Chicago is a bustling, energetic city that never slows regardless of the season. Located in Illinois on the shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago is known for its world-famous museums, critically acclaimed restaurants, amazing architecture, first-class shopping, rich nightlife, action-packed sporting events and a thriving theatrical scene.

Exceptional Museums
Its exceptional collection of museums encompass the Chicago History Museum (formerly the Chicago Historical Society), the city's oldest cultural institution focuses on the city's life, government and work, plus its ideas, people and architecture; the Museum of Science and Industry, the largest science museum in the Western Hemisphere; the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the world's leading art museums with the largest collection of Impressionist paintings in the world outside of the Louvre in Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Art, one of the largest facilities devoted to this period; the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Midwest’s only museum of this type; and the DuSable Museum of African-American History, named after the area’s first permanent settler.

A Waterfront Playground
Those visiting should plan on spending time at Chicago's museum campus overlooking Chicago Harbor and Lake Michigan. The scenic park conveniently joins the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum of Natural History.

The Shedd Aquarium, the largest indoor aquarium in the world, offers the world's largest array of aquatic mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and fish. Its Wild Reef exhibit is one of the largest and most diverse shark habitats in North America. After exploring the oceans, attendees can gaze up at the heavens in the Adler, the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere. The Field Museum offers exciting displays of mummies, Egyptian tombs, Native American artifacts and dinosaur skeletons including Sue, the largest, most complete and best-preserved tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered.

Just north of this trio is Grant Park, home to Buckingham Fountain, the background for many photos, the Art Institute of Chicago and the new 24.5-acre Millennium Park with extraordinary architecture. The new park contains an outdoor performing arts pavilion, a year-round indoor theatre, restaurant, ice-skating rink, contemporary garden, public art, fountains, promenade, landscaped walkways and green spaces. Across the street is the Chicago Cultural Center. Described as a neo-classical masterpiece with two art-glass domes and glittering mosaic walls, its many galleries spotlight contemporary art from around town and works from around the world. Live musical performances take place during the week.

The city's waterfront playground continues with Navy Pier, the state's most popular attraction. It offers visitors a unique blend of family-oriented activities. This famous site boasts a 150-foot high Ferris wheel, a musical carousel, the Chicago Children's Museum, a wave swinger ride in Pier Park, a 3-D ride, a variety of restaurants and the very popular Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

North of downtown is Lincoln Park with the Lincoln Park Zoo, one of the nation’s oldest zoos, the Lincoln Park Conservatory and the Notebaert Nature Museum.

Renowned Architecture
Visitors from everywhere come to Chicago to admire its architecture. From historic landmarks to contemporary technological masterpieces, Chicago is built on the unique and innovative designs that have shaped American architecture. The city is a living museum thanks to the work of such greats as Daniel Burnham who created the 1909 Plan for Chicago and encouraged the development of Chicago's lakefront as park space; Louis Sullivan with his use of detail and ornaments in design; Frank Lloyd Wright, noted for his prairie-style design (illustrated in Robie House on the University of Chicago campus); a leading modern architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe; and Helmut Jahn whose thumbprint is seen around the world and at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

Chicago is home to the world's first steel framed skyscraper designed in 1885 by William Le Baron Jenney. Although the Home Insurance Building no longer stands, three of the world's 10 tallest buildings - the 1,450-feet Sears Tower, which opened in 1974, the 80-story Aon Building (formerly the Amoco Building) at 1,136-feet, and the 1,127-feet John Hancock Center - reside here. The new Sears Tower Skydeck on the 103rd floor is open to the public, while the Hancock Observatory offers an open-air skywalk.

Other significant buildings include the Chicago Cultural Center - completed in 1897 in the beaux arts-style, Adler and Sullivan's 1889 Auditorium Building now home to the Auditorium Theatre at Roosevelt University, and the art deco Chicago Board of Trade Building, designed by Holabird and Root in 1929.

To learn more about Chicago's acclaimed architecture, the Chicago Architecture Foundation offers around 90 walking or bus tours, conducted by knowledgeable guides, plus self-guided as well as audio tours. Architectural boat cruises on the Chicago River are available seasonally.

Shopping in Style
Shopping began in Chicago on State Street with the opening of the original Marshall Field's department store in 1852 (under the Macy’s flag as of 2007). State Street is also home to another famous Chicago department store, Carson Pirie Scott, where customers are drawn into the entrance of the store by the ornate ironwork designed by Chicago architect Louis Sullivan in 1899.

The first recommendation from the Burnham Plan to come to fruition was the double-decked Michigan Avenue Bridge. The bridge, which opened May 14, 1920, made possible the development of the famed retail and tourist destination, The Magnificent Mile.

The famed mile runs along Michigan Avenue from Oak Street to the Chicago River. Amid department store giants such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale's are hundreds of specialty shops and boutiques offering goods from around the world. Oak Street, just west of Michigan Avenue, is a boutique shopper's dream.

An abundance of shopping can also be found at The Shops at North Bridge, Chicago Place Shopping Center, Water Tower Place, and 900 North Michigan Avenue Shops, Navy Pier on Lake Michigan, dozens of Chicago neighborhoods and The Shops at the Mart located at Chicago's Merchandise Mart on the banks of the Chicago River.

From Restaurants to Sports and Theater
Upon arriving, visitors never have to worry about finding a place to eat. Chicago features thousands of restaurants that offer culinary favorites to suit every taste, budget, and mood. Chicago is also proud to be home of award-winning restaurants and world-renowned chefs, as well as home to deep-dish pizza...one of Chicago's most important culinary contributions.

In the latter part of the 20th century, the city developed a reputation for diversity, resulting in many of the city's cultural celebrations, ethnic restaurants and neighborhoods that remain today. Ethnic groups, in particular Mexicans, Italians, Greeks and Polish people, gravitated toward the city in the early 1900s because of the inclusive environment. Add to this mix - soul food, French, Japanese, Asian, or Spanish - and Chicago offers a world of dining selections. Try Chinatown, Greektown, West Rogers Park, and Pilsen. These are all an important part of the fabric of the city.

Chicago loves its sports. Two major league baseball teams call the city home, the Cubs that play at Wrigley Field and the White Sox, who play at U.S. Cellular Field on the south side. The National Basketball Association’s Chicago Bulls, the National Hockey League’s Blackhawks and the Chicago Bears football team that plays at Soldier Field, are popular winter sports. Colleges and universities offer a solid line-up of sporting events too. Plus there are plenty of opportunities to fish and play golf.

Chicago's theatrical groups push the envelope with cutting-edge performances in historic, as well as state-of-the-art stages. The Chicago Theatre, The Goodman, LaSalle Bank Theatre, Cadillac Palace, Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University and the Ford Center have made visiting downtown a must for theatre lovers.

History Unfolds
Commissioned by the French government in 1673, Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette became the first explorers of Chicago. It was with the help of the Illinois Indians that the two were guided through the land. Around 1780, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, a Haitian fur trader, and his family came to the area and settled. The town of Chicago expanded its boundaries and became a city in March 1837. The development of the railroad and the Illinois/Michigan Canal in 1848 proved necessary for Chicago's growth. Both helped the city become prominent in the cattle, hog, lumber and wheat industries, and the city's population tripled in the six years following the opening of the canal.

As the city continued to grow, there were setbacks along the way, one of the largest being the Great Chicago Fire. On October 8, 1871, the fire that began near West DeKoven and South Jefferson Streets destroyed most of the city's central area - nearly four square miles. At least 250 lives were lost, 100,000 residents were homeless and more than 17,000 buildings were destroyed. The fire became a turning point. The citizens resurrected the city and even built momentum for more development afterward. Within a few years, Chicago was chosen to host the 1893 World Columbian Exposition. The event was a huge success and put the city on the map. The first Ferris wheel made its debut in 1893 at the exposition; as such the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier is particularly symbolic.

Between the time of this event and World War I, ideas and machines created in Chicago shaped modern American civilization. By 1900 Chicago had built the longest cable car and streetcar lines in the world. Today the “L” or “el” (elevated train) mass transit system is a convenient way to see the city. Stops are well marked and detail locations from the very center of the city. Many attractions offer directions with the closest stops.

The city became second only to New York in manufacturing activities, and first in the meatpacking and rail industries. Other Chicago firsts and inventions are softball, the zipper, daytime TV soap operas, McDonald's restaurant, the electric iron and cooking range, the grain reaper, the reactor to produce electricity from atomic energy, bifocal contact lens, the winding watch, and the Twinkie.

With 54 museums, more than 200 theaters and approximately 15,500 restaurants in the metropolitan area (5,600 in the central business district alone), Chicago is an incredibly diverse city. Add to these 77 neighborhoods, 31 miles of lakefront, 550 parks, 15 miles of bathing beaches, more than 200 annual parades, and there is always something waiting to be experienced in the whirlwind city of Chicago

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Chicago Visitor Center Chicago Cultural Center 77 East Randolph Street (Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue) Chicago, IL (312) 567-8500 Chicago Landmarks The Magnificent Mile Chicago Architecture Foundation

Chicago Visitor Center Chicago Water Works 163 East Pearson Street (Pearson Street and Michigan Avenue) Chicago, IL (312) 567-8500