 What To do in Chicago - The Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks and the Chicago Bulls lus "Mucho Real Pizzas". It's huge, pumped up city: home to the world's largest public library (Harold Washington Center), biggest bakery (Nabisco), busiest airport (O'Hare), longest street (Western Avenue), highest steeple (United Methodist), most trafficked road (Dan Ryan Expressway), biggest food festival (Taste of Chicago), and the longest drought since a World Series title (1908). The latest addition to Chicago's far-from-demure personality is the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.
What most impresses visitors is its major league architecture, and rightly so. Louis Sullivan gave birth to the skyscraper here, and his legacy, as well as that of his most distinguished disciple, Frank Lloyd Wright, is thrillingly in evidence, especially along the bustling lakefront.
Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, is 2 blocks south of the Hancock Center, is a modernist's dream, featuring photography, painting, multimedia and sculpture created since 1945. Its permanent collection includes work by Franz Kline, Andy Warhol and Francis Bacon. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Tuesday, and is closed Mondays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Admission is $10 for adults, $6 for students and seniors, and free for kids under 13. Admission is also free on Tuesdays after 5 p.m. 220 E. Chicago St.; 312-280-2660
 Chicago's most-visited tourist attraction, Navy Pier concentrates diversions galore from its 15-story Ferris wheel to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago Children's Museum, stained-glass museum, IMAX Theater, beer garden and miniature golf course. This half-mile man-made peninsula extending out into Lake Michigan was originally designed to be both a shipping and recreational facility, and it's done double duty, also serving as a military training site during both world wars and as the temporary home for the University of Illinois' Chicago campus. Now it's a pier of pure entertainment, with 40,000 square feet of retail space that includes tourist-oriented shopping (Making History, Artworks in Bloom) and plenty of casual restaurants (Joe's Be-Bop Cafe, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and Charlie's Ale House). In fair weather, a fleet of seagoing vessels offer a variety of lake cruises, and Bike Chicago rents bicycles for lakeshore touring. But in winter, the indoor attractions draw families in droves.Located just off Gateway Park downtown, it's hard to miss as you stroll along the lakeshore. 600 E. Grand Ave.; 800-595-PIER
Sears Tower, North America's tallest building, and visit the Skydeck. On a clear day you can see all the way to Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin: 40 to 50 miles. It's the best bird's-eye view of the city's grandeur. More than 1.5 million people visit the tower and get close to the sky each year; to beat the crowds go after 4 p.m. Tickets are $9.95 for adults and $6.75 for children 3-11. It's open from from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from May through September and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from October through April. 233 S. Wacker Dr.; 312-875-9696 |
