Chicago
Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S.
Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the third-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.74 million at the 2020 census. The Chicago metropolitan area has approximately 9.62 million residents according to the 2020 census and is the third-largest metropolitan statistical area in the country and part of the fourth-largest combined statistical area in the United States, spanning 19 counties in three states and a population of nearly 10 million. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Chicago
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Willis Tower
The Willis Tower, formerly known and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, is a 110-story, 1,451-foot skyscraper in the Loop of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, it opened in 1973 as the world's tallest building, a title that it held for nearly 25 years.
800 m · skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, USA · Wikipedia - 02Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago is a private, nonprofit art museum in Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1879, it is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States.
400 m · art museum and school in Chicago, United States · Wikipedia - 03United Center
United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League.
3.8 km · indoor arena in Chicago · Wikipedia - 04Aon Center
The Aon Center is a modern supertall skyscraper located in the Northeast corner of the Chicago Loop, Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was designed by a partnership between architecture firms Edward Durell Stone and Perkins and Will and was completed in 1973 as the Standard Oil Building.
600 m · skyscraper in the Chicago Loop, Chicago, Illinois, United States · Wikipedia - 05Trump International Hotel and Tower
The Trump International Hotel and Tower, or simply the Trump Tower, is a skyscraper condo-hotel in the Near North Side community area in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. The building, named for Donald Trump, was designed by architect Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
800 m · skyscraper condo-hotel in downtown Chicago, Illinois · Wikipedia - 06875 North Michigan Avenue
875 North Michigan Avenue is a 100-story, 1,128-foot-tall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the building was designed by Peruvian-American chief designer Bruce Graham and Bangladeshi-American structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
1.9 km · skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States · Wikipedia - 07Soldier Field
Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League since 1971, as well as Chicago Fire FC of Major League Soccer since 2020.
2.4 km · Football stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States · Wikipedia - 08University of Illinois Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago is a public research university in the Near West Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The university was the second institution established within the University of Illinois System and it is now the largest university in the Chicago metropolitan area, having more than 35,000 students enrolled in its 16 colleges.
2.1 km · public university (1983-) · Wikipedia - 09Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The park, opened in July 2004, is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a 24.5-acre section of northwestern Grant Park.
400 m · public park in Chicago, Illinois, USA · Wikipedia - 10Home Insurance Building
The Home Insurance Building was an early skyscraper that stood in Chicago from 1885 to its demolition in 1931. Originally ten stories and 138 ft tall, it was designed by William Le Baron Jenney in 1884 and completed the next year.
400 m · 19th century commercial building in Chicago, Illinois · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
Along the Magnificent Mile — one day and night in Chicago, with skyscrapers, shopping, food, parks, and amazing views of the city from high and low. Loop Art Tour — a 2- to 4-hour walking tour of downtown Chicago's magnificent collection of modern sculptures. Chicago's set of museums and cultural institutions are among the best in the world.
From Wikivoyage: Chicago, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Chicago is not known as a beach destination, but Lake Michigan is the largest freshwater lake that is entirely within the United States, and Chicagoans flock to its sandy shores. Anyone can show up and swim — there are no admission fees, miles of beaches are within walking distance of the Red Line, and almost none of the lakefront is spoiled by "private" beaches.
From Wikivoyage: Chicago, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Chicago is one of the great restaurant towns in America. If you're looking for a specific kind of cuisine, check out the neighborhoods. Greektown, the Devon Ave Desi corridor, Chinatown, and Chatham's soul food and barbecue are just the tip of the iceberg.
- 01BBQ in Bronzeville
From Wikivoyage: Chicago, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Chicago
- Airports
- Chicago Midway (MDW), 15 km · Chicago O'Hare (ORD), 25 km · General Mitchell (MKE), 120 km
- Milwaukee → Chicago134 km · quickest by road, 2h 45m · $12–16
- Grand Rapids → Chicago204 km · quickest by road, 4h 15m · $23–31
- Indianapolis → Chicago263 km · quickest by road, 4h 28m · $23–32
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Chicago
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Chicago. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inAir taxi and air charter companies such as https://www.jetsetgrp.com/jetset-charter Jetset Charter] and Chicago Private Jets offer flights on a variety of private charter aircraft and jets, from charter luxury Gulfstream's down to economical piston twins for small groups and individuals.
- Get aroundIn the summer, water taxis are sometimes more convenient than the CTA, if you are traveling around the fringes of downtown.
- Get aroundTwo private companies operate water taxi services around the Loop.
From Wikivoyage: Chicago, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 011,217 km
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- 042,684 km
- 052,783 km
If you know how people move in Chicago – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.