Chicago is the third largest city in the United States and the largest of Illinois, with almost 3,000,000 inhabitants within the city. Its Metropolitan Area is estimated to have a population of almost 10 million people in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Chicago is located on the western shores of Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes.
Chicago tourist opportunities are very broad and the city is a popular tourism destination but also a significant destination for conventions and congresses. In 2008, it attracted almost 45 million leisure and business travelers from the US and abroad who spent over 10 billion dollars.
A good Chicago trip should include some of the city’s special events: the Taste of Chicago (probably the biggest food festival in the world), the Grant Park Music Festival (an annual ten-week classical music concert held on the Jay Pritzker Pavilion), the renowned Chicago Architecture Festival, and many more. The Chicago tourism experience is highlighted by exciting special events throughout the entire calendar year.
Architecture is one of the main attractions of Chicago and you don’t want to miss the historic buildings of the Loop, the Merchandise Mart, the Chicago Board of Trade Building, and one of the US highest buildings in the US: the Willis Tower (the former Sears Tower).
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Some tourists will travel to Chicago to go shopping on the Magnificent Mile, a special section of Michigan Avenue from the Chicago River to Oak Street, while others will prefer attending a game of the local baseball team, the Chicago White Sox, the NFL Chicago Bears, winners of nine championships or Chicago’s NHL team, the Chicago Blackhawks, which has already won three Stanley Cups! Sports fans will get their fill in Chicago.
And after a nice game, what is better than a good dinner? Chicago restaurants serve many local favourites, such as the famous Chicago deep-dish-pizza, a local-style hot-dog, the Italian beef sandwiches and the Maxwell Street Polish, a type of grilled kielbasa, all mouth-watering delicacies that are not to be missed.
Chicago is a multicultural city, home to large communities of Mexican, Irish and Polish immigrants who live in different neighbourhoods that have to be seen one-by-one. All the big skyscrapers, theatres and important sights are located downtown, in the financial district of the Loop, the Near North, an upscale neighbourhood, and the Near South, bounded by the Chicago River. The Black community is centered on the South Side while the North Side houses several upscale neighbourhoods such as Lakeview, Lincoln Park and Old Town and is very popular with tourists. Another important tourist magnet on the Chicago map is the Historic Pullman District, in the Far Southeast Side.
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