Things to do in Chicago

Things to do in Chicago

Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan. It sits on the continental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds. The city lies beside Lake Michigan, and two rivers — the Chicago River in downtown and the Calumet River in the industrial far South Side — flow entirely or partially through Chicago. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal connects the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River, which runs to the west of the city.

You might want to enjoy the nightlife the culture, the museums, the entertainment venues ot the the famous historical sites.

When Chicago was founded in the 1830s, most of the early building began around the mouth of the Chicago River, as can be seen on a map of the city's original 58 blocks. The overall grade of the city's central, built up areas, is relatively consistent with the natural flatness of its overall natural geography, generally exhibiting only slight differentiation otherwise. The average land elevation land is 579 feet above sea level. The lowest points are along the lake shore at 577 feet, while the highest point at 735 feet is a landfill located in the Hegewisch community area on the city's far south side.

The great triumvirate of Chicago style foods is Chicago style pizza, Chicago style hot dogs and Italian beef:

Chicago-style pizza, deep-dish pizza with a thin crust covered by a thick layer of cheese, is world-renowned and popular locally. Chicago pizzerias also serve the less well-known stuffed pizza (a close relative of deep dish) and a unique crispy style of thin crust.

A Chicago hot dog is traditionally a steamed or boiled natural-casing wiener on a poppy-seed bun topped with yellow mustard, chopped onion, sliced tomato, neon-green sweet-pickle relish, sport peppers, a dill-pickle spear and a sprinkling of celery salt — but no ketchup. Many hot-dog stands also serve the Maxwell Street Polish.

An Italian beef is a sandwich featuring thinly sliced roast beef flavored with Italian style seasonings and served on an Italian roll sopped in the meat juices, sometimes combined with a grilled Italian sausage, and topped with hot giardiniera or sauteed, green Italian sweet peppers.

Chicago's history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to Lake Michigan. While the Chicago River historically handled much of the region's waterborne cargo, today's huge lake freighters use the city's far south Lake Calumet Harbor. The Lake also moderates Chicago's climate, making it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

The city's waterfront allure and nightlife has attracted residents and tourists alike. Over one third of the city population is concentrated in the lakefront neighborhoods (from Rogers Park in the north to Hyde Park in the south). The North Side has a large gay and lesbian community. Two North Side neighborhoods in particular, Lakeview and the Andersonville area of the Edgewater neighborhood, are home to many LGBT businesses and organizations. The area adjacent to the North Side intersection of Halsted and Belmont is a gay neighborhood known to Chicagoans as Boystown. The city has many upscale dining establishments as well as many ethnic restaurant districts. These include the Mexican village La Villita on 26th street, Greektown on South Halsted, Little Italy on Taylor Street, just west of Halsted, "Chinatown" on the near South Side, "Little Seoul" on and around Lawrence Avenue, a cluster of Vietnamese restaurants on Argyle Street and South Asian (Indian / Pakistani) on Devon Avenue.

Chicago has 15 professional sports teams. Chicago is one of only a few cities to have its major sports teams play within its city limits. It is one of three U.S. cities that has two Major League Baseball teams, and the only city to have always had more than one baseball team since the forming of the American League in 1900. The Chicago White Sox of the American League, who recently won the World Series in 2005, play at US Cellular Field, located in the city's South Side in Bridgeport neighborhood. The Chicago Cubs of the National League play at Wrigley Field, which is located in the North Side neighborhood of Lakeview, commonly referred to as "Wrigleyville."

The Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association are one of the world's most recognized basketball teams, thanks to their enormous success during the Michael Jordan era, when they won six NBA titles in the 1990s. The Bulls play at the United Center on Chicago's Near West side. They share the "UC" with the Chicago Blackhawks, of the National Hockey League. The Hawks are an Original Six franchise, founded in 1926, and last won the Stanley Cup in 1961.

The Chicago Bears of the National Football League play at Soldier Field. Chicago is the largest city to have an NFL stadium. The Bears have won nine American Football championships (eight NFL Championships and Super Bowl XX) trailing only the Green Bay Packers, who have twelve.

The Chicago Fire, members of Major League Soccer, won one league and four US Open Cups since 1997. After eight years at Soldier Field, they recently moved to the new Toyota Park in Bridgeview at 71st and Harlem Avenue during the summer of 2006. Toyota Park is also home to the Chicago Machine of the Major League Lacrosse.

The Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League and Chicago Rush of the Arena football League both play at the Allstate Arena in nearby Rosemont. Owned by Mike Ditka, the Rush are the defending Arenabowl champions. The Wolves have won league championships in 1998, 2000, and 2002. Their first season was 1994-95.

The Chicago Hounds of the United Hockey League, the Chicago Shamrox of the National Lacrosse League and the Chicago Storm of the Major Indoor Soccer League play at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Chicago United, USAFL members, are the Australian Rules football club in the city, competing in the MAAFL.

The Joffrey Ballet and Chicago Festival Ballet perform in various venues.

Chicago’s theatre community spawned modern improvisational theatre. Two renowned comedy troupes emerged — The Second City and I.O. (formerly known as ImprovOlympic). Renowned Chicago theater companies include the Steppenwolf Theatre Company (on the city's north side), the Goodman Theatre, and the Victory Gardens Theater.

The Oriental Institute, part of the University of Chicago, has an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern archaeological artifacts. Other museums and galleries in Chicago are the Chicago History Museum, DuSable Museum of African-American History, Museum of Contemporary Art, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, the Polish Museum of America, and the Museum of Science and Industry.

Numerous Forest Preserves scattered around the Chicago area, along with the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in neighboring Northwest Indiana, provide additional recreational opportunities.

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