It is more customary to imagine Chicago as a large industrial and financial nucleus of the United States, and if you believe old American films, as the lair of the powerful Italian mafia led by Al Capone. However, the modern metropolis is one of the centers of tourism in the United States, which is visited by several million people a year.
Chicago is full of parks, museums, modern shopping malls and trendy restaurants. The city is building on the shores of Lake Michigan. It boasts a well-groomed coastal strip and excellent urban beaches. Sunbathing, lying on the golden sand against the backdrop of glass skyscrapers, enjoying swimming and the sun, but in five minutes be ready to plunge into the dynamic life of the metropolis - what could be better for an active and inquisitive tourist.
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What to see and where to go in Chicago?
The most interesting and beautiful places for walking. Photos and a short description.
Millennium park
An urban green oasis with an area of 100 thousand square meters in the center of Chicago. It was created at the beginning of the XXI century and almost immediately gained popularity for its original design, convenience and beauty of landscapes. Unusual sculptures, art objects and installations are scattered throughout the park. The territory hosts exhibitions of contemporary art. There is a railway station and a large underground parking under the park.
Fountain Crown
The unique fountain in Millennium Park, designed by Jaume Plens, is an engineering find. The structure is a video installation placed on large screens-facades, from which jets of water splash out. The image on the screens is constantly changing and is reflected in the water surface of the black marble pool. To implement this solution, a rather complex technical study was required.
Cloud Gate
Sculpture on the territory of Millennium Park. Locals nicknamed it "Mirror Bean" because the contours of the structure really resemble a bean. The object has become one of the symbols of progressive Chicago, the avant-garde of contemporary art and a territory of inspiration for trendy artists. The design of the sculpture was developed by an artist invited from London, Anish Kapoor.
Naval pier
Embankment, stretching along Lake Michigan for several hundred meters. The pier was built at the beginning of the 20th century for purely practical purposes - to provide logistics along the river and lake. In parallel, tourist ferries were launched. Very soon, the residents took a fancy to this place and began to arrange picnics there. Over time, cafes, landscaped playgrounds, gardens, shops and attractions appeared.
Magnificent Mile
Paris has the Champs Elysees, New York has Fifth Avenue, and Chicago has the Magnificent Mile. This is a shopping street, one of the sections of Michigan Avenue, around which the most prestigious areas of the city are located. In these places, real estate costs fabulous money. Shops, hotels and restaurants are concentrated on the Magnificent Mile, and there are always a lot of people here - both residents and visitors of Chicago.
Art institute of chicago
School and Museum founded in 1879 by an organization of American artists. In 1893, the organization received a new building, which is still located today. The museum exhibits a rich collection of impressionists (Monet, Renoir, Cezanne), as well as works by Picasso, Matisse, Warhol and many other worthy masters. Also in the Chicago Institute of the Arts, you can look at exhibitions of weapons, photography, African art and Asian culture.
Museum of Science and Industry
An unusual museum and at the same time a research center for the Western Hemisphere. It was housed in a building built for the opening of the World's Fair in 1893. The exhibits are shown in dynamics, many of them are made in full size. For children, there is a reduced copy of the railway, which functions like a real one, and a puppet palace.
Field Museum of Natural History
Museum complex on the shores of Lake Michigan, which houses collections on the natural history of the planet. The exposition numbers about 20 million copies, so even a cursory inspection will take several days. The museum space is divided into thematic areas: anthropology, geology, zoology. A valuable relic of Field Museum is the largest surviving Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.
Adler's Planetarium
Space theater and museum, built with funds from retired businessman Max Adler. The first visitors were received at the planetarium in 1930. Thanks to the generous cash infusion of the former businessman, a large number of navigational and astronomical mechanisms were purchased for the exposition. The Chicago Planetarium is the first planetarium in the United States.
Shedd's aquarium
A huge aquarium on the Chicago Museum Campus. It is considered one of the largest indoor aquariums in the world. It contains huge whales, sharks, penguins, crocodiles, octopuses and a wide variety of fish. In addition to marine life, iguanas, snakes, birds, otters, and seals live in the Shedda Aquarium - more than 2000 species of animals and 25 thousand individuals.
Chicago Cultural Center
A complex where exhibitions, presentations, screenings and other cultural events are constantly held. The children's choir of the city of Chicago also performs here. The center opened at the end of the 19th century. First, it housed the Chicago Public Library and the Veterans Union. Later, both organizations moved to other locations, and the building received the status of an urban cultural center, open to all comers.
Chicago theater
A cultural monument of the early XX century, one of the important centers of art in Chicago. From the very opening, the theater was used very widely, it hosted concerts, magician shows, theatrical performances, and comedians' performances. A lot of people always gathered for the performances, since the site very quickly won the people's love. Nowadays, the popularity of the theater remains at a high level, artists from all over the States come here on tour.
Willis Tower
Chicago skyscraper, which was considered the tallest in the world until 2009 (then the championship passed to the Sears Tower). It should be noted that the tallest skyscrapers in America have always been built in Chicago. Willis Tower consists of 110 floors, the height of the building is 442 meters, and together with the antennas on the roof it is 527 meters. Bruce Graham was the main architect of this grandiose project. The structure up to the 90th floor is supported by a system of powerful internal supports.
John Hancock Center
A 100-storey skyscraper, another grandiose "skyscraper" in Chicago. Among the locals, the name "Big John" is firmly attached to the skyscraper. The construction was completed by 1970. On the 94th floor there is an observation deck, from where you can look at Chicago from a really "mind-blowing" angle. Inside, the skyscraper is divided into a business area and residential areas.
Wrigley Field baseball stadium
The arena for the games of the most popular sport in the United States. The stadium always gathers full stands of fans during numerous cups. For nearly 100 years, Wrigley Field has been home to the Chicago Cubs. The stadium is an open space with stands installed around the perimeter. On the rooftops of the surrounding houses, enterprising owners have also arranged places for spectators.
Lincoln Park Zoo
Lake Michigan Zoo, one of the oldest in the New World. It opened in the middle of the 19th century.Now the zoo is one of the most popular attractions in Chicago, it works seven days a week on a very convenient schedule. A comfortable and natural habitat has been created for the animals, sometimes it seems that they just wander among the trees and can easily approach visitors.
Buckingham fountain
Picturesque architectural composition on the territory of Grat Park. The fountain was built with the private funds of one of the bankers. The sculptural group is made in the Rococo style and from a distance resembles a wedding cake. The four layers of this "cake" symbolize the states surrounding Michigan, and the jets of water represent the lake itself. During the warmer months, light shows are organized here, in which several light sources take part.
Water tower
One of the oldest city buildings, preserved from 1869. The tower survived the "Great Fire" of 1871, during which almost the entire city was destroyed. Several times they tried to demolish it, but the residents stood up for the structure. There is a popular belief that the ghost of the caretaker lives in the tower. During the fire, he climbed to the very top and hanged himself to avoid a painful death from the fire.
Chicago river
The river connects the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, the total length of the channel is just over 250 km. As a result of the rapid industrial development of Chicago in the 19th century, the river's waters were heavily polluted, after heavy rains and flooding, epidemics flared up in the city. In 1900, the channel was redirected to the Mississippi River Basin. There are 38 drawbridges across the Chicago River within the city.
Lake Michigan
The largest freshwater lake in the United States, it is part of the Great Lakes system. The territory of Michigan is entirely within the United States, unlike other lakes. The reservoir is called the "third coast of the States" after the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, as there are excellent sandy beaches. You can swim in the lake all summer long, even at the end of August the water remains warm enough.
