Park contains the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Lincoln Park Conservatory. And thats just a brief overview. Almost every neighborhood in Chicago has a beloved park. Chicago is also home to the Bloomingdale Trail606. This is a linear park in the sky. This elevated greenway, created from railroad right-of-ways and its viaducts, is 2.7 miles, running through several Chicago neighborhoods, and complete with walking paths, bike lanes, benches, flowers and plants. This type of linear park, over former rail lines, is the third such type in the entire world, after a nearly 3 mile long version in Paris, and a 1 mile long version in New York City. Events amp Festivals edit The Lollapalooza Music Festival If youre absolutely determined and you plan carefully, you may be able to visit Chicago during a festival-less week. Its a challenge, though. Most neighborhoods, parishes, and service groups host their own annual festivals throughout the spring, summer, and fall 21. And the city has several in the winter. There are a few cant-miss city-wide events, though. In the Loop. Grant Park hosts Taste of Chicago in July, the largest outdoor food festival in the world and there are four major music festivals: Blues Fest and Gospel Fest in June, Lollapalooza in August, and Jazz Fest in September. All but Lollapalooza are free. The Chicago-based music website Pitchfork Media also hosts their own annual three day festival of rock, rap, and more in the summer at Union Park on the Near West Side. Sports edit With entries in every major professional sports league and several universities in the area, Chicago sports fans have a lot to keep them occupied. The Chicago Bears play football at Soldier Field in the Near South from warm September to frigid January. Since the baseball teams split the city in half, nothing seizes the Chicago sports consciousness like a playoff run from the Bears. Aspiring fans will be expected to be able to quote a minimum of two verses of the Super Bowl Shuffle from memory, tear up at the mention of Walter Payton, and provide arguments as to how Butkus, Singletary, and Urlacher represent stages in the evolution of the linebacker, with supporting evidence in the form of grunts, yells, and fists slammed on tables. The Chicago Bulls play basketball at the United Center on the Near West Side. They are an exciting team to watch, led by star Derrick Rose. The Chicago Blackhawks share quarters with the Bulls. As one of the Original Six teams in professional hockey, the Blackhawks have a long history in their sport, and the team is experiencing a renaissance after capturing the Stanley Cup in 2010 for the first time in 49 years and winning two more championships in 2013 and 2015. Home games for both teams tend to sell out, but tickets can usually be found if you check around. Both the Bulls and the Blackhawks play from the end of October to the beginning of April. Its baseball, though, in which the tribal fury of Chicago sports is best expressed. The Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley Field (the oldest National League ballpark and the second oldest active major league ballpark) on the North Side, in Lakeview. and the Chicago White Sox play at U. S. Cellular Field (Comiskey Park, underneath the corporate naming rights) on the South Side, in Bridgeport. Both franchises have more than a centurys worth of history, and both teams play 81 home games from April to the beginning of October. Everything else is a matter of fiercely held opinion. The two three-game series when the teams play each other are the hottest sports tickets in Chicago during any given year. If someone offers you tickets to a game, pounce. There are plenty of smaller leagues in the city as well, although some play their games in the suburbs. The Chicago Fire (Major League Soccer) and Chicago Red Stars (National Womens Soccer League) play soccer in the suburb of Bridgeview, the Chicago Sky play womens professional basketball at the UIC Pavilion on the Near West Side. and the Windy City Rollers skate flat-track roller derby in neighboring Cicero. Minor league baseball teams dot the suburbs as well. While college athletics are not one of Chicagos strong points, Northwestern football (in Evanston ) and DePaul basketball (off-campus in Rosemont ) show occasional signs of life. If you find yourself in Hyde Park. ask someone how the University of Chicago football team is doing its a surefire conversation starter. Theater edit The Gateway Theatre in Jefferson Park. seat of the Copernicus Foundation. The theaters Baroque spire is a replica of the Royal Castle in Warsaw . Modern American comedy the good parts, at least was born when a group of young actors from Hyde Park formed The Compass Players, fusing intelligence and a commitment to character with an improvisational spark. One strand of their topical, hyper-literate comedy led, directly or indirectly, to Shelly Berman, Mike Nichols amp Elaine May, Lenny Bruce, MASH and The Mary Tyler Moore Show another strand, namely The Second City . led to Saturday Night Live and a pretty huge percentage of the funny movies and television of the last thirty years. Still in Chicagos Old Town (and few other places as well), still smart and still funny, Second City does two-act sketch revues followed by one act of improv. If you only see one show while youre in Chicago, Second City is a good choice. Improvisational comedy as a performance art form is a big part of the Chicago theater scene. At Lakeview and Uptown theaters like The Annoyance Theater . I. O. . and The Playground . young actors take classes and perform shows that range from ragged to inspired throughout the week. Some are fueled by the dream of making the cast of SNL or Tina Feys latest project, and some just enjoy doing good work on-stage, whether or not theyre getting paid for it (and most arent). Theres no guarantee that youll see something great on any given night, but improv tends to be cheaper than anything else in town, and it can definitely be worth the risk. Another popular theater experience is the comedydrama hybrid Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind . offering 30 plays in 60 minutes every weekend in Andersonville. Steppenwolf . in Lincoln Park. is Chicagos other landmark theater. Founded in 1976, they have a history of taking risks onstage, and they have the ensemble to back it up, with heavyweights like Joan Allen, John Malkovich, and Gary Sinise. Steppenwolf isnt cheap any more, but they mix good, young actors with their veteran ensemble and still choose interesting, emotionally-charged scripts. Its the best place in town to see modern, cutting-edge theater with a bit of I went to. name-drop value for the folks back home. Most of the prestige theaters, including the Broadway in Chicago outlets, are located in the Loop or the Near North. Tickets are expensive and can be tough to get, but shows destined for Broadway like The Producers often make their debut here. For the cost-conscious, the League of Chicago Theatres operates Hot Tix 22. which offers short-notice half-price tickets to many Chicago shows. One theater to see, regardless of the production, is The Auditorium in the Loop. Its a masterpiece of architecture and of performance space. Designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, who were on a commission from syndicate of local business magnates to bring some culture to the heathen city, it was the tallest building in Chicago and one of the tallest in the world at the time of its opening in 1889, and its still an impressive sight, inside and out. Learn edit The University of Chicagos Gothic campus is in Hyde Park. which is, famously, home to more Nobel Prizes per square mile than any other neighborhood on Earth. Work edit The iconic L rumbling overhead in the Loop Chicago still loves Carl Sandburg and his poems, but the city shucked off the hog butchers apron a long time ago. In terms of industry, theres little that distinguishes Chicago from any other major city in America, save for size. The Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are among the biggest employers, with stables of traders and stock wizards. Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago amid much fanfare a few years ago United Airlines . Abbott Laboratories . and AbbVie are other international companies with headquarters in town. The Big Five consulting firms all have one or more offices in the Loop. And theres always construction work in the city the city has a strong union presence. For younger workers, the museums in the downtown area are always looking for high-enthusiasm guides, and the retail outlets on the Magnificent Mile and State Street are also good options. And with so many colleges and universities in the city, study abroad opportunities abound. Buy edit add listing Whatever you need, you can buy it in Chicago, on a budget or in luxury. The most famous shopping street in Chicago is a stretch of Michigan Avenue known as The Magnificent Mile . in the Near North area. It includes many designer boutiques, and several multi-story malls anchored by large department stores like 900 N Michigan and Water Tower Place. Additional brands are available from off-strip shops to the south and west of Michigan. State Street used to be a great street for department stores in the Loop. but its now a shadow of its former self, with Carson Pirie Scotts landmark Louis Sullivan-designed building now a Target store, and invading forces from New York holding the former Marshall Fields building hostage under the name Macys (Most locals still insist that it is Marshall Fields). Even Filenes Basement, the famous discount location, is now closed, though a few other discount shops persist. For a classic Chicago souvenir, pick up a box of Frango Mints . much-loved mint chocolates that were originally offered by Marshall Fields and are still available at Macys stores. Although no longer made in the thirteenth-floor kitchen of the State Street store, the original recipe appears to still be in use, which pleases the loyal crowds fond of the flavor and too bad for anyone looking to avoid trans-fats. However, for a more unique shopping experience, check out the fun, eclectic stores in Lincoln Square. or the cutting-edge shops in Bucktown and Wicker Park. which is also the place to go for music fiends although there are also key vinyl drops in other parts of the city as well. Southport in Lakeview and Armitage in Lincoln Park also have browser-friendly fashion boutiques. For art or designer home goods . River North is the place to go. Centered between the Merchandise Mart and the Chicago Avenue Brown Line L stop in the Near North. River Norths gallery district boasts the largest arts and design district in North America outside of Manhattan. The entire area is walkable and makes for fun window-shopping. Goods from around the world are available at the import stores in Chicagos many ethnic neighborhoods check See for descriptions and district articles for directions. If you are the type that loves to browse through independent bookstores . Hyde Park has a stunning assortment of dusty used bookstores selling beat-up-paperbacks to rare 17th century originals, and the worlds largest academic bookstore. Printers Row in the Near South is also a great stop for book lovers. Groceries and other basics edit The major supermarket chains in Chicago are Jewel Osco, Marianos, Food 4 Less, Aldi, Whole Foods Market, and Trader Joes. In addition, the nations three largest discount store chains Walmart, Target, and Kmart have several stores in Chicago as well. 7-Eleven convenience stores are usually found every couple of blocks and are always open 24-7, but have limited selection and high prices. The Walgreens drug store chain which is based in the city are also ubiquitous throughout Chicago with many locations open twenty four hours a day. Competitor CVS also has many locations in the area. Due to its huge expat and immigrant population, Chicago also features a large variety of ethnic grocery stores, including Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Polish, and Mexican. Eat edit add listing Chicagos love affair with Polish sausages runs deep. As Hyde Park is to academics, and Near North is to department stores, so Avondale is to Polish sausages. Cavernous delis line the streets here, particularly up Milwaukee Avenue Chicago is one of the great restaurant towns in America. If youre looking for a specific kind of cuisine, check out the neighborhoods. Greektown. the Devon Ave Indian corridor, Chinatown. and Chatham s soul food and barbecue are just the tip of the iceberg. Other areas are more eclectic: Lincoln Square and Albany Park have unrivaled Middle Eastern, German, and Korean food, while Uptown offers nearly the whole Southeast Asian continent with Ghanaian, Nigerian, contemporary American, stylish Japanese, and down-home Swedish a few blocks away. If youre interested in celebrity chefs and unique creations, Lincoln Park and Wicker Park have plenty of award-winners. River North has several good upscale restaurants, but dont waste your time on tourist traps like Rainforest Cafe, Cheesecake Factory, or the Hard Rock Cafe. In fact, you should never submit to standing in line there are always equally good restaurants nearby. No matter what you enjoy, youll have a chance to eat well in Chicago, and you wont need to spend a lot of money doing it unless you want to, of course. But while Chicago has a world class dining scene downtown, it is the low-end where it truly distinguishes itself. No other city on earth takes fast food so seriously for those who dont concern themselves with calorie counting, Chicago is cheap, greasy heaven. Head northwest and youll find sausage shops and old-style Polish restaurants that carry on as if health food and celebrity chefs never happened in Jackowo - Chicagos Polish Village. as well as at Belmont-Central - an Eastern European culinary heaven. The suburb of Des Plaines on the northwest side of the city near OHare is where you can find the worlds first McDonalds. Quite a few other local culinary specialties in particular deserve further description. The citys three most iconic dishes are Chicago-style hot dogs, deep dish pizza, and Italian beef. However, there are other unique fast foods that are local favorites (particularly in the South Side). These lesser-known include the Maxwell Street Polish (a grilled kielbasa served on a hot dog bun with grilled onions), the pork chop sandwich (a tender pork chop with grilled onions and hot pepper on a hamburger bun be advised, this tasty sandwich has a bone in the pork chop), and Chicago-style thin-crust pizza (which has a much crispier crust than that of a New York thin-crust pizza). Maxwell Polishes and pork chop sandwiches are available throughout Maxwell-style eateries in the city, but are much more prevalent in the West Side and the South Side the three most popular Maxwell-style eateries are Jims Original (1250 S. Union Ave.), Express Grill (1260 S. Union Ave.) and the Maxwell Depot (411 W. 31st St.). Chicago-style thin-crust pizza is available in almost every pizzeria in the South Side. Chicago pizza edit Chicagos deep dish pizza is incredible Chicagos most prominent contribution to world cuisine might be the deep dish pizza . Delivery chains as far away as Kyoto market Chicago-style pizza, but the only place to be sure youre getting the real thing is in Chicago. To make a deep dish pizza, a thin layer of dough is laid into a deep round pan and pulled up the sides, and then meats and vegetables Italian sausage, onions, bell peppers, mozzarella cheese, and more are lined on the crust. At last, tomato sauce goes on top, and the pizza is baked. Its gooey, messy, not recommended by doctors, and delicious. When you dine on deep dish pizza, dont wear anything you were hoping to wear again soon. Some nationally-known deep dish pizza hubs are Pizzeria UNO and DUE, Ginos East, Giordanos, and Lou Malnatis, but plenty of local favorites exist. Ask around people wont be shy about giving you their opinion. But deep dish is not the end of the line in a city that takes its pizza so seriously. Chicago also prides itself on its distinctive thin-crust pizza and stuffed pizzas. The Chicago thin crust has a thin, cracker-like, crunchy crust, which somehow remains soft and doughy on the top side. Toppings and a lot of a thin, spiced Italian tomato sauce go under the mozzarella cheese, and the pizza is sliced into squares. If you are incredulous that Chicagos pizza preeminence extends into the realm of the thin crust, head south of Midway to Vito and Nicks, which is widely regarded among local gourmands as the standard bearer for the city. The stuffed pizza is a monster, enough to make an onlooker faint. Start with the idea of a deep dish, but then find a much deeper dish and stuff a lot more toppings under the cheese. Think deep-dish apple pie, but pizza. Allow 45 minutes to an hour for pizza places to make one of these and allow 3-4 extra notches on your belt for the ensuing weight gain. Arguably the best stuffed pizza in town is at Bella Bacinos in the Loop. which somehow is not greasy, but other excellent vendors include Giordanos, Ginos, and Edwardos. The Chicago hot dog edit A charred Chicago-style hot dog with all the trappings This may come as a surprise to New Yorkers, but the Chicago hot dog is the king of all hot dogs indeed, it is considered the perfect hot dog . Perhaps due to the citys history of Polish and German immigration, Chicago takes its dogs way more seriously than the rest of the country. A Chicago hot dog is always all-beef (usually Vienna beef), always served on a poppy-seed bun, and topped with what looks like a full salad of mustard, tomato slices, a dill pickle spear, sport (chili) peppers, a generous sprinkling of celery salt, diced onion, and a sweet-pickle relish endemic-to-Chicago that is dyed an odd, vibrant bright-green color. Its a full meal, folks. Ketchup is regarded as an abomination on a proper Chicago-style hot dog. Self-respecting establishments will refuse orders to put the ketchup on the dog, and many have signs indicating that they dont serve it truly serious hot dog joints dont even allow the condiment on the premises. The reason for Chicagos ketchup aversion is simple ketchup contains sugar, which overwhelms the taste of the beef and prevents its proper enjoyment. Hence, ketchups replacement with tomato slices. Similarly, Chicagoans eschew fancy mustards that would overwhelm the flavor of the meat in favor of simple yellow mustard. And for the hungry visiting New Yorkers, the same goes for sugary sauerkraut just no . At most hot dog places, you will have the option to try a Maxwell Street Polish instead. Born on the eponymous street of the Near West Side. the Polish is an all-beef sausage on a bun, with fewer condiments than the Chicago hot dog: usually just grilled onions, mustard, and a few chili peppers. In a tragic, bizarre twist of fate, the areas of Chicago most visited by tourists (i. e. the Loop ) lack proper Chicago hot dog establishments. If you are downtown and want to experience a Chicago hot dog done right, the nearest safe bet is Portillos. Although, if youre up for a little hot dog adventure, you can eat one right at the source, at the Vienna Beef Factory deli. Sadly, both baseball parks botch their dogs, although the 2011 return of Vienna Beef as the official hot dog of Wrigley Field is a step in the right direction. Italian Beef edit The Italian Beef sandwich completes the Chicago triumvirate of tasty greasy treats. The main focus of the sandwich is the beef, and serious vendors will serve meat of a surprisingly good quality, which is slow-roasted, and thinly shaved before being loaded generously onto chewy, white, Italian-style bread. Two sets of options will come flying at you, so prepare yourself: sweet peppers or hot, and dipped or not. The sweet peppers are sauted bell peppers, while the hots are a mixed Chicago giardiniera. The dip, of course, is a sort of French dip of the sandwich back into the beef broth. (Warning: dipped Italian Beefs are sloppy) If you are in the mood, you may be able to get an Italian Beef with cheese melted over the beef, although travelers looking for the authentic Italian Beef perhaps should not stray so far from tradition. The Italian Beef probably was invented by Italian-American immigrants working in the Union Stockyards on the Southwest Side. who could only afford to take home the tough, lowest-quality meat and therefore had a need to slow-roast it, shave it into thin slices, and dip it just to get it in chewable form. But today the sandwich has found a lucrative home downtown, where it clogs the arteries and delights the taste buds of the Chicago workforce during lunch break. Some of the citys favorite downtown vendors include Lukes Italian Beef in the Loop and Mr. Beef in the Near North. while the Portillos chain is another solid option. Four fried chickens and a coke. With the Great Migration came much of what was best about the South: blues, jazz, barbecue but following a legendary meal at which a young, hungry Harold Pierce saw the last piece of bird flee his grasp into the mouth of the local preacher, Harold made it his mission to add fried chicken to that prestigious list, and to ensure that no South Side Chicagoan ever run out. Harolds Chicken Shack, a. k.a. the Fried Chicken King, is a South Side institution like no other. The Chicago-style fried chicken is considered by many connoisseurs to be some of the nations best (certainly in the North), and it is fried in a home-style mix of beef tallow and vegetable oil, then covered with sauce (hot or mild). Crucially, it is always cooked to order ensuring that essential layer of grease between the skin and the meat. A half chicken meal can come as cheap as 4 and includes coleslaw, white bread, and sauce-drenched fries make like a local and wrap the fries in the bread. Initially, the fried chicken chain spread throughout black neighborhoods, which were ignored by other fast food chains, but in later years the franchise has extended its greasy fingers to the West and North Sides, as well as downtown. While chances are you will not find better fried chicken outside of Harolds walls, the quality, pricing, and character vary between individual locations. Your safest bets are on the South Side if you are served through bullet-proof glass under signs bearing a chef chasing a chicken with a hatchet, rest assured you are getting the best. Drink edit add listing Chicago is a drinking town, and you can find bars and pubs in every part of the city. It is believed that Chicago has the second highest bars-per-capita in the U. S. (after San Francisco ). Chicagoans have their choice of the hottest clubs or the best dive bars in town. Most areas that thrive on the bar culture do so for the variety, and bar hopping is quite common. Grab a drink or two, have a good time, and then try another place. It is all about variety. Be prepared to be asked for identification to verify your age, even at neighborhood dive bars. Smoking is banned in Chicago bars (and restaurants). The best places to drink for drinkings sake are Wicker Park and neighboring Logan Square and Bucktown. which have a world-class stock of quality local breweries and dive bars, which can be reached by the CTA Blue Line. These two areas are where the majority of Chicagos hipsters live, with the effect that most of the bars are considered Hipster Bars. North Center and Roscoe Village are also great destination for the art of the beer garden. Just to the west of the Addison CTA Red Line stop and near Wrigley Field in Lakeview is the Wrigleyville district with bars that are popular with twenty-somethings. These bars are crowded on weekends and whenever the Cubs are playing. One block to the East of the Addison stop on Halsted Street, is the center of Chicagos gay community, known as Boystown. Boystown centers around Halsted street and stretches from Belmont Avenue to the south to Irving Park Road on the North. Clark Street runs at an angle through the area. This district is filled with many trendy shops, bars, clubs, and restaurants. Housing is at a premium rate in this area. Boystown is busy most nights of the week and very busy on weekends. Just to the south, the Lincoln Park neighborhood has bars and beer gardens, and some trendy clubs for the neighborhoods notorious high-spending Trixies. This is another very expensive neighborhood. Tourists and locals also converge upon the nightclubs of Rush and Division St. This area remains very popular although other areas of the city are becoming increasing popular as nightlife destinations as well. For the last few years the West Loops warehouse bars were the place to be, but more recently the River North neighborhood has become popular. Still, the RushDivision bars do huge business. Streeterville, immediately adjacent, exchanges the dance floors for high-priced hotel bars and piano lounges. Although good dance music can be found in Wicker Park and the surrounding area, the best places to dance in the city are the expensive see and be seen clubs in River North and the open-to-all (except perhaps bachelorette parties) clubs in gay-friendly Boystown. which are a lot of fun for people of any sexual orientation. Halsted St in Boystown has many LGBT bars and nightclubs, for every age and type of music. Take the Redline train and get off at Belmont station. Jazz and Blues edit See The Jazz Track for a wealth of information about current and historic jazz clubs in Chicago. The Lower Mississippi River Valley is known for its music New Orleans has jazz, and Memphis has blues. Chicago, though located far away from the valley, has both. Former New Orleans and Memphis residents brought jazz and blues to Chicago as they came north for a variety of reasons: the Worlds Columbian Exposition of 1893 brought a lot of itinerant musicians to town, and the citys booming economy kept them coming through the Great Migration. Chicago was the undisputed capital of early jazz between 1917-1928, wih masters like Joe King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Jimmie Noone, Johnny Dodds, Earl Hines, and Jelly Roll Morton. Most of Chicagos historic jazz clubs are on the South Side, particularly in Bronzeville. but the North Side has the cant-miss Green Mill in Uptown. The blues were in Chicago long before the car chase and the mission from God, but The Blues Brothers sealed Chicago as the home of the blues in the popular consciousness. Fortunately, the city has the chops to back that up. Maxwell Street 23 (Near West Side ) was the heart and soul of Chicago blues, but the wrecking ball, driven by the University of Illinois at Chicago, has taken a brutal toll. Residents have been fighting to save what remains. For blues history, it doesnt get much better than Willie Dixons Blues Heaven Foundation (Near South ), and Bronzeville. the former Black Metropolis, is a key stop as well. Performance venues run the gamut from tiny, cheap blues bars all over the city to big, expensive places like Buddy Guys Legends (Loop ) and the original House of Blues (Near North ). But dont let yourself get too wrapped up in the past, because Chicago blues is anything but. No other city in the world can compete with Chicagos long list of blues-soaked neighborhood dives and lounges. The North Sides blues clubs favor tradition in their music, and are usually the most accessible to visitors, but offer a slightly watered down experience from the funkier, more authentic blues bars on the South and Far West Sides, where most of Chicagos blues musicians live and hang. If one club could claim to be the home of the real Chicago blues, Lees Unleaded Blues in Chatham-South Shore would probably win the title. But there are scores of worthy blues joints all around the city (many of which are a lot easier to visit via public transport). A visit to one of these off-the-beaten-path blues dives is considerably more adventurous than a visit to the touristy House of Blues, but the experiences born of such adventures have been known to reward visitors with a life-long passion for the blues. Although playing second fiddle to the blues in the citys collective consciousness, jazz thrives in Chicago, too, thanks in no small part to members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and their residencies at clubs like The Velvet Lounge and The Jazz Showcase (both of which see regular national acts) (Near South ), The New Apartment Lounge (Chatham-South Shore ) and The Hideout (Bucktown ), with more expensive national touring acts downtown at The Chicago Theater (Loop ). If you are staying downtown, the Velvet Lounge will be your best bet, as it is an easy cab ride, and its high-profile performances will rarely disappoint. Fans should time their visits to coincide with Blues Fest in June, and Jazz Fest over Labor Day Weekend. Both take place in Grant Park (Loop ). Concerts edit Wicker Park and Bucktown are the main place to go for indie rock shows: the Double Door and the Empty Bottle are the best-known venues, but there are plenty of smaller ones as well. In Lakeview. the Metro is a beloved concert hole, with Schubas . Lincoln Hall . The Vic . and the Abbey Pub nearby (the latter on the Far Northwest Side ). Other mid-sized rock, hip-hop and RampB shows take place at the Riviera and the awesome Aragon Ballroom in Uptown. The Near South has become an underrated destination for great shows as well. The legendary Chicago Theater The Park West in Lincoln Park has light jazz, light rock, and other shows youd sit down for so does Navy Pier (Near North ), particularly in the summer. The venerable Chicago Theater in the Loop is better-known for its sign than for anything else, but it has rock, jazz, gospel, and spoken-word performances by authors like David Sedaris. The world-renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is the main bulwark in the city for classical and classy jazz, with occasional curve-balls like Bjrk. Youll find musicians from the CSO doing outreach all over the city, along with their counterparts at the Lyric Opera . Both are in the Loop. A few big concerts are held at the UIC Pavilion . the Congress Theater . and the United Center on the Near West Side every year, and some huge concerts have taken place at Soldier Field (Near South ). The Petrillo Bandshell in Grant Park and the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park . both in the Loop. tend to host big, eclectic shows and festivals in the summer, which are sometimes free. Otherwise, most big shows are out in the suburbs, primarily at the Allstate Arena and the Rosemont Theater in Rosemont. the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Star Plaza in Indiana. and the Alpine Valley Music Theater over the Wisconsin border in Elkhorn. Youll also have to head out to the suburbs for Ravinia . which features upscale classical, jazz, and blues outdoors throughout the summer. See Chicagoland for details on suburban venues. Sleep edit add listing Chicago hosts many major conventions each year and has plenty of places to stay. The majority are either at OHare Airport or downtown in the Loop and the Near North (near the Magnificent Mile). If you want to explore the city, aim for downtown a hotel near OHare is good for visiting one thing and one thing only, and thats OHare (although the CTA Blue Line is walking distance from most of them, so access to the city is easy, aside from 30 minutes). However, if you have a specific interest in mind, there are hotels throughout the city, and getting away from downtown will give you more of a sense of other neighborhoods. Youll appreciate that if youre in town for more than a couple of days. Make sure that where youre staying is within your comfort level before committing to stay there, though. More far flung transient hotels will be suitable for those seeking to relive Jack Kerouacs seedy adventures around the country, but may alarm and disgust the average traveler. Budget-priced places are usually pretty far from the Loop. so when youre booking, remember that Chicago is vast. Travelers on a budget should consider accommodations away from the city center which can be easily reached via any of the several CTA train lines. There is a hostel in the Loop. a hostel in Greektown within walking distance to Union Station, a hostel by Wrigley Field and three others near the universities in Lincoln Park, Rogers Park and in Wicker Park, all of which are interesting neighborhoods in their own right, and close to the L for access to the rest of the city. For deals on mid-range hotels, there are good options far out from the center by Midway and in North Lincoln. Embassy Suites Chicago North ShoreDeerfield. 1445 Lake Cook Road Deerfield, IL 60015. 1-847-945-4500. 24. 160edit IHSP Chicago Hostel. 1616 North Damen ( Damen on the Blue Line ), 3127314234. 25. checkin: 2PM checkout: 11 AM. Rooftop deck, common room, free breakfast, social atmosphere. 20 -200 USD. 160edit Hilton Garden Inn Chicago DowntownMagnificent Mile. 10 E. Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611. 312-595-0000. 26. 160edit Trump International Hotel amp Tower Chicago ( Trump Hotel Chicago ), 401 N Wabash Ave ( Downtown ), 312.588.8000. 27. 5 star, luxury downtown Chicago hotel on Michigan Avenueoffers river, lake and skyline views, accommodations, spa amp health club, 5 star Michelin-rated dining, and meeting and wedding venues. 160edit Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile. 540 North Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60611. 1-312-836-0100 ( fax. 1-312-836-6139 ), 28. checkin: 16:00 checkout: 12:00. Located on Magnificent Mile within walking distance of Navy Pier, American Girl Place, Shedd Aquarium, Millennium Park, Theater and Museum Districts. Hotel has indoor pool, fitness center, on-site bar, coffee shop and restaurant. 199 USD and above. 160edit JW Marriott Chicago. 151 West Adams Street Chicago, IL 60603. 1-312-660-8200 ( fax. 1-312-660-8201 ), 29. checkin: 15:00 checkout: 12:00. Located at LaSalle and Adams, this Chicago Loop hotel features an on-site spa, restaurant and bar. 229 USD and above. 160edit Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel. 1 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60601. 1-312-372-7200 ( fax. 1-312-372-0093 ), 30. checkin: 16:00 checkout: 12:00. Situated on the north edge of the Loop, this downtown Chicago, IL hotel is steps from upscale shopping, fine dining and Millennium Park. On-site spa, fitness center, indoor pool, bar and restaurant. 209 USD and above. 160edit Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel ( The Blackstone ), 636 South Michigan Ave Chicago, IL 60605. 1-312-447-0955 ( fax. 1-312-765-0545 ), 31. checkin: 16:00 checkout: 12:00. Conveniently located next to Grant Park and the downtown Chicago Loop, the Blackstone offers luxury accommodations and upscale dining. 179 USD and above. 160edit Chicago Marriott OHare. 8535 West Higgins Road Chicago, IL 60631. 1-773-693-4444 ( fax. 1-773-693-3164 ), 32. checkin: 15:00 checkout: 12:00. Newly renovated and conveniently located three miles from Chicago OHare International Airport, 15 miles from downtown and L-train access just one block away. Features indoor pool, fitness center, on-site bar, coffee shop and restaurant. 119 USD and Up. 160edit Renaissance Chicago OHare Suites Hotel. 8500 West Bryn Mawr Avenue Chicago, IL 60631. 1-773-380-9600 ( fax. 1-773-380-9601 ), 33. checkin: 16:00 checkout: 12:00. Features indoor pool, fitness center, on-site bar, coffee shop and restaurant. Located steps from the L Chicago Blue Line-OHare and offering complimentary 24-hour shuttle service to Chicago OHare International Airport. 119 USD and above. 160edit Chicago Getaway Hostel. 616 W. Arlington Pl. 1 (773) 929-5380. Backpackers Hostel in a residential neighborhood, providing dorm and private rooms. 160edit Wyndham Grand Chicago Riverfront ,71 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL, 60601, phone 1-312-346-7100, Formaly Hotel 71, this hotel is located near the intersection of Michgan Avenue and Wacker Drive. Near The Loop and the Magnificent Mile. On site restaurant and an event room that can seat 250 people. Rates 129 and above. Courtyard Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile. 165 E Ontario Street. 312-573-0800. 34. checkin: 3pm checkout: 12pm. With spectacular shopping, world-class museums, dynamic corporations and breathtaking architecture, the Windy City has it all and this hotel is located right in the heart of everything 160edit Stay safe edit Violent crime rates by neighborhood As in almost the entire United States, dial 911 to get emergency help. Dial 311 for all non-emergency situations in Chicago. Despite a big decline in the crime rate from the 1970s and 1980s, Chicago is still a big city with big city problems. There are run-down areas within a few blocks of some well-travelled places such as near the United Center and US Cellular Field. The majority of the citys violent crimes occur within a relatively small number of neighborhoods well off the beaten path in the South and West Sides, but given the chance nature of crime, you should exercise the usual precautions wherever you go. While on the South Side, in general, one should preferably avoid, or at the very least be extra vigilant in the area bounded by King Drive on the East, 43rd St on the North, 79th on the South, and Western Ave on the West. On the West Side, with the exception of visiting the Garfield Conservatory, the same advise applies to the area bounded roughly by Western Ave to the East, Central Ave to the West, Harrison Street to the South, and Chicago Ave to the North. Additionally, the North section of Lawndale, the East section of Chatham, the Northeast section of Auburn Gresham, and the Southern section of Roseland are inadvisable for visitors to enter unless one is headed to a specific restaurantsite in those areas. Even in a neighborhood with a bad reputation, though, you might still have a perfectly good time, as long as it falls within your comfort level. Take caution in the Loop at night after working hours, the Loop gets quiet and dark in a hurry west of State Street, but youll be fine near hotels and close to Michigan Avenue and the lake. When disembarking a crowded CTA train, especially in the downtown-area subways, be wary of purse snatchers and Apple pickers (thieves who snatch your smart phone--iPhones are a particular favorite--out of your hand and exit the train just before the doors close). Homelessness is a problem in the city and seeing people ask for help is common downtown. They are very unlikely to pose any kind of problem, though. Most are either holding up a sign asking for some type of assistance while others will actively solicit you for spare change. If you ignore them, they will ignore you. Some do sell a local newspaper called Streetwise to make a living. These people should be wearing a badge of some kind to indicate they sell the newspaper and they keep all the profits they make. If youre feeling generous but want to be safe, those selling Streetwise are your best bet. A common scam is for a beggar to come up to you and make remarks about how your shoes need to be cleaned or polished. They can be very friendly though very pushy to the unsuspecting tourist. Before you know it, your shoe is up on their knee and they are asking you for some amount they claimed they told you before they started. If you simply ignore them and walk away they should leave you alone. Not often, but some will continue to follow and harass you. If this happens, go inside any restaurant or store until they leave. In general, common sense will keep you safe in Chicago: avoid unfamiliar side streets at night, stay out of alleys at night, know where youre going when you set out, stick to crowded areas, and keep a 20 bill on hand for cab fare as a bail-out option. Dress appropriately for the weather. Chicagos winter is famously windy and cold, so cover exposed skin and wear layers in the winter, but heat exhaustion is an equal risk in the summer months, especially July and August. After snowfalls edit Stay off the road during a snowstorm. Chicagos streets and sanitation department generally does a good job clearing the major roads in the center of the city, but the neighborhoods can take longer, and the construction-littered expressways are anyones guess. If you happen to be driving in Chicago during or right after a snowstorm, be aware that certain areas have a tradition of parking dibs where residents place debris on the street to mark their cleared parking spots when their cars arent present. If you see broken furniture or wooden crates covering up a potential parking spot, dont move the debris to park as this might result in a serious altercation with residents or deliberate damage to your vehicle (eg slashed tires, broken windows, key scratches, etc). Respect edit Chicago has a reputation of being a segregated city, yet this image has finally started to erode somewhat. In many ways, it is like any other city: What may be okay behavior on one side of the city may get you into trouble on another side of the city. Homosexuality, accepted through downtown and the North Side, and parts of the South Side, may not be as well received elsewhere. There are many neighborhoods in Chicago where various races live in harmony, and race isnt an issue whatsoever. There are also neighborhoods that are mainly white, black, or latino and outsiders may be looked at with a curious eye. If you get lost, it is recommended that you try and flag down a police officer, as the Chicago Police Department can be quite helpful. You should also have a map with you of the city or area of the city that you intend to explore in case you get lost, so you dont have to bother someone for directions. Contact edit Internet edit The first Internet cafe in the United States was opened in Chicago, but they never really caught on here. There are still a few, though check individual district articles. If you have a computer with you, free wireless Internet access is now standard-issue at coffee shops throughout the city including major ones like Starbucks. Most hotels above the transient level offer free Wi-Fi, too. The good news is that all branches of the Chicago Public Library system offer free internet access . via public terminals and free, password-free, public wireless. If you do not have a Chicago library card, but you have a photo ID that shows you do not live in Chicago, you can get a temporary permit from the library information desk. (If you are from Chicago and dont have a library card, though, all you can get is a stern look and a brief lecture on how Chicagoans need to support the library system.) The most centrally located branch is the giant Harold Washington Library in the Loop. but there are branch libraries in every part of the city again, see individual district articles. Only Harold Washington and the two regional libraries (Sulzer and Woodson ) are open on Sundays. Telephones edit 312 was the area code for all of Chicago for a long time its still the code of choice for the Loop. and most of the Near North and Near South. 773 surrounds the center, covering everything else within city limits. Suburban areas close to the city use 847 (northnorthwest), 224 (northnorthwest), 708 (south), 815 (southwest), 630 (west), and 219 (northwest Indiana). Cope edit Publications edit The Chicago Tribune ( The Trib ), 35. The Tribune is Chicagos oldest daily, recently converted into a tabloid format for newsstand purchases. New ownership has shed much of the Tribs former prestige with a debt-leveraged purchase and forced bankruptcy, widespread staff layoffs, and an ill-advised redesign. 160edit The Chicago Sun-Times. 36. The Sun-Times is Chicagos other major newspaper. It has a long-standing reputation for aggressive (some might say sensationalist) investigative journalism. It has also been teetering on the verge of oblivion for some time. 160edit The Redeye. 37. Redeye is a free weekdays-only newspaper produced by the Tribune. Although its covers appear to report from some parallel universe where topics like sandwiches and being tired at work are the top stories of the day, it does have basic news coverage inside along with entertainment gossip. 160edit The Chicago Defender. 38. The Defender is Chicagos biggest African-American daily, and it played a major role in the citys African-American history. Its distribution network today is comparatively small, though. 160edit Hola Hoy. 39. Hola Hoy produces a free Spanish-language newspaper with wide distribution. 160edit The Chicago Reader. 40. The Reader is a free weekly newspaper distributed throughout the city each Wednesday. It includes extensive listings of arts, music, and events. Nobody knows more about Chicago than the Reader, but its definitely oriented toward locals. 160edit Crains Chicago Business. 41. Crains is a long-standing weekly newspaper covering the Chicago area business community, with a dash of politics and lifestyle definitely worth a look if youre in town on business. 160edit New City. 42. New City is a free weekly alternative arts and entertainment magazine, distributed every Wednesday. Event listings and local content are skimpy, but it is free. 160edit Time Out Chicago. 43. Time Out produces a weekly magazine available at most newsstands and bookstores. Its listings for events, bars, and restaurants are by far the most comprehensive and easiest to use for visitors to the city. 160edit Windy City Times. 44. Free weekly LGBT newspaper. 160edit The Daily Herald. The Daily Herald is wide serving suburban newspaper based in Arlington Heights, a Chicago suburb. 160edit Religious services edit The spectacular Bah Temple There are places of worship all over the city the front desk of your hotel will almost certainly be able to direct you to one nearby. Otherwise, the following are centrally located in either the Loop or the Near North. unless otherwise noted. For churches of specific Orthodoxies, check in neighborhoods that feature communities with ties to that region. Theres a majestic Orthodox church in Ukrainian Village. sebagai contoh. Evangelical Christian ministries are mostly on the South Side, with some historic churches in Bronzeville. For the Bahai faith, visit the Bahai Temple in Wilmette. easily accessible by the CTA Purple Line. Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel. 540 W Melrose St ( Belmont Red Line ), 1 773 248-9200. 45. Modern Orthodox Judaism. In a remarkably beautiful building by the lake. Shacharit Su 8:30AM, M, Th 6:45AM, Tu W, F 7AM Mincha Su-Th 7:45PM. 160edit Armitage Baptist Church. 2451 N Kedzie Blvd. ( Logan Square Blue Line ), 1 773 384-4673. 46. Sunday worship 9:30AM, 11AM, and 6PM. 160edit BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. 4N739 IL Route 59, Bartlett. 1 630 213 2277. 47. Everyday worship 11:30 AM Aarti. Bebas. 160edit Chicagos Central Synagogue. 15 W Delaware Place ( Chicago Red Line ), 1 312 787-0450. 48. Conservative Judaism. Shabbat services Sa 9:15AM. 160edit Chicago Loop Synagogue. 16 S Clark St ( MadisonWabash BrownPurpleGreenOrangePink Line ), 1 312 346-7370. 49. Traditional Judaism. Shachris Sa 9AM, Su 9:30AM Mincha Sa 3:45PM, Su 4:15PM, M-F 1:05PM Maariv 4:45PM. 160edit Chicago Sinai Congregation. 15 W Delaware Pl ( Chicago Red Line ), 1 312 867-7000. 50. Liberal Reform Judaism. Torah study Sa 10:30AM Shabbat Eve service F 6:15PM, Sunday service 11AM. 160edit Christ the Savior Orthodox Church. 927 N LaSalle Dr ( Chicago Red and Brown line ), 1 312 202-0423 ( fax. 1 312 202-0427 ), 51. OCA parish with services in English. Saturday Great Vespers 4:30pm. Sunday Liturgy 9:15am. Wednesday Daily Vespers 6:30pm. 160edit Downtown Islamic Center. 231 S State St ( Jackson Red Line ), 1 312 939-9095. 52. M-F 10:30AM-5:30PM. Friday prayers: Khutba 1:05PM Aqama 1:30PM (1st Friday Jamaa), Khutba 2:05pm Aqama 2:30pm (2nd Friday Jamaa). 160edit Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago. 10915 Lemont Rd, Lemont, IL. 1 630 972-0300. 53. M-F 10AM-8PM. 25 miles southwest of Chicago. Call temple to schedule priest services. 160edit Holy Name Cathedral. 735 N State St ( Chicago Red Line ), 54. Open for private prayer or reflection from 5:30am-7pm. Flagship of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. Sunday Masses at 7am, 8:15am, 9:30am (incl sign language), 11am, 12:30pm, and 5:15pm. See website for Saturday, weekdays, and Holy Days schedules, as well as other sacraments. 160edit Saint James Cathedral. 65 E Huron St ( Chicago Red Line ), 1 312 787-7360. 55. Episcopalian services. Office hours M-F 9am-4pm. Eucharist Su 8am, 10:30am W 5:30pm Th, F 12:10pm 160edit Foreign consulates edit Heres a quick list of foreign consulates in Chicago: Get out edit Chicago Suburbs edit Forest preserves are prevelant on the far north, northwest, and southwest sides, and into the nearby Chicagoland suburbs. They are excellent for biking, jogging, picnics, and various outdoor activities. Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL is an outdoor stadium that hosts several sporting events and concerts including the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer. It is located on Harlem Avenue south of the Stevenson ExpresswayInterstate 55. An express bus runs from the Midway station on the CTA Orange Line on event days. The Brookfield Zoo . which is Chicagolands other world-class zoo, is loacted in nearby Brookfield, IL. Though not accessible via the CTA, the Hollywood station on METRAs Burlington Northern line is 2 blocks away. It is located on 31st Street close to the Eisenhower ExpresswayInterstate 290. Evanston is over the northern border of Chicago. In addition to Northwestern University . the city has a vibrant downtown area, some historical homes scattered about, and a lovely lakefront. Just beyond that is Wilmette. with the fascinating Bahai Temple . Both suburbs are accessible via the CTA Purple Line. The Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, IL is a 385 acre garden featuring 25 display gardens, four natural habitats, and 2.5 million plants. Though not accessible by the CTA, the Braeside station along METRAs Union Pacific North line is nearby. It is located on Lake Cook Road near the Edens ExpresswayInterstate 94 and US Route 41. In the same category as the Chicago Botanic Garden is the Morton Arboretum in western suburb of Lisle, IL. It hosts over 186,000 catalogued plants, the largest restored Prairie in Chicagoland, 16 miles (26 km) of hiking trails and nine miles (14 km) of roadways for drivingbicycling on 1700 acres. The Lisle station on METRAs Burlington Northern line is about 2 miles away. It is located on IL Route 53 near the Reagan TollwayInterstate 88. Naperville has a wonderful and trendy downtown area. It boasts numerous restaurants, shops, and a riverwalk. It is located on The Reagan TollwayInstertate 88 or near the Naperville Station on METRAs Burlington Northern line. Schaumburg is the shopping hub of Chicagos Northwest Suburbs. Its home to one of the top 10 largest malls in the United States, Woodfield Mall . and has a wide range of shopping and entertainment offerings. It is located off of the Jane Adams (I-90, Kennedy from OHare Airport to Chicago) about 15 miles northwest of the Chicago OHare International Airport. Oak Park was the home of architecture legend Frank Lloyd Wright. The village boasts many houses that were designed by him and his home and studio are now a museum. Walking tours to see his designs are a must for anyone who appreciates architecture. The museum and beautiful downtown Oak Park are located near the Oak Park CTA Green Line station or not too far from the Eisenhower ExpresswayInterstate 290. Ravinia is the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The arts and crafts style architecture coupled with a dazzling array of acts make this a classic summer destination for Chicagoans and tourists. Bring food, a blanket, wine, and a citronella candle buy anything you forgot on-site. The Ravinia Park station on METRAs Union Pacific North line stops at the park gates and a return train waits for late-ending concerts. It is located on Half-Day Road about a mile from the Edens ExpresswayInterstate 94 and US Route 41. Elsewhere in Illinois edit Six Flags Great America has the biggest and wildest roller coasters in Illinois. It is located off of Interstate 94 in Gurnee . Historic Galena. is great for hiking, sightseeing, and antiquing. Drive here in just over 3 hours via Interstate 90 and US Route 20. Peoria is in some ways a miniature Chicago. It is located about about 3 hours southwest of Chicago via Interstates 55 and 74. Springfield is the Illinois state capital and a city closely tied to Abraham Lincoln. This final resting place of the 16th president of the United States is located about 3 12 hours south of Downtown Chicago on Interstate 55. Starved Rock State Park . defined by its numerous canyons and waterfalls, sits on over 2600 acres. It is located near the junction of Interstates 39 and 80, about 2 hours southwest of Downtown Chicago. The Quad Cities bridge the Mississippi River forming a unique metropolitan area on the border of Iowa and Illinois. They sit about 3 hours west of Downtown Chicago on Interstates 80 and 88. Indiana edit The Indiana Dunes are a moderate drive away, and are also accessible via the South Shore commuter rail. If youve enjoyed the beaches in Chicago, you owe the Indiana Dunes a stop thats where all the sand came from. Taking the SkywayInterstate 90 to the Indiana Toll Road is the easiest way to visit. Gary is just over the border on the Skyway, with a skyline that rivals Chicagos for strength of effect industrial monstrosity, in this case with casinos, urban ruins, and a few entries by Prairie School architects Frank Lloyd Wright and George Maher. You can drive to Gary on the Indiana Toll RoadInterstates 8090. South Bend is about a two hour drive to the east or a simple ride on the South Shore from Millennium Station. It is most famous as the home of the University of Notre Dame but also has a history as the location of former automobile manufacturer Studebaker. Another half an hour drive east to Elkhart County will land you in Northern Indiana Amish country. Both are accessible via the Indiana Toll RoadInterstates 8090. The South Shore terminates at the South Bend Airport. Indianapolis is about a three hour drive southeast of Chicago and is worth a visit if you have time. Just follow Interstate 94 to Interstate 65. Also just over the Skyway (before you reach Gary) is East Chicagos bizarre 19th century planned community, Marktown . which looks like a small English village totally incongruous with the gigantic steel mills and the worlds largest oil refinery which surround it. Michigan edit Further along the lake from the Indiana Dunes are Michigans dunes and summer resorts in Harbor Country. Keep your eyes open because notables such as former Mayor Richard M. Daley, University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer, and others summer here. This region, well-known for its wineries and fresh fruit, is about an hour and a half drive from Chicago on Interstate 94. Saint Joseph amp Benton Harbor are two towns about 2 hours northeast of Chicago. St. Joseph sits on a bluff that overlooks Silver Beach State Park and Lake Michigan. The view will knock your socks off - especially at sunset. St. Joseph has numerous shops and various festivals throughout the summer. It is easily accessible via Interstate 94. Grand Rapids is the second-largest metro area in Michigan and is home to a thriving craft beer industry. Annual festivals such as ArtPrize and Laugh Fest draw thousands to the area. Additionally, many great restaurants and activities populate this growing city and Lake Michigans picturesque beaches are only 30 minutes away. Take Interstate 94 to Interstate 196. Detroit has many of Chicagos most hated sports rivals. Although it has fallen on hard times, it has a musical and architectural heritage comparable to the Windy City. It is a little over 4 hours away on, you guessed it, Interstate 94. Wisconsin edit Lake Geneva. across the Wisconsin border, is the other big summer getaway. Nearby are the Kettle Moraine state parks, with good mountain biking. Madison is located about two and half hours from Chicago on I-90 and via Van Galder buses. It is a vibrant city home to the giant University of Wisconsin and is known for its lively downtown, thriving culture, and beautiful scenery. Milwaukee and its venerable breweries are less than two hours from Chicago on I-94, via Amtrak, and by intercity bus services. Spring Green is an easy weekend trip from Chicago, about three and a half hours from town on I-90. Its the home of two unique architectural wonders: Frank Lloyd Wrights magnificent estate Taliesin . and Alex Jordans mysterious museum The House on the Rock . The Wisconsin Dells are another (wet) summer fun destination, just three hours north of the city by car (I-9094), also accessible by Amtrak train. Cedarburg is a popular festival town with a charming downtown featured on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located 20 miles north of downtown Milwaukee. Take 1-94 to Milwaukee and continue north on I-43. Routes through Chicago