ILLINOIS

CHICAGO

Crossroads of the Midwest, this city contains many parks and museums, including the Arts Institute and the Museum of Contemporary Art. It has always had a pioneering and innovative spirit, particularly with regards to architecture. Besides, its School of Architecture is prestigious. Its asserted urban spirit is peculiar to most cities of the Great Lakes region. Focused on politics, cosmopolitanism and cultural richness, it is full of character, one of a kind. Located on the shores of Michigan, it has a lake front where miles of beach stretch out, and extraordinary parks, each one with its personality.
Its skyscrapers have been the highest in the world for a long time, with the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), and to a lesser extent the Hancock Tower. They mix with other towers to form the famous Chicago Skyline, which is even more fascinating when you can see it reflecting on the Lake, from Navy Pier or from North Avenue Beach in Lincoln Park, for example.
As well as New Orleans, it is the cradle of Blues and Jazz. Finally, it is the starting point of the famous Route 66. As a result, we found ourselves during our trip to the U.S. at the point of departure and the arrival (Santa Monica) of this mythical road.
 
- Lincoln Park: It is a smart and very popular area divided between an urban part and a large park. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan. It is the most extensive in the city with its eleven kilometers long and the most visited in the United States after Central Park. The zoo (the greatest free zoo in the world), the Chicago History Museum and the Nature Museum are its main attractions. Its recreational complex includes various team sports grounds, tennis courts and a golf course. It also includes a few ports with navigation facilities and public beaches. The landscaped gardens with bird sanctuaries are not forgotten, as well as the theater overlooking the lake which offers regular performances in open air during summer. The urban part is much more authentic than the shopping street of North Michigan Avenue. It has many shops, cinemas, theatres, and restaurants. It is mainly in this area of Chicago that takes place the American part of the action of the novel « Enjoy the ride », hence the artistic pilgrimage mentioned in the introduction to the rubric. Visiting it meant so much to us, beyond the purely touristic aspect.
 
- Old Town and Gold Coast: In Old Town, the center of the district abounds in art galleries and interior designers. High-quality restaurants and popular performances are not forgotten. Gold Coast proudly shows its beautiful Beaux-Arts style stone houses with private gardens. Feel free to walk under the archways of trees of Astor Street. You will have an entrancing impression of time travel. The Rush Street triangle is very lively and very popular with tourists. Finally, you can easily get to Oak Street Beach thanks to the pedestrian tunnels that pass under the very long and very busy Lake Shore Drive.
 
- Near North: The district is crossed by the Michigan Avenue, rightly nicknamed The Magnificent Mile, decorated with trees and multicolored flowers. The old Water Tower, spared by the great Chicago fire in 1871, became the symbol of the city. We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel, which is part of these ancient buildings with a sumptuous interior and exterior architecture that abound in the area, and mix with a certain unconcern with modern towers, as well as some churches and some cloisters. The Chicago River is located nearby. Only river in the world which flow has been reversed by a human intervention, it brings a touch of sweetness, appeasement and reverie to the city. River boats sail casually along the water which nice color borders on green. The view from the John Hancock Observatory on the 94th floor of the tower is unrestricted. It is just as beautiful as the one from the Willis Tower, but with moreover the advantage of a shorter line to access there. You must pay $18, but no time limit is imposed. Streeterville has many attractions, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Hancock Center, the University of Medicine and the Water Tower Place shopping mall. At River East, fantastic apartments overlook the Chicago River. The Navy Pier is a real amusement park surrounded by a promenade and built on a pier more than a kilometer long. Like the pier of Santa Monica, California, it has a Ferris wheel. It is laid out along the river which joins Michigan Avenue passing by the Centennial Fountain. However, it would be pity not to linger on the pleasant Ohio Street Beach and in Olive Park and Gateway Park before you visit it. River North proudly displays its luxurious lofts in the area around the river. It has an impressive concentration of art galleries, as well as very varied restaurants.
 
- The Loop:  It is the part of the center delimited by the elevated railway. Filled with an old-fashioned charm and a little ramshackle, it is a real attraction on its own, vibrant testimony of a past that still seems to be part of the age we live in. All architectural styles are present, the whole dominated by the Willis Tower, which had been the highest tower in the world a long time. There are very good restaurants.
        
- Grant Park:  Vast green expanse along Lake Michigan, South of Lincoln Park, it includes many attractions, particularly the Buckingham Fountain, huge pink marble fountain which waters spout up sometimes more than forty meters. Green lung of the city, the place is very much alive, and many festivals take place there. It contains the Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the astonishing and controversial Millenium Park, which main attractions are the Cloud Gate sculpture and Jay Pritzker Pavilion, gigantic modern amphitheater.

- Near West Side & River West: There are areas near The Loop with a very strong identity. Wicker Park groups together the largest community of artists in Chicago. Its smart and upscale artistic center attracted shops in the same vein, good restaurants, terrace bars, art galleries. The population of West Loop is young and active. Restaurants on Randolph Street, inevitable place of local gastronomy, are worth seeing. There are not many museums and tourist attractions, but the view of the Loop is splendid. Greektown is the Greek district with its traditions and festivals, its Greek pavilions, its Greek statues, and its Greek museums. Shops, bars and restaurants are also typical. Little Italy is located between the Illinois Medical District and the University of Illinois in Chicago. The district owes its name to the strong influence of Italians and their culture in this area throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Establishments and typical street shops are still flourishing there.          

- West Side & Oak Park: It is a peaceful village with streets lined with large trees and well kept gardens. The Home and Studio Complex was built by Frank Lloyd Wright, architect who has widely left its mark in the district, distinguishing completely from Victorian houses. You can also visit the Ernest Hemingway Museum and the writer's childhood's house which stand in the same street, as well as the Garfield Park Conservatory.
 
- South Side: Chinatown is a small neighborhood which is in no way comparable with those of New-York and San Francisco, but it has a certain charm, including its restaurants and traditional shops. Pilsen is the Mexican neighborhood, with a preserved identity. There are bakeries, cinemas and restaurants with Mexican signs, and especially the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum. Hyde Park includes the Palace of Fine Arts, which became Museum of Science and Industry, one of the most visited in Chicago. The Robie House by Frank Lloyd Wright and the Technological University of Chicago also confer a certain attraction on it. Bronzeville is the Afro-American neighborhood, nicknamed « Little Harlem ». It is poor and dangerous at night, but worth a visit at day. You can then admire stunning 19th century stone houses. The great boulevard has a lot of character and is very well placed regard to the Loop beautiful areas. It is packed with blues night-clubs.
 
- Other areas: Logan Square is mostly Hispanic. It has neither museum nor particular tourist attraction, but can boast about an undeniable authenticity. The Mexican and Puerto Rican restaurants are numerous, but there are more and more upscale restaurants. Lakeview is divided into several very smart sub-neighborhoods, which offers ethnic restaurants, especially on Southport Avenue. Andersonville is the Scandinavian neighborhood. It is a very lively and pleasant place. It is also known for its ethnic restaurants: Scandinavians, of course (for example Ann Sather renowned for its breakfasts), but also Mediterranean. Shops have also character. Wrigleyville is an alternative and very young neighborhood. There lies the Cubs baseball stadium which attracts crowds of enthusiasts.

Published on August 13th 2013