Destination attractions things to do in chicago

Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest

If you like vacationing in an urban setting, Chicago is an excellent city to visit. Chicago, located on Lake Michigan, has enough activities to keep you occupied for a lengthy stay, and if you stay downtown, all the major attractions are nearby. Here are some of my favorite places to visit in Chicago.

Many of Chicagos attractions are along Lake Michigan, and Navy Pier is one of the best. Navy Pier, a mile-long peninsula that juts out into the lake, has many different types of activities concentrated into one area; there are restaurants, shops, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, an IMAX theater, the Crystal Gardens (a botanical park), Time Escape, Amazing Chicago, and the Skyline Stage, which offers musical performances of all kinds.

Take a ride on the 150 Ferris wheel, a permanent fixture at Navy Pier with 40 gondolas that can each hold up to six people, and you can see astounding views of Chicago on a clear day. Get your picture taken beside the huge red Radio Flyer wagon at the entrance; its wheels are taller than your head! If youre there in the summer, there will be lots of sculptures exhibited in the Navy Pier Walk, an annual event. Eat some seafood at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company or rib tips and brisket at Joes Be-Bop Caf and Jazz Emporium. Stay late and listen to some jazz, or take a slow walk around the pier. Youre sure to have fun at Navy Pier.

Some people dont like to take tours because it seems too touristy, but a tour can give you lots of fast information about an area, and you can go back at your leisure to attractions that interest you. Chicago has several different kinds of tours, including those on boats, trolleys, Segways, buses, and bicycles. Ive taken the trolley tour, which leaves from Navy Pier, and its inexpensive and convenient. You can stay on the trolley for the whole tour, which takes about an hour and a half, or get off at an attraction and get back on anytime another trolley comes along. The tour guides are very informative and funny, and I learned lots of insider facts about Chicago, like where Oprah lives and many details of the Billy Goat Curse.

The boat tours, especially the Seadogs, are exciting and a good way to see the Chicago skyline. The Seadog Architecture Tour will take you through the locks and up the Chicago River all the way to the Sears Tower, showing you architectural treasures along the way. I found the Seadog guides to be quite informative and amusing, especially their barking, and your dog can ride free if theres room. Theres a water cannon at Centennial Fountain that shoots a stream of water across the river every 30 minutes from 10 am to midnight during the summer (from May until October). Its just past the first bridge on the river, near the Sheraton, and you could be misted or possibly soaked if you pass by at that time. Its fun to watch boats going by and trying to dodge the water spray.

Museums, museums, museums! Chicago has world-class museums of art, science and industry, and natural history, and also an aquarium, planetarium, childrens museum, arboretum, and even a stained glass museum at Navy Pier. The Field Museum of Natural History features Sue, the worlds largest and most complete T-Rex skeleton, the Shedd Aquarium has a dolphin show and amazing aquatic exhibits, the Art Institute of Chicago has one of the worlds finest collections of art, and the Museum of Science and Industry is the oldest museum of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and has a submarine, coal mine and walk-through human heart among its exhibits. All of these except for the Museum of Science and Industry are located around Grant Park in the Museum Campus.

If you like shopping, you will love shopping on Michigan Avenue, Chicagos Magnificent Mile. 450 stores await you, and you will find a great variety of quality goods from which to choose. Chicago Place is an 8-floor mall, and Water Tower Place has an 8-story atrium and a fantastic food court. You will find stores from Filenes Basement to Armani, Gap to Neiman Marcus, Walgreens to Tiffany & Co. Whatever your price range, you can find something to buy on the Mag Mile.

Other attractions in Chicago include the Sears Tower, the tallest building in North America, and the Hancock Observatory, which offers incredible views of Chicago and surrounding states. Visit The Cheesecake Factory, on the lower level of the Hancock, for some yummy food. Seeing the animals at the Lincoln Park Zoo, walking along the lakefront, visiting the NBC Tower, finding the rock from your state on the exterior of the Chicago Tribune Building, shopping at downtown Marshall Fields, and cooling off beside Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park are other excellent choices of activities in Chicago.

Chicago has several annual festivals in the summer; they can become crowded to very, very crowded, but are great fun. There are many arts, jazz, and ethnic festivals, but Chicagos largest festival is Taste of Chicago, held in the summer for 10 days. It draws over 3 million people to its restaurant food booths, free concerts, and massive fireworks display on the 4th of July. If you want a good seat for the fireworks, go early; it gets very crowded at dusk.

There are quite a few excellent hotels in the downtown area. The Sheraton Chicago on N. Water St. is in an ideal location, within walking distance of Navy Pier, Grant Park and Museum Campus, and the Magnificent Mile. Other nearby hotels include the Swissotel on E. Wacker, Red Roof Inn Downtown on E. Ontario, Hilton Chicago on S. Michigan Avenue, Westin Hotel on N. Michigan, and the Raphael and the Hyatt Regency on E. Delaware.

If you visit Chicago, you will find many attractions to entertain and educate you and your family. Two major airports serve Chicago, and its easy to travel around the city on buses, subway, or the El. Chicago is a world-class city that has a rich history, and if you visit, you will probably want to return soon.