Chicago’s theater industry pushes the envelope with cutting-edge performances in historic and state-of-the-art stages. The Chicago Theatre, Goodman, Bank of America Theatre, Cadillac Palace, Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University and the Ford Center have made visiting downtown a must for theatre lovers. Distinctive theaters can also be found throughout Chicago neighborhoods. Theater's like the Steppenwolf and The Second City, all weave themselves into Chicago neighborhoods solidifying Chicago's reputation as a world-class theater destination.

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Once in Chicago, visitors never have to worry about finding a place to eat. Chicago features thousands of restaurants that offer culinary favorites to suit every taste, budget, and mood. Whether the preference is Chicago-style hot dogs or a burger, fried clams or smoked ostrich, pirogues or pizza, Chicago has it all.

Soul food, Italian, Chinese, French, Japanese, Mexican, Asian, or Spanish…Chicago offers a virtual United Nations of eating choices. Ethnic neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Greektown, West Rogers Park, and Pilsen are among those offering tempting tastes from around the world.

Chicago is also proud to be home of award-winning restaurants and world-renowned chefs, as well as home to deep-dish pizza…one of Chicago’s most important contributions to 20th Century culture.

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Chicago is world-renowned for its diverse collection of museums, which explore a variety of subjects including Chicago history, art, African-American culture, astronomy, natural history and much more.

Those visiting Chicago should plan on spending time at Chicago’s Museum Campus. The scenic park conveniently joins the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, the Shedd Aquarium/Oceanarium, and the Field Museum of Natural History with easy access to all three locations.

The Shedd Aquarium offers one of the world’s largest array of more than 8,000 aquatic mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and fish. After exploring the oceans, attendees can gaze up at the heavens in the nearby Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum. The Field Museum offers exciting displays of mummies, Egyptian tombs, Native American artifacts, and dinosaur skeletons are on display. It is also the permanent home of Sue, the world's largest, most complete and most famous Tyrannosaurus rex.

Other Chicago museums include the Chicago History Museum(the city’s oldest cultural institution), McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum (Chicago's newest museum), the Museum of Science and Industry, the DuSable Museum of African-American History, the Art Institute of Chicago (one of the world’s leading art museums), the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography.

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In addition to world-renowned museums, Chicago is home to a variety of spectacular attractions. The Chicago Cultural Center (pictured) is described as a "neo-classical masterpiece" that features two art-glass domes and glittering mosaic walls. The many galleries in the Cultural Center exhibit contemporary art from around town and works from around the world.

Navy Pier is the city’s lakefront playground and the state’s most popular attraction, offering visitors a unique blend of family-oriented attractions. This famed attraction boasts the 150-foot high Ferris wheel, a musical carousel, the Chicago Children’s Museum, Wave Swinger ride in Pier Park, a 3-D Time Escape ride, a variety of restaurants and the famed Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Chicago's Millennium Park offers 24.5 acres of green space. It contains an outdoor performing arts pavillion, indoor year-round theatre, restaurant, ice-skating rink, contemporary garden, public art, fountains, promenade area for special events, landscaped walkways and green spaces.

Other Chicago attractions not to miss include Buckingham Fountain at Grant Park, the Hancock Observatory, and the Sears Tower Skydeck.

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A visit to Chicago wouldn't be complete without a shopping spree. Shopping in Chicago began on State Street (that great street!) with the opening of the original Marshall Field’s Department store in 1852. Today, the former Field’s flagship store is known as Macy's on State Street and shoppers will find an outstanding selection of men’s and women’s apparel, an extensive housewares department, several fine restaurants, a food court and a visitor center.

A shopping spree must include a visit to the famed “Magnificent Mile,” which runs along Michigan Avenue from Oak Street to the Chicago River. Amidst department store giants such as Marshall Field’s, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s, are hundreds of specialty shops and boutiques offering goods from around the world. Oak Street, just west of Michigan Avenue, is a boutique shopper’s dream.

An abundance of shopping can also be found at The Shops at North Bridge, Water Tower Place, the 900 North Michigan Avenue Shops, Chicago Place Shopping Center, Navy Pier and “The Shops at the Mart” located at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart.

Chicago's neighborhoods are also home to unique and diverse shopping. Bucktown, Lakeview and Lincoln Park are all neighborhoods that have a wonderful array of shopping; everything from trendy boutiques to one-of-a-kind shops.

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Visitors from around the world come to Chicago, the birthplace of the modern building, to admire its architectural marvels. From historic landmark buildings to contemporary technological masterpieces, Chicago is built of the unique and innovative designs that have shaped American architecture. The city is a living museum of architecture thanks to the work of such greats as Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Helmut Jahn and hundreds of others.

Chicago is home to the world’s first skyscraper designed by William Le Baron Jenney in 1885. Although the Home Insurance Building no longer stands, today Chicago is also home to three of the world’s 10 tallest buildings including the Sears Tower, which opened in 1974. Other city landmark buildings include the Chicago Cultural Center - completed in 1897 in the Beaux Arts style, Adler and Sullivan’s 1889 Auditorium Building, and the Art Deco era Chicago Board of Trade Building, designed by Holabird and Root in 1929.

To learn more about Chicago’s acclaimed architecture, the Chicago Architecture Foundation offers more than 50 walking or bus tours, conducted by knowledgeable guides. An architectural boat cruise on the Chicago River, as well as self-guided, taped walking tours are also available.

The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau is the premier sales and marketing organization that promotes Chicago’s world-class assets to global leisure travelers and convention business to ensure the economic vitality of the City and its member business community.

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