When downtown you now have another concierge desk ready to answer those “where are” and “how do you get there” questions.
Visiting Chicago can be overwhelming without a little concierge help. You know to toss questions at a hotel concierge but when downtown you now have another concierge desk ready to answer those “where are” and “how do you get there” questions.
A new Chicago Visitors Center recently opened at Macy's on State Street
Macy’s on State Street added a terrific Visitor Information Center in June in conjunction with Choose Chicago, the city’s main tourist information bureau.
The Macy’s center has a concierge desk, maps, brochures and interactive kiosks that have dining, attractions and shopping suggestions.
When you stop in the store, ask for directions to the fountain and its main escalators. Then go down to lower level near the candy and food area to find the Visitor Information Center.
The kiosks there will not merely light up with restaurant suggestions for several types of cuisines and tell you how to get to your restaurant of choice by bus, car or walking, it will also print out the directions so you don’t have to write them down. Same goes for attractions such as museums and shopping categories.
Restaurant choices and how to get there are on interactive kiosks
However, you can also check at the desk for savings passes and other information.
Macy’s has the International and Domestic Savings Program that gives a 10 percent discount on most store purchases to visitors from outside the store’s shopping region. Qualifying documentation such as a government issued ID is needed. The Savings Pass can be printed at interactive kiosks or from the concierge desk. BTW, remember on your travels to ask for a Macy’s savings pass when at the company’s other stores.
If you are merely in and out of the city for a quick visit, try to get tickets to a show downtown. At the least, you will see a grand, historic venue.
Chicago doesn’t promote that it is a great theater town with about 200 stage companies in its metropolitan area. But if you are merely in and out of the city for a quick visit, try to get tickets to a show downtown. At the least, you will see a grand, historic venue.
However, production companies know that Chicago audiences are sophisticated theater-goers with high expectations so you are likely to see an exceptional performance.
Don’t worry if you don’t have time to go to several shows. You can admire their venue’s architecture and, in some cases, over-the-top décor. Many Chicago’s stages are in glorious marble, gold, exotic “palaces.”
Theater venues is the fourth category in the downtown Chicago walks series that includes, art, architecture, restaurants and shopping. Some theaters conduct tours but even if a theater is closed, box offices are often open so at least you can peak into some lobbies.
If in the south end of the Loop for art or architecture definitely stop by the Auditorium Theatre at 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL 60605 adjacent to Michigan Avenue. Extending around the corner onto Michigan Avenue, the building has been home to Roosevelt University for more than half a century.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark, the building was designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan. When completed in 1889, it was the city’s tallest building. Notice its arches. They are Sullivan hallmarks.
Try to schedule a tour ahead of time. Built as an opera house, its auditorium is gorgeous. Home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, it has wonderful acoustics.
When walking in the central Loop area west of the Art Institute of Chicago, peer into the Bank of America Theatre in the Majestic Building.
Sitting just west of State Street at 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago, IL 60603, the building and its playhouse, the Majestic Theatre, date to 1906. A vaudeville playhouse, the theatre featured such entertainers as Harry Houdini, Al Jolson and Fanny Brice.
Closed during the Great Depression, it reopened in 1945 as the Sam Shubert Theatre. It was the place to go to see such post war musicals as “South Pacific” and “Guys and Dolls.” Later, it was the LaSalle Bank Theatre. Bank of America acquired the LaSalle and renamed the venue in 2008. The theatre is popular for pre-Broadway premieres from The Good-by Girl in 1993 to “Kinky Boots” in 2012 and hosts Broadway in Chicago productions.
To do a theater walk, start at the Cadillac Palace, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. 60601.
Inside, large mirrors, crystal chandeliers and violet and white marble will have you believing you have moved through space to the palaces of France.
Built during the extravagant mid-1920s, the Palace Theatre (later the Cadillac Palace) was an Orpheum Circuit vaudeville playhouse. During its many lives, the venue was a movie house, banquet hall, rock venue and playhouse called the Bismark Theatre.
Renovated in 1999, it became the Cadillac Palace, hosting pre-Broadway openings of “The Producers and “Mamma Mia” and also other hit shows.
Walk east on Randolph past the impressive glass James Thompson Center, then north a block to the internationally renowned Goodman Theatre at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60601.
When the Goodman Theatre moved from its Art Institute of Chicago space to Dearborn Street, it kept the historic facades of former landmark theatres but redid the inside as comfortable and casual.
Housed in a north wing of the Art Institute of Chicago built for the Goodman in the 1920s and opened in 1925, the theatre moved to its Dearborn location in 2000. It is on the former site and incorporates the former landmark facades of the Selwyn and Harris Theaters.
Totally unlike the ornate 1920s theater palaces, its main stage, the Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre, is a comfortable, casual space with side balconies somewhat old-world reminiscent of the Globe Theatre.
Artistic Director Robert Falls has staged and overseen several world premieres and notable productions. Among them is “The Iceman Cometh” starring Brian Dennehy. The Goodman’s annual presentation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” has become a Chicago area family tradition.
Return to Randolph Street, to walk east to the Oriental Theatre, 24 W Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601.
This is the site of the Iroquois Theater, whose deadly 1903 fire led to improved theater safety standards across the country. Designed by George and Cornelius Rapp and opened by Balaban and Katz as a movie palace in 1926, the theater’s Far East carvings, color and decor has visitors oohing and aahing before the show starts.
Closed due to disrepair in 1981, the theater underwent restoration and was renamed the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in 1997. It reopened in 1998 with the premiere of “Ragtime.”
The Oriental is just west of State Street so make the last stop the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St. Chicago, IL 60601.
Built in 1921 for $4 million, it is arguably the Balaban and Katz venue that made the statement: movie theater lobbies and auditoriums should look like palaces. The Rapps designed this theater in French Baroque style. Make a reservation for a tour to stand on the stage and go back stage.
Great entertainers have performed on Chicago’s downtown stages. World premieres and memorable performances have taken place there. So be sure to put Chicago theaters on the to-do list.
We could say luckily for tourists, commuters and residents Chicago is a foodie town so there are several options. But luck has nothing to do with it.
Berghoff's on Adams Street, well placed for architecture walks, is among Chicago's oldest, family-owned restaurants.
If you are doing the art and architecture walks or shopping, you need some suggestions on where to revive or take a break. If going to the theater, you’ll want to know a good place to eat within walking distance.
We could say luckily for tourists, commuters and residents Chicago is a foodie town so there are several options. But luck has nothing to do with it.
Once known for its steaks (after all the stockyards were here), expense-account, three-martini lunches, Sunday family dinners and neighborhood German, Italian, Greek and Chinese eateries, the city’s dining options began to expand about 1986-87 when James Beard award-winning chefs J Joho (The Everest Room), Charles Trotter (Charlie Trotter’s) and Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill/ Topolobampo and their restaurants became house-hold names among people looking for exceptional dining-out experiences.
Ironically, as experimental dish combinations took hold among chefs opening their own places, steaks and ethnic eateries came back in style.
Of course, some old-time Chicago favorites such as Gene and Georgetti’s for steaks in River North (north of the Chicago River, west of Michigan Avenue) and Berghoff’s for German food in the financial district (on Adams Street near LaSalle Street) made it through the fads.
Terzo Piano on the Art Institute of Chicago Modern Wing terrace has indoor seating but when the weather allows, sit outside for a skyline view.
Now, new restaurants open every week in the West Loop, South Loop and River North areas that circle downtown. Arguably, the problem is that Chicago’s vibrant dining scene means there are enough good choices to fill more than a month of lunch and dinners in and near downtown Chicago.
The following is a small sample of places to try. They are reasonably-priced gems. Reservations are strongly recommended for lunch or dinner.
When shopping Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile” along North Michigan Avenue from Wacker Drive to Oak Street, you can walk a couple of blocks either side of the Avenue and find excellent eateries for lunch or dinner. Two of them are Café des Architectes in the Sofitel Hotel 20 E. Chestnut St., just west of Michigan Avenue, near the Hancock Building north of the Chicago Avenue midpoint and Coco Pazzo Café at 636 N. St. Clair, east of Michigan Avenue, south of Chicago Avenue.
The Park Grill in Millennium Park is a rink-side seat to ice skating in winter and strollers in the park the other seasons.
To get good, light ethnic foods in time for a performance at Symphony Center home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Michigan Avenue near Monroe Street or a Broadway in Chicago show at the Bank America Theatre on Monroe Street near State Street, try to get a reservation at Russian Tea Time, 77 E. Adams St.
Further south and west, is 312 Chicago at 136 N. LaSalle St. It is around the corner from the Cadillac Palace on Randolph Street which also does Broadway in Chicago shows and it’s about two blocks from the famed Goodman Theatre on Dearborn Street whose “Death of a Salesman” production traveled to New York.
Not everyone’s favorite restaurant is mentioned here and it’s OK to stumble on a place while walking and try it. There are so many good places, it’s hard to go wrong. So, enjoy Chicago!
To really see most of downtown Chicago’s exceptional architecture examples, you should walk.
The Art Institute's Modern Wing's "flying carper" roof is an impressive sight from Millennium Park or the wing's east courtyard.
Architecture students and aficionados travel to Chicago to see its famed and ground-breaking buildings. Tourists quite often take Chicago’s architecture boat rides offered by the Architecture Foundation and other boat companies that ply the Chicago River. By the way, all the boat tours are good and have knowledgeable guides. However, to really see most of downtown Chicago’s exceptional architecture examples, you should walk.
Architecture is second in a five part series on walking destinations in Chicago that includes art, theater, shopping and restaurants. Combine them for a day in the city.
You can begin your walk anywhere downtown to gaze up or into the lobby of an architecturally important building. But because Millennium Park is a destination point for tourists, we’ll start there.
Near Millennium Park
To the south, across Monroe Drive is the Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing.
From Millennium Park walk the Nichols Bridgeway over Monroe Drive to the Modern Wing’s upper level. You have a great view of the building’s “flying carpet” roof, a computer-regulated system of blades that appropriately screen the light for art.
You’ll end up next to the Bluhm Family Terrace where you get a birds eye view and photo op of Chicago’s skyline. The Bridgeway and the Modern Wing were designed by Pritzker Prize winner Renzo Piano and opened in May 2009.
Go down a level to Café Moderno for latte, tea and a view of Griffin Court, the Modern Wing’s impressive hall.
On Griffin’s main level, walk through the double glass doors into a transition area from old to new and go left. You will pas Chagall’s “America” windows and down a few steps to see Adler & Sullivan’s Stock Exchange Trading (1883-1896) Room. The firm of Vinci & Kenny reconstructed it for its Art Institute location 1970-77.
Frank Ghery's Pritker Pavilion lattice of pipes extend over the seats
Back in Millennium Park it’s hard to miss Frank Ghery’s sculpturally-topped Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the park’s outdoor concert venue. Dedicated in July 2004, its trellis of steel pipes contains a sound system extending over the seats and concert lawn.
In Millennium Park, look north on Columbus Drive to see a building whose outside appears to ripple. It is the Leed-certified Radison Blu Aqua, a hotel designed by Jeanne Gang and her innovative, Chicago-based Studio Gang firm. Completed in 2010, its balconies create the contemporary ripple design but also shade the rooms without blocking their views.
Near the Chicago River
Walk west from the hotel to see the green, art deco-styled Carbide and Carbon Building at 230 N. Michigan Ave., home to the Hard Rock Hotel. Built by the Burnham Brothers in 1929. The building has art deco layered setbacks and sides. Stop in front to admire its decorated entry. The brothers are Daniel Hudson Burnham, Jr and Hubert Burnham, sons of Chicago architect and city planner Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846-1912).
Carbide and Carbon Building on Michigan Avenue just south of the river is a fine example of art deco
Wacker Drive and the Chicago River are a few steps north. Look or go across to The Langham, Chicago on Wabash Avenue. You might not expect London’s longtime (1865) upscale hotel to occupy such a no-nonsense structure. The hotel’s lobby and dining spaces on the second floor are gorgeously elegant but the building, itself, is significant. The Langham Chicago opened in 2013 in the first 13 floors of a 52-story, 1972 building that Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe designed for IBM.
Across the road west from The Langham are two round towers you might have seen in the movies. They are Bertrand Goldberg’s Marina City. At 65-stories they were the world’s highest residential structures when built in 1964 as Goldberg’s urban mixed-use model. Their corncob-style gave each apartment a private view.
Designed on a platform as a city-within-a- city, the complex’s current commercial use includes the House of Blues, a hotel, restaurants, cleaners, realty, and convenience store, parking garages and marina.
Marina City's twin towers and House of Blues sits across Mies van der Rhoe's former IBM building that houses The Langham Hotel. Trump's hotel and tower is across from The Langham.
In and near the Loop
Chicago’s Loop refers to buildings within the “L” tracks that circle some of the downtown. But building near the tracks are also considered in the Loop.
From the river start back south on Dearborn Street to the James R. Thompson Center at Randolph Street. Although occupants complain it is hard to cool and heat, the wrapped-in-glass building stands out instead of blending with its neighbors.
Designed by Helmut Jahn and his Murphy & Jahn firm it was completed in 1985 as a State of Illinois building. Later renamed the Thompson Center for Governor James Thompson, the structure has a 160 foot rotunda surrounded by 16 stories of government and commercial offices with a food court on its lower level.
Go inside to gaze up, then take an escalator up a level to the Illinois Art Museum and Artisans Shop that feature Illinois artists.
Back outside, walk west to LaSalle St. to admire the art deco, waterfall front and sculpture decoration of the State of Illinois Building. Located at 160 N. LaSalle St, it was designed by the Burnham Brothers, completed in 1924 and renovated by the Holabird and Root in 1992.
The Rookery in LaSalle Street's financial district is among Chicago's architectural gems.
Stay on LaSalle and walk south to see The Rookery. Designed by Burnham and Root and completed in 1988, the building’s lobby, 209 LaSalle St., was redesigned by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905. Snap photos of its staircase. Everyone does.
The Rookery is in the financial district which is a good vantage point to admire the Chicago Board of Trade. A commanding art deco icon at the end of LaSalle Street the CBOT building is at 141 W. Jackson Blvd.
Designed by Holabird & Root, the 1930 skyscraper’s tiered set-backs and decoration have made it an art deco icon with Chicago and national landmark status.
A three-story high statue of Ceres holding a sheaf of wheat and bag of corn sits atop its copper, pyramid-shaped roof.. By the way, wheat sheaves are often used in art deco decoration.
Speaking of iconic buildings, head east to Michigan Avenue, then south to Congress Parkway to visit the Auditorium Theatre.
The Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan designed 1899 stone structure was built as an opera house and hotel with Sullivan’s distinctive arches. Known also for its excellent acoustics, the theater is a concert and show venue that is also home to the Joffrey ballet.
With all that walking you are entitled to splurge at lunch or dinner so watch for restaurants next in the series and combine them with art or architecture.
It is nearly impossible to be downtown Chicago without seeing a sculpture on a corner, tucked into a plaza and defining a park.
"Coud Gate" (The Bean) reflects people and skyline in Millennium Park
Chicago has a good bus system and taxis are within waving distance. But the “city that works” is also the city that walks. This is a five part series of walks to see art, architecture, theater, go shopping and try different restaurants for different times of day. Even better than doing one walk, is to combine a few destinations for a full, fun, vacation day in the city.
First in the series: ART
It is nearly impossible to be downtown Chicago without seeing a sculpture on a corner, tucked into a plaza and defining a park. And that is just outside public art. Peer through the glass of office buildings to see their lobby sculptures.
Frank Gehry's metal top to the Pritzker Pavilion is as much sculpture as it is architecture.
Inside or out, they are on or near east-west streets that when followed come within a couple of blocks of the Art Institute of Chicago at Michigan Avenue.
You really need a whole day to do the Art Institute of Chicago, a double building that showcases older, traditional art in the main section that fronts Michigan Avenue at Adams Street and contemporary pieces in newer, Modern Wing facing Monroe Drive and Millennium Park.
So let’s look at what is within walking distance of the Art Institute. You do have on comfortable shoes, right?
Too often residents and visitors bustle by the art museum’s North Stanley McCormick Memorial Garden, sometimes known as the North Garden, at Monroe Drive and Michigan Avenue.
But this is a good place to sit and contemplate, Henry Moore’s “Large Interior Form,” Alexander Calder’s “Flying Dragon” David Smith’s “Cubi VII” and Ulrich Ruckriem’s “Untitled” sculptures. You can drop references to this almost secret garden when talking about hidden Chicago gems you found.
Not so hidden are the pieces across Monroe in Millennium Park. They are definitely worth seeing and snapping with your phone or camera.
Indeed “Cloud Gate,” typically called the “Bean,” almost rivals “The Picasso” near City Hall in fame. Done by British artist Anish Kapoor, the 110 ton polished stainless steel structure reflects Millennium visitors and Chicago’s skyline.
Now, look around and ponder when does an architectural structure get mistaken for a giant sculpture? When it is the billowing steel ribbons atop the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park that was designed by architect Frank Gehry.
Another, larger-than-life Millennium sculpture, is the two-piece, 50 foot high, Crown Fountain designed by Jaume Plensa. Made of glass blocks that face each other with a walk-in catch basin between them, the blocks reflect the faces of hundreds of Chicago residents.
If you want to do a broad arc, you can go west from Millennium Park on Randolph to see Jean Dubuffet’s “Monument with Standing Beast” at the State of Illinois’ James R. Thompson Center (100 W. Randolph Street).
The Picasso sits on Daley Plaza as a Chicago ID
Then head south a block to Washington Street for “The Picasso” at Daley Plaza. It has that title by default because Pablo Picasso supposedly didn’t name it.
Look for Joan Miro’s “Chicago” sculpture in concrete, mesh, bronze and tile on the narrow Brunswick Plaza across Washington Street.
Continue south a block to Madison Street to look inside Three First National Plaza (70 W. Madison) at Dearborn Street for Henry Moore’s “Large Upright Internal/External Form.”
Stay on Dearborn going south to see Marc Chagall’s “Four Seasons,” a mosaic wall on the chase Tower Plaza.
The next block south is Adams Street where you’ll see Calder’s bright “Flamingo.”
Adams ends east back at the Art Institute. You’ve made a loop but you might want to walk into Grant Park on the museum’s south side to see dozens of other walkers.
Calder's Flamingo brightens a plaza
Or, from a distance, its appears they are people walking. They make up “Agora,” a group of headless, cast iron figures by Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz. No one will believe you unless you take a picture.
Watch for the Restaurant series for ideas of places to stop while walking downtown Chicago.
If you live in one of the states that felt winter’s arctic temps or wild winds or unpredicted floods (and that is most of the United States), you deserve a treat.
If you live in one of the states that felt winter’s arctic temps or wild winds or unpredicted floods (and that is most of the United States), you deserve a treat.
So, don’t wait until you can actually escape to somewhere fun, interesting or colorful for Spring Break. Start planning now while the skies are grey or work impinges on sleep. Part of the fun of getting away is thinking about where to go and what to do when you get there.
Here are some tips to help you decide but they require fairly quick action because spaces and tickets go quickly.
Become familiar with cruise line deals. For example: Go to Princess to find half-price fares. The cruise line delivers what it promises. However, other cruise lines such as Norwegian also do last minute deals. The lines want to book their cabins and some of the destinations are perfect for a spring break.
Tie your spring break with something you’d love to try or do such as expert cooking.
Members of a food enthusiasts class who wanted to learn more about Southwest dishes and preparations are at the San Antonio CIA site
The CIA, not the spy organization, but the Culinary Institute of America, offers food enthusiast courses at its Hyde Park site in New York, its Napa site in California and its San Antonio site in Texas. The places are in interesting vacation destinations.
Tie the spring break to a sport your family loves such as baseball’s spring training.
Go to Major League Baseball for the schedule to see what ties in with your spring break. By baseball definitions these are warm vacation destinations. The Cactus League is in Arizona and the Grapefruit League is in Florida.
Bonus tip: Have fun so don’t worry about what you can’t change.
Continue to celebrate the New Year the Viennese way with waltz music and dance
'Salute to Vienna' comes to Chicago's Symphony Center
Orchestra Hall at the Chicago Symphony Center has a delightful way to continue celebrating the New Year, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014.
Instead of traveling to Vienna for its annual New Year’s concert, merely go downtown Chicago for “Salute to Vienna,” an Austrian musical tribute of Viennese waltzes and dances.
The Strauss Symphony of America along with the Chicago Philharmonic, led by Viennese conductor Christian Schultz, will have audiences swaying to traditional waltzes.
The International Champion Ballroom Dancers and Europaballett-St. Pölten ballet dancers add their graceful interpretations. In addition, the concert features tenor Brian Cheney and soprano Monika Rebholz.
Salute to Vienna is 2:30 p.m., Jan. 5, 2014 at Orchestra Hall, 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604. Tickets are $39-$105 but there is a 15 % discount for tickets bought before Sunday. Click here or call 312-294-3000. Use the promo code WALTZ for the tickets.
A popular vacation spot popular in summer, the Dells’ lodges reduce rates after Labor Day even on weekends.
A popular vacation spot popular in summer, the Wisconsin Dells still have dynamic attractions in the fall when the trees are ablaze with oranges and gold and the lodges reduce rates, even on weekends.
Take a Ducks or Dells boat ride on the Wisconsin River
There are lots of accommodation choices from indoor waterparks and resorts to chain hotels. Among the best of the total offerings of indoor entertainment, restaurants and lodging is Kalahari Resorts where guests can also bowl or swim up to an indoor bar and youngsters can do water-slides, carnival-style rides or play arcade games. A day pass is available for non-guests.
With summer vacationers gone, it’s easier to do a scenic river tour on by a World War II Ducks amphibian vehicle or an Upper Dells Boats tour to see “Stand Rock” where dogs and people have leaped.
But this is when the Wisconsin River’s banks are a blaze in red and gold
Tip: After doing the boat tour, stop in town at the 1875 photo studio of H.H. Bennett. The famed landscape photographer and photo-equipment inventor was the person who made the Dells famous with his “Stand Rock” leap photo. The studio is an amazing museum of photography and turn-of-the-last-century lifestyle history.
H.H Bennett's photo studio has a mock-up of the famous rock formation he shot
Fall is also when Circus World, a terrific collection of parade wagons and Ringling Bros. memorabilia, cuts its admission fee in half. Circus World is an easy 10 minute drive south of the Dells on US Highway 12 to Baraboo.
If time allows stop at the International Crane Foundation about two miles south of the Dells. Before going check to see if there is a festival or puppet demonstration. Cranes identify with whomever is feeding and caring for them so ICF staff dress in white and where crane-head puppets on their hands so the cranes will ID with other cranes instead of humans.
Fall is a great time to visit summer destinations such as the Wisconsin Dells.
Take advantage of that extra day off work for a last-minute vacation.
Take advantage of that extra day off work for a last-minute vacation.
Fit in a Door County vacation to end the summer
Door County, a Wisconsin peninsula separating Green Bay from Lake Michigan, is about 3 ½ hours north of Chicago. This is a place to just kick back, hike and bike the state parks and visit art galleries.
However, for a special treat, try to snag a ticket to “Grand Eloquence,” the peninsula’s last classical chamber concert of the summer season, Sept. 2 at 3 p.m. and plan to return home late Monday afternoon.
The concert is a repeat of one that sold out early in the series that is held in a fabulous, Gatsby-style, 35,000 square foot Ellison Bay estate. The program is Gustav Mahler’s Quartet Movement in A minor for Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano.
A dressy casual (no shorts or flip flops) event, catered by Alexander’s of Door County, the concert benefits United Way of Door County and Midsummer’s Music Festival. Tickets are $150. For more information call 920-854-7088 and visit Midsummer Music.
Or, for summer’s waning days, plan trips to the northern suburbs of Chicago.
Check out butterflies or stroll the paths at the Chicago Botanic Garden
Fit in a visit to Long Grove. A historic village, settled in the mid-1800s, the town is home to such tasty shops as Long Grove Confectionery. However, it also has stores that carry wares from Italy, Ireland and other countries. Labor Day weekend features “Long Grove Around the World” to celebrate those shops.
Cap the weekend off with a picnic on the lawn and concert at Ravinia Festival.
You can still picnic under the trees at Ravinia or get a dinner music package on Labor Day Weekend
At Ravinia, hear violinist Johnny Gandelsman play selections by Bach, Stravinsky, Glass and Biber Sept. 1 or pianist David Fung play Ravel, Scarlatti, Rachmaninoff Beethoven Sept. 2. Both concerts are 6 p.m. in Bennett Gordon Hall. Dinner packages are available. For tickets and more information visit Ravinia.
Chicago simply does not stay still long enough to make any experience old or boring.
It doesn’t matter if you have visited Chicago or are now thinking of putting the city on your summer vacation list. Chicago simply does not stay still long enough to make any experience old or boring.
A tourist notes the "Bean" arch and reflections
Millennium Park, home to the city’s famed “Cloud Gate” (“The Bean”) and Jay Pritzker Pavilion, keeps adding and changing sculptures and concerts.
The Art Institute of Chicago, connected to Millennium Park by the Sky Bridge over Monroe, moves from one block buster exhibition to the next. The theater scene, home of 200 live stage companies including Goodman and Steppenwolf Theatres and Broadway productions, keep turning out Jeff and Tony award winners.
Just as important, new restaurants pop up weekly and new and remodeled hotels cater to today’s plugged-in generation and suburbanites who want to take advantage of Chicago’s downtown attractions.
With so much going on, planning a weekend can either be fun or a challenge. Here are five top Chicago destinations that can be centerpieces of a great vacation minus the confusing what-to-do part.
Look for Marc Chagall's windows at the east end of the Art Institute of Chicago
You don’t have to know anything about art to find something fascinating at the Art Institute of Chicago. The world-class museum happens to be showcasing French Impressionism from the Musee d’Orsay, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and its own collection now through Sept. 29, 2013. However, adults and youngsters ooh and ah at the miniature furniture and interiors in the Thorne Rooms and Medieval arms and armor.
If you make it to Chicago before Aug. 18 you can still catch Goodman’s beautiful production of “The Jungle Book.” Another hot 2013 ticket is the “Book of Mormon.” At the Bank of America Theater through Oct. 06, 2013. This is the writers’ and director’s recently revised production which many critics think is even better than the original.
Visitors often talk about and recommend the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s river boat tour. However if the price or times don’t match your pocket book or schedule you’ll do fine with the other boat companies’ architecture tours. If you don’t mind walking you’ll like the Architecture Foundation’s tours that go inside buildings.
If you can't ID these Chicago landmarks now you will be able to after you take the Film Tour or an architecture boat ride.
Movie and television producers love Chicago. To see where some of the 80 movies set in Chicago were shot such as “Dark Knight” and “Blues Brothers” take the Chicago Film Tour. The guides are knowledgeable. You see parts of Chicago that even locals have not visited. And you see clips on the bus while traveling.
You’ve heard of China Town, which is fun and interesting. But other Chicago neighborhoods also have their own character and unique restaurants. You can learn more about the city and explore some of its culinary scene with Chicago Tours and Sidewalk Tours.
