Chicago: guide to visiting 4 days in the city of Al Capone
Chicago, the city of the Blues.
Chicago, the city of the fight against Prohibition.
Chicago, the city of gangsters.
Chicago, the city of… deep dish pizza.
I could not, receiving the poi, not visit this city, the largest and most important of all the Midwest U.S..
Unfortunately, many tourists decide to skip it at the bottom of, thinking that it is a copy “in small” di New York. Indeed, is the U.S. capital architecture, with splendid palaces and houses that date back to the '900, or the period in which Frank Lloyd Wright e Louis Sullivan worked in the city. Do not forget that the city is home to the Willis Tower, that for a long time was the tallest skyscraper in the world, and from the top you can enjoy a splendid view over most of Illinois.
Personally, advice to dedicate to sightseeing at least 4 FULL days, assuming that the arrival and departure (Maybe, as I did, in the direction Milwaukee the Detroit/Toronto) on other days than those dedicated to the visit of the city.
IL “heart” the city, il downtown, is called, Loop, and is roughly bounded by the beam of track “girds” this area by creating, note, a loop on which to rattle some of the subway lines.
The latter method is more convenient and faster to get around town (and in the suburbs as Oak Park), and you can buy a CTA weekly pass (weekly ticket for public transport) in a famarcia as Walgreens.
Though it is defined “windy city”, in fact the question of whether or not the windiest cities of America, thanks to the currents coming from Lake Michigan, is debated, and it seems that this nickname has other reasons that its not windy. Certainly, in winter, is one of the most frigid! 🙂
I also went to “Wrigley Field”, the stadium of baseball, perhaps, It is the loser of the whole MLB (and therefore rightly derided): i Chicago Cubs!
I shot a video during the ritual “Take me out to the ballgame”, song that is sung in baseball stadiums shortly after half time, in a break between innings and the other.
The photographs of the trip I've uploaded to the gallery, A this address.
This is the’route that I followed, and is both in textual form, che in formato Google Maps, the days are divided according to the color of the markers on the map.
1 day:
The Loop, partita baseball (red balloons):
- 0 mile Historic U.S. 66 (the sign indicating the start of the Route 66, vicino al Museum of Art)
- Richard J. Daley Plaza (City Hall and Picasso sculpture)
- Millennium Park (and the work of art called The Bean)
- Grant Park
- Buckingham Fountain
- E Balbo Avenue (entitled to Italo Balbo)
- 7.05pm – baseball: game of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field
2 day:
Magnificent Mile e Gold Coast (Yellow balloons):
- Find a good spot to take pictures of the Loop from Lake Shore Drive
- Navy Pier
- Magnificent Mile (from Chicago River to Oak St)
- Water Tower Place
- Oak Street Beach
- Charnley House F.L.Wright – walking in residential Goald Coast
3 day:
Illinois University, Oak Park (F.L.Wright), John Hancock Observatory (green balloons):
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- Frank Lloyd Wright house and historic district (Oak Park)
- John Hancock Center (a drink in the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor)
4 day:
Loop2, Willis Tower, free ride (palloni azzurrii):
- Union Station Chicago
- Rookery Building (Free tickets available at the ShopWright store in the Rookery lobby at 12am)
- Soldier Field stadium + Balbo monument donated by Mussolini and from Ostia Antica
- Willis Tower observatory (17$)
itinerary – Google Maps Version: link
obviously, nightly, you can jump into any blues club (who said that there is only the House of Blues?), to hear him play live the great African-American musicians.
On the morning of the fifth day, you can take one of the many Interstate, in the direction Wisconsin (North), Iowa (West), Indiana (Is), Missouri (South), and continue your journey.
Tips and varied experiences about Chicago? Some other restaurant where you can eat a deep dish pizza, beyond the usual Gino's East, Giordano's Restaurant and Pizzeria Uno?