Chicago sevärdheter

Standing tall above Michigan Avenue, the Tribune Tower is a Chicago Landmark home to the city’s newspaper The Chicago Tribune, as well as the media studios and radio stations of the Tribune. It was built as the result on an international design competition in 1922, which called for the best designed office building in exchange for prize money. Built in neo-Gothic style, it stands at 462 feet in height. The top of the tower was modeled after the Tour de beurre, or butter tower, of the Rouen Cathedral in France, though the building has even more interesting international roots.

Before the structure was built, Chicago Tribune reporters began bringing back pieces of rock from important landmarks around the world. As a result, there are small bits of buildings like the Taj Mahal, the Parthenon, the Great Pyramid, the Hagia Sofia, Angkor Wat and even the Great Wall of China embedded in the lower levels.

In a city of skyscrapers, the Chicago Board of Trade Building stands out. Its history dates back to 1821, though the structure standing today was erected in 1930. Built for the Chicago Board of Trade, today it still serves as a center of Chicago’s financial district as the trading venue for the derivatives exchange. It stood at the tallest building in Chicago for many years. Today it remains a gateway to the city’s financial district.

The traditional art deco architecture draws tourists to the Chicago Board of Trade Building. A three-story statue of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, stands atop the building on a copper pyramid, drawing visitors from all over the city to see the exquisite craftsmanship. The 6,500 pound Ceres represents the time when agriculture ruled Chicago. The 12-story building has a 19,000 square foot trading floor. Statues adorn the building, each of which tells a different story of the type of work that goes on inside.

On any given Sunday afternoon from September to December, thousands of Chicagoans and sports fans converge around Soldier Field, home to the Chicago Bears of the NFL (National Football League). The parking lots surrounding the stadium buzz with excitement for hours prior to each game and even in the coldest temperatures, diehard Chicago sports fans pack Soldier Field to cheer on the home team.

Opened in 1924, the stadium was built as a memorial to fallen American soldiers. Over the years, it welcomed crowds of over 100,000 people for events like the 1927 heavyweight match between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney and a visit by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1944. The stadium was also the site of the very first Special Olympic Games, held in 1968, and in 1994, the it hosted the first World Cup Games to be played in the United States.

The world's largest assortment of finned, gilled, amphibious, and other aquatic creatures swims within the marble-clad confines of the John G. Shedd Aquarium.

Permanent exhibits include the multilevel Oceanarium, which mimics ocean conditions off the northwest coast of North America. The beluga whales inside are remarkably cute creatures that come from the pint-size end of the whale scale. Their humped heads and natural “smiles” make them look eerily human. You'll also see Pacific white-sided dolphins, harbor seals, and sea otters.

Don't linger only on the main floor; you can go underneath the cement seats and watch the mammals from below through viewing windows. The “Wild Reef” exhibit will have sharkophiles and sharkophobes equally entranced; over a dozen sharks cut through the waters in a simulation of a Philippines reef ecosystem. And the “Amazon Rising” exhibits offer a captivating look at a year in the Amazon River and rain forest.

The Chicago Loop is Chicago's downtown business district, and the second largest business district in the United States. Aside from the many businesses located there, the Loop is home to many of Chicago's best museums, restaurants, universities, and tourist attractions. It has also become a popular place to live in the city. Visitors who wish to stay in the downtown area have a wide variety of hotels to choose from within the Loop.

One of the most famous buildings in the area is Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) where you can take an elevator to the Skydeck for the best view of the city. Go for a stroll through Millennium Park to enjoy the fountains, gardens, and the famous Cloud Gate, nicknamed the Bean. Another well-known park is Grant Park, where you'll find Buckingham Fountain. Notable museums within the Chicago Loop district include the Art Institute of Chicago and the Field Museum.

The first planetarium built in the western hemisphere, the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum still captures intergalactic imaginations. From the entrance, visitors descend below the building, which has 12 sides, one for each sign of the zodiac. In the newest wing, a digital sky show recreates such cataclysmic phenomena as supernovas. Interactive exhibits allow you to simulate cosmic events such as a meteor hitting the earth (this one is especially cool).

Inside, the main attraction is the StarRider Theater, where you’ll take a 30 minute virtual reality trip through deep space, with eye-popping 3-D graphics. You’ll literally feel like you’re floating in space. The planetarium's exhibition galleries are equally engaging, with myriad displays and interactive activities. A must-see exhibit is “Shoot For The Moon,” an interactive exhibit on lunar exploration.

Chicago Theatre was known as the “Wonder Theatre of the World” when it opened in 1921. This majestic, grand building was a flagship theater for the Balaban & Katz theater group. For two decades, until about 1945, the theater represented the best in American cinematic experience. Other theaters around the United States were modeled after the Chicago Theatre. Today, the theatre is owned by Madison Square Garden, Inc. Instead of showing films, it is a well-known performing arts venue.

Designed in a French baroque style, the theatre is aesthetically appealing and grandiose. Its grand lobby is modeled after the Royal Chapel at Versailles and the exterior features a replica of the famous Arc de Triomphe. The Grand Staircase on the interior is modeled after those at the Paris Opera House. The Chicago Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It remains a popular entertainment venue, as well as an historical gem.

With more than 20 million artifacts, the Field Museum of Natural History is an engaging museum filled with both interactive and imaginative displays. The big attraction is the Tyrannosaurus rex named "Sue," a 13 foot (4 meter) tall, 41 ft (13 m) long beast who menaces the grand space with ferocious aplomb. The most complete T-Rex ever discovered, it takes its name from Sue Hendrickson, the fossil-hunter who found the 90 percent complete skeleton in South Dakota in 1990.

Dinosaurs loom large in the Field Museum. At the Evolving Planet exhibit, you can also watch staff paleontologists clean up fossils, learn about the evolution of the massive reptiles, and even learn about Homo sapien's evolutionary ties to the extinct beasts. Away from the prehistoric giants, the “Inside Ancient Egypt” exhibit recreates an Egyptian burial chamber on three levels. The mastaba (tomb) contains 23 actual mummies.

This neighborhood gets its name from Chicago's largest park. Its 1,200 acres (485 hectares) stretch for 6 miles (10 kilometers), from North Avenue north to Diversey Parkway, where it narrows along the lake and continues until the end of Lake Shore Drive. Lincoln Park & Zoo has many lakes, trails and paths and even a lily pool called Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, providing visitors with a unique architectural landscape. Cross-country skiing in the winter and sunbathing in warmer months are just two of the activities Chicagoans enjoy here. Most of Lincoln Park's pleasures are natural, though one of its joys is sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens' Standing Lincoln, which shows the 16th president deep in contemplation right before he delivers a great speech.

Chicagoans take their baseball seriously, and one of best places to see a Major League game is at the venerable, ivy-covered home of the Chicago Cubs: Wrigley Field. Built in 1914, Wrigley Field - nicknamed "The Friendly Confines" - is the second oldest baseball park in the major leagues. Wrigley Field is filled with legendary traditions and curses, as well as a team that suffers from the longest dry spell in U.S. sports history. The hapless Cubbies haven't won a championship since 1908, a sad record unmatched by any team in pro football, hockey or basketball. Still, seeing a game here takes you back - you’ll even find yourself singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

As tickets can be hard to come by if the Cubs are playing a home game, you can peep through the “knothole,” a garage-door-sized opening on Sheffield Avenue and watch the action for free. Baseball fanatics can take a 90 minute walk through the stadium that goes through the clubhouse, dugouts, and press box.

You certainly won’t be under-stimulated on a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry, a must-see Chicago museum. With some 2,000 exhibits to see, most of which are interactive, this massive museum continues to enlighten and amaze.

Nine permanent exhibits thoroughly examine everything on Earth, from cerebral concepts like the passage of time to questions about the origins of breakfast cereal. Visitors can climb through a German U-boat captured during WWII and press their noses against the window of the Apollo 8 command module.

The museum itself is set in Jackson Park, which has a Japanese garden, lagoons and a nature retreat with hundreds of species of birds. When you've had your fill of space capsules, coalmines, and Zephyrs at the museum, the park makes an excellent setting to recuperate.

The Chicago Lakefront Trail is an 18 mile paved trail that runs alongside Lake Michigan, within the city limits of Chicago, Illinois. The trail is open for walkers, runners, skaters, and cyclists, earning it high praise as a popular spot for outdoor recreation activities.

The trail provides some of the most spectacular views of Chicago’s shoreline and skyline. As you venture out on the Chicago Lakefront Trail, you’ll find hydration stations, washrooms, and concession stands as well. Chicago Lakefront Trail passes through Lincoln Park and the Lincoln Park Zoo, as well as the Navy Pier. Other sights of interest include Buckingham Fountain and the Shedd Aquarium / Field Museum. The southern terminus on the Lakefront Trail is at the South Shore Cultural Center.

Chicago’s Magnificent Mile is the heart of shopping in the Windy City and Water Tower Place is what keeps it beating. While the Magnificent Mile was originally home to the city’s most exclusive and expensive stores, the opening of Water Tower Place brought more affordable retailers to the famed shopping area. The eight-level mall covers over 700,000 square feet and features more than 100 shops, including Macy’s and the flagship American Girl Place store. One of the first vertical malls in the world, Water Tower Place is part of a 74-floor skyscraper of the same name that also includes a Ritz-Carlton hotel and luxury condominiums. After riding the escalators up from the ground level, take the glass elevators the rest of the way to the 8th floor and work your way down.