Chicago

Look up from a sightseeing boat on the Chicago River and you'll see an open-air museum of modern architecture drift past. A trip to Chicago combines skyscrapers, beaches on Lake Michigan, blues clubs and a food culture that goes far beyond its famous pizza. For a vacation in Chicago or a summer city break, there are few better destinations in the United States.

Risen from the Ashes

The Potawatomi were the first to live at the mouth of the Chicago River, and in 1803 the Americans built Fort Dearborn here. With the canal and the railroad, Chicago became the hub of the Midwest in the 19th century: grain, lumber and livestock from the prairie all passed through the city, and the slaughterhouses of the Union Stock Yards became legendary. In 1871 the Great Fire destroyed large parts of downtown – and made room for an architectural revolution. Engineers and architects such as William Le Baron Jenney, Louis Sullivan and later Ludwig Mies van der Rohe developed the steel-frame building here, and with it the skyscraper. The World's Fair of 1893, Prohibition and Al Capone, the Great Migration of African American families from the South who brought electric blues with them: all of this shaped the "Windy City." Barack Obama began his political career here, and his presidential center is being built in Jackson Park.

Neighborhoods: from the Loop to Lake View

The Loop, named for the loop of the elevated train tracks, is the business center, with theaters, banks and Millennium Park. North of the river lies the Near North Side with the Magnificent Mile, River North and the hotels and restaurants around Streeterville. Lincoln Park combines Victorian houses with a huge park that includes a free zoo; farther north, Lake View celebrates baseball around Wrigley Field and is home to the LGBTQ scene in Boystown. West of downtown, West Town with Wicker Park and Ukrainian Village has developed into a hub for bars and boutiques, while the Near West Side with the West Loop and Fulton Market Street is now the hottest restaurant strip. Pilsen in the southwest has a strong Mexican character and is full of murals, and Hyde Park in the south is home to the University of Chicago.

Chicago Sights

The first stop is usually Millennium Park, with the mirrored sculpture Cloud Gate that everyone simply calls "The Bean," the Jay Pritzker Pavilion by Frank Gehry and Crown Fountain, whose video towers show faces spouting water. The architecture boat tour on the Chicago River is considered the city's best experience: in 75 minutes you glide past Marina City, the Wrigley Building, the Tribune Tower and the undulating Aqua Tower. At a height of 412 meters, you can step into a glass box at the Skydeck of the Willis Tower, while 360 Chicago in the former John Hancock Center offers views over the lake. Navy Pier with its Ferris wheel, the Riverwalk with its waterside cafés and the Lakefront Trail, a bike and walking path almost 30 kilometers long along the shore, are all part of the experience, as is a Cubs baseball game at Wrigley Field, which dates from 1914.

Museums and Music

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the best art museums in the world: Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte," Grant Wood's "American Gothic" and Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" hang here. At the Museum Campus on the lake you'll find the Field Museum with the Tyrannosaurus "Sue," the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium. The Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park displays a German U-boat from World War II. Musically, Chicago is the capital of electric blues – clubs such as Buddy Guy's Legends and Kingston Mines play every night. Add to that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, improv theaters such as The Second City, which launched many comedy stars, and, in summer, the Lollapalooza festival in Grant Park.

Eating in Chicago

Deep-dish pizza, with its tall crust, cheese on the bottom and tomato sauce on top, is the best-known dish, but locals often prefer the thin, square-cut "tavern-style" pizza. The Chicago hot dog comes on a poppy seed bun with mustard, pickle, tomato, onions, relish, sport peppers and celery salt – but never with ketchup. Also part of the canon are the Italian beef sandwich with beef juice and giardiniera, and popcorn with caramel and cheddar mixed together. Restaurants in Chicago range from hole-in-the-wall joints to Michelin-starred dining, especially in the West Loop. Pilsen is ideal for tacos and tamales, Chinatown for dim sum, and around Devon Avenue in the north you'll find Indian and Pakistani cuisine.

Getting Around Chicago

O'Hare in the northwest is one of the busiest airports in the world, while Midway in the southwest mainly serves domestic flights. Both are connected directly to the Loop by the elevated "L" train – the Blue Line and Orange Line, respectively. Parts of the L network run around the clock, and you pay with a Ventra card or contactless. The street grid is logical: the intersection of State and Madison Streets is the zero point for all street numbers. In summer, Divvy bikes are ideal for the Lakefront Trail.

Best Time to Visit and Day Trips

The best time to visit Chicago is between May and October. In summer, beaches such as Oak Street Beach and North Avenue Beach, street festivals, blues and jazz festivals, and open-air concerts are the draw; fall is mild and clear. Winters are long, icy and windy, but in December the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza brings a touch of German Christmas. Day trips lead to the Indiana Dunes on the lake's southern shore, to Oak Park with its dozens of buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, or to Milwaukee, about an hour and a half to the north.