Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1871, when (so the story goes) Mrs O'Leary's cow kicked over the lantern that started
the Great Chicago Fire. It torched the entire inner city and left 90,000 people homeless.
'Damn,' said the city planners. 'Guess we shouldn't have built everything from wood.
It's flammable.' So they rebuilt with steel and created space for bold new structures, such
as the world's first skyscraper, which popped up in 1885.
Al Capone's gang more or less ran things during the 1920s and corrupted the city's
political system. Local government has had issues ever since, with 31 city council mem-
bers going to jail over the last four decades.
Sights
Chicago's main attractions are found mostly in or near the city center, though visits to
distant neighborhoods, such as Pilsen and Hyde Park, can also be rewarding. For more
in-depth city explorations, pick up Lonely Planet's
Chicago
city guide.
CHICAGO IN…
Two Days
On your first day, take an
architectural tour
and gaze up at the city's skyscrapers.
Look down from the
John Hancock Center
, one of the world's tallest buildings.
See 'The Bean' reflect the skyline, and splash with Crown Fountain's human gar-
goyles at
Millennium Park
. Chow down on a deep-dish pizza at
Giordano's
.
Make the second day a cultural one: explore the
Art Institute of Chicago
or
Field Museum of Natural History
. Grab a stylish dinner in the
West Loop
. Or listen
to blues at
Buddy Guy's Legends
.
Four Days
Follow the two-day itinerary. On your third day, dip your toes in Lake Michigan at
North Avenue Beach
and saunter through leafy
Lincoln Park
.
If it's baseball sea-
son, head to
Wrigley Field
for a Cubs game. In the evening yuck it up at
Second
City
.
Pick a neighborhood on your fourth day: vintage boutiques and rock 'n' roll in
Wicker Park
, murals and mole sauce in
Pilsen
, pagodas and Vietnamese sand-
wiches in
Uptown
, or Obama sights and the Nuclear Energy sculpture in
Hyde
Park
.
