Chicago

The Windy City offers plenty to do whatever the season, yet is often overlooked by tourists. Chicago is the recognised gateway to the Great Lakes
region: Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Eerie and Lake Ontario are the largest freshwater lakes in the world. Naturally, activities include boating, fishing, hiking, rock climbing, golf and skiing.

Getting around

There are regular buses throughout the day and night, the 'El'system of elevated trains runs 24 hours and the free trolley service is a great way to travel between downtown and Navy Pier. Chicago's taxis are quite reasonably priced and can usually be hailed at any time.

Must sees

• Navy Pier
• The Field Museum
• The Hancock Observatory
• Sears Tower
• Lake Michigan

Must buys

Chicago is truly a shopper's paradise. A good place to start is North Michigan Avenue - the 'Magnificent Mile'has various exclusive retail outlets, prestigious boutiques and excellent department stores. Other fashionable shopping areas include State Street, Navy Pier, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, the ethnic neighbourhoods and the vast suburban malls.

Must tries

Culturally diverse, the city has a reputation for its exceptional variety of restaurants - there are places in Chicago serving cuisine that you will struggle to find anywhere else. Chicago offers a taste of the world with its own Chinatown of 50 authentic restaurants,Ukranian corner, Little Italy and the famous deep pan pizza that was first served in this city. It would appear that the fun never ends in Chicago, with its wide variety of evening entertainment: classical and pop music concerts, theatre, opera and, of course, jazz and blues.You'll also find that comedy clubs and theatres are open any night of the week.Theatres may not be on quite the same scale as Broadway, though they're perhaps just as good, especially the ones on the North Side. If you get the opportunity to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, take it - you won't be disappointed.

*Please note
If you are travelling to the USA on or after 12^th January 2009, we have very important information from US passport control regarding new entry requirements that you MUST read.  See our USA - Electronic System for Travel Authorisation web page for more details.