A Guide for a Chicago Tourist

There isn't a city in the world quite like Chicago. It is a thriving metropolis, pulsating with commerce and culture. For the Chicago tourist, this can be exhilarating - and quite a bit intimidating. Chicago isn't the small town you might be from and it can be easy to get lost - in a good way. There is so much to see and do that even someone like me, who has lived here for countless years, has a tough time seeing it all. So here are a couple of tips for the Chicago tourist.

The majority of attractions you want to see as a Chicago tourist are either in or near the Loop. The Loop is the central downtown area so named for the loop of above ground transit trains that circle above the main streets. Some of the attractions in or off of the Loop include the Art Institute, Grant Park, Millennium Park, Sears Tower, Chicago's State Theater and theater district, Field Museum of Natural History, Alder Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium and Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Bears. Clearly, finding a hotel (of which there are no shortages) in the Loop is ideal for the Chicago tourist.

Just north of the Loop is the Magnificent Mile - Michigan Avenue, the central of shopping for the Chicago Tourist. The avenue features hundreds of shops and stores as well as the old Water Tower, one of few buildings that survived the Great Fire of 1876. The end of Michigan Avenue is punctuated by the sleek and mammoth John Hancock building, second only to the Sears Tower in height.

But there's more to see outside of the Loop and Michigan Avenue shopping to see for the Chicago tourist. Chicago offers miles and miles of lakefront parks and beaches, along the large blue-green Lake Michigan. Most of all, however, Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, from Little India off of Devon street to the north, down through yuppie-filled Lincoln Park, boisterous Wrigleyville, hip and artsy Wicker Park, south to Irish Bridgeport, and historical Hyde Park (home of the Obamas), there are a hundreds of different Chicagos to see for the Chicago tourist.

Let me conclude by offering my favorite view of Chicago. If you head north of the Loop along the lake, you'll reach Fullerton Avenue - an east-west cross street. At this point, the shoreline juts out a little more into Lake Michigan, and as you stand out on the rocks, you can look south to the skyline - perhaps the most brilliant skyline in the country and a can't-miss photo opportunity for the Chicago tourist. So whether you're staying for a weekend or fourteen days, there's never end to the number of attractions to see as a Chicago tourist.

You have read the best review article categorized by free tips and the title A Guide for a Chicago Tourist. You can bookmark or spread this post by using this URL http://howto-howto8.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-guide-for-chicago-tourist.html. Thank You!