Illinois
Chicago
Chicago is America's great architectural city — the birthplace of the skyscraper, strung along 26 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline with world-class museums, observation decks, and an outsized food and music culture. The most rewarding visits balance one day downtown (the Loop, the river, the lakefront museums) with a neighborhood day, and build around the architecture that makes the skyline one of the most recognizable on earth. Late spring through early fall is the strongest window; the lakefront in summer is the city at its best.
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Hotels
Where to Stay
The Peninsula Chicago
Magnificent Mile
Consistently rated among the best hotels in the country — five-star service just off the Magnificent Mile, with a celebrated spa, a glamorous lobby afternoon tea, and a top-floor pool overlooking the skyline.
The Langham, Chicago
River North
A serene riverside luxury hotel inside a landmark Mies van der Rohe tower — large rooms with floor-to-ceiling river views, a beautiful spa, and one of the city's best hotel afternoon experiences.
Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
The Loop
A beautifully restored 1890s gentlemen's club turned boutique hotel on Michigan Avenue — gorgeous historic interiors, the buzzy Game Room bar, and a rooftop bar looking straight across Millennium Park.
Nobu Hotel Chicago
West Loop
A sleek, design-led hotel in the buzzing West Loop — minimalist Japanese-influenced rooms, the famous Nobu restaurant on site, and a location at the center of Chicago's hottest dining and nightlife district.
The Robey
Wicker Park
A striking Art Deco tower hotel at the six-corners heart of Wicker Park — design-driven rooms, a cult-favorite rooftop bar with skyline views, and the best base for Chicago's coolest neighborhood.
The Godfrey Hotel Chicago
River North
A modern River North hotel built around I|O Godfrey, one of the city's biggest and best-known rooftop lounges — central, lively, and well placed for nightlife and the Mag Mile alike.
The Drake Hotel
Magnificent Mile
A grande dame of Chicago hotels since 1920, anchoring the north end of the Magnificent Mile — old-world grandeur, the legendary Palm Court afternoon tea, and a storied history of presidents and royalty.
Attractions & Tours
What to Do
Skydeck Chicago at Willis Tower
The 103rd-floor observation deck atop the building most Chicagoans still call the Sears Tower — home to The Ledge, the glass boxes that cantilever out over the city 1,353 feet below.
360 Chicago Observation Deck
The 94th-floor observation deck on the Magnificent Mile — formerly the John Hancock Center — with TILT, a platform that leans you out over Michigan Avenue, and the best view straight up the lakefront.
Art Institute of Chicago
One of the great encyclopedic art museums in the world — guarded by its famous bronze lions on Michigan Avenue, home to a legendary Impressionist collection plus "American Gothic" and "Nighthawks."
Field Museum of Natural History
Chicago's great natural history museum on the Museum Campus — home to SUE, one of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever found, plus Egyptian tombs and a titanosaur named Máximo.
Shedd Aquarium
One of the largest indoor aquariums in the world, on the lakefront Museum Campus — beluga whales and dolphins in the Oceanarium, a Caribbean reef, sharks, and one of the best skyline views in the city from its front steps.
Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
The largest science museum in the Western Hemisphere, in Hyde Park's grand 1893 World's Fair building — home to a real captured German U-boat, a walk-through coal mine, and hundreds of hands-on exhibits.
Adler Planetarium
The first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, on a lakefront peninsula at the tip of the Museum Campus — immersive dome shows, deep space-history collections, and arguably the single best skyline view in Chicago.
Chicago Architecture River Cruise
The single best way to understand Chicago — a guided boat tour up the Chicago River through the heart of downtown, narrating the skyscrapers that made the city the birthplace of modern architecture.
Navy Pier
Chicago's lakefront playground since 1916 — a half-mile pier with the 196-foot Centennial Wheel, boat cruises, the Chicago Children's Museum, gardens, and fireworks over the lake in summer.
Millennium Park & Cloud Gate
Chicago's signature public space — home to "The Bean" (Cloud Gate), the Crown Fountain, and Frank Gehry's Pritzker Pavilion. Free, open daily, and the most photographed spot in the city.
Lincoln Park Zoo
One of the last free zoos in the country, founded in 1868, set inside Lincoln Park on the North Side — lions, gorillas, and a working farm, all free, open daily, year-round.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
One of the nation's largest contemporary art museums, a block off the Magnificent Mile — bold rotating exhibitions, a strong permanent collection of post-1945 art, and a sculpture terrace overlooking the lake.
Wrigley Field Tour
A guided tour of the second-oldest ballpark in the major leagues — the ivy-covered home of the Chicago Cubs since 1914, on the North Side in the neighborhood that took its name, Wrigleyville.
Chicago Riverwalk & Architecture Walking Tour
A guided walking tour through the Loop and along the downtown Riverwalk — the on-foot complement to the boat cruise, getting you close to the skyscrapers, plazas, and history that define the city.
Go Deeper
The complete Chicago guide
Neighborhood picks, itineraries, FAQs, and local answers from our Chicago specialists — including 6 in-depth travel guides.