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We did one of these 90-minute boat tours in August 2010 and it was fascinating. The tour guide was excellent; informative and entertaining, and it's a great way to see the city. There is a great range of beautiful buildings to see and it's also quite a nice way to spend (part of) a sunny day!
Other towns nearby which are especially interesting include Riverside (winding streets, interesting home architecture), Oak Park (many Frank Lloyd Wright and other interesting homes), Evanston (home of Northwestern University) and the North Shore in general (take a drive up Sheridan Road after you do the Outer Drive northbound trip in Chicago).
The Hyde Park area (used to be an independent town a hundred or so years ago) is an urban village with the University of Chicago as a hub and, incidentally, near Obamaville. Especially see the Rockefeller Chapel, a lovely Gothic building with a magnificent organ and a bell tower that has free summer concerts. On their website you can check out events held there, too.
Hyde Park has a number of bookstores - the most interesting to me are the Seminary Coop Bookstore at 5757 South University (new books and other locations) and Powell & O’Gara’s, 1501 East 57th Street (used books to get lost in).
www.rockefeller.uchicago.edu
www.semcoop.booksense.com
www.powellschicago.com
Chicago, my home town!
The highlights from my point of view, in no particular order:
Lake Michigan (including the Outer Drive and the many parks along it), ethnic foods and neighbourhoods, Hyde Park (yeah, yeah, we stole the name) and University of Chicago area, music of all kinds, architecture.
For many area and architecture tours, including the very popular Chicago River Cruise (seasonal, of course – brrrr!), and for architecture information, see the Chicago Architecture Foundation which has an office at 224 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago’s downtown (not technically in Chicago’s famous Loop which is defined by the elevated train tracks downtown). They are in the Santa Fe building; while in the downtown area see the Rookery (in both it and the Santa Fe building be sure to see the lobby areas inside), Monadnock Building, Carson Pirie, Scott Building.
The Chicago Architecture Foundation 'tour' pages will give you plenty of ideas for visits and their tours are high quality and reasonably priced.
The best 'real interactive tour' of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings including his home, the temple and other prairie style architecture.
Take train to Oak Park from anywhere in Chicago and then short walk
Visit the bar on the penultimate floor of the Hancock Tower - there's no entry fee. You can have a beer and sandwich whilst enjoying the views, which in my opinion are better than those from Sears - and it's not too expensive either.
On the way out ladies must go and powder their noses for the most spectacular views ever from a skyscraper bathroom.
Spend about an hour getting a real sense of Chicago's layout and history by cruising the rivers on an architectural boat ride. Make sure it is an authorised and well-reviewed outfit.
www.architecture.org/tour_view.aspx?TourID=8
www.chicagoline.com/
www.shorelinesightseeing.com/
Make sure you catch a morning flight to Chicago - you'll arrive in time to catch an afternoon architecture tour of the city, by river boat. Chicago's the home of the skyscraper, and you get some awesome views of some of the world's first, and finest, tall buildings from the river. From Trump Tower to the Wrigley dynasty's HQ, you'll feel like you know the city a lot better at the end of the tour. The guides are great - typically friendly mid-Westerners keen to share their enthusiasm for one of the world's great cities.
One of the world's great art museums, from Monet to Chagall, fantastic artifacts from Chicago's architecture history (the best in the US by far) including the trading room from Louis Sullivan's legendary (and much lamented) Chicago Stock Exchange. You could spend a week there, but plan a long afternoon. The admission is whatever you wish to pay. There's food inside and out. Grant Park and the Buckingham Fountain (and Lake Michigan) are just outside. www.artic.edu/aic/index.php
111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois - at Monroe. CTA "El" ("The Loop") to Adams Street, walk a block east to the museum; www.artic.edu/aic/index.php
One of the city's least-know jewels, despite being housed in the grandest piece of classical architecture on one of the busiest stretches of Michigan Avenue. An unusual thing in America, the whole place is free to the public.
It is primarily a museum and performance space, with a busy schedule of exhibits and performances. On Saturdays, they often have midday dance classes for young and old (great fun, even if you just watch).
The Chicago Symphony and Opera both offer free performances in the opulent Preston Bradley Hall, covered in glass mosaic, beneath the world's largest Tiffany dome.
On Michigan Avenue, at Randolph. Half a block away from the Loop trains, served by several buses and underground garages;
www.ci.chi.il.us/Tourism/CultureCenterTour/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Cultural_Center
Chicago's finest 'pork project' in decades, it features surprising architecture and art that are all interactive in some way. In nice weather, you'll find dozens or hundreds of kids playing at Crown Fountain, with two towering digital screens showing the smiling faces of Chicagoans in slow-motion.
The city also offers free performances in the Gehry-designed Pritzker Pavillion. There's a bike centre to rent or stow a bike, a large garden, skating rink, restaurant and spectacular views of both the lake, and the most elegant stretch of Michigan Avenue.
My favorite part? The world's only Gehry bridge, which meanders like a lazy stream, and leaps across Columbus Avenue, tranporting you into another large park.
On Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe.
One block from the Loop, served by every elevated train in the city, numerous buses, and several underground garages; www.millenniumpark.org/
Is this your business?Search Been there
