Indiana
18th Street flies under the radar, which is strange because it makes terrific beer and food. Saisons, double India pale ales and sour beers are the specialties, along with house-smoked sausages and blue-cheese burgers. The industrial and graffitied warehouse in Hammond is a favorite of local headbangers.
A new distillery and sour-specific bar (Sour Note; weekends only; eight taps) have been added to the empire. Also in Gary.
24.07 MILES
Built in 1914, Wrigley Field – aka the Friendly Confines – is the second-oldest baseball park in the major leagues. It’s home to the Chicago Cubs and…
12.58 MILES
The MSI is the largest science museum in the Western hemisphere and a place to completely geek out. Highlights include a WWII German U-boat nestled in an…
19.06 MILES
The second-largest art museum in the country, the Art Institute houses a treasure trove from around the globe. The collection of impressionist and…
19.22 MILES
There's free admission to Millennium Park, the playful heart of the city. It shines with whimsical public art, both permanent and temporary exhibits, and…
19.19 MILES
Willis Tower is Chicago's tallest building (and one of the world's loftiest). Breathe deeply during the ear-popping, 70-second elevator ride to the 103rd…
Field Museum of Natural History
18.09 MILES
The Field Museum houses some 30 million artifacts and includes everything but the kitchen sink – beetles, mummies, gemstones, Bushman the stuffed ape –…
19.68 MILES
Half-mile-long Navy Pier is one of Chicago's most-visited attractions, sporting a 196ft Ferris wheel and other carnival rides ($9 to $18 each), an IMAX…
National Museum of Mexican Art
18.49 MILES
Founded in 1982, this vibrant museum – the largest Latinx arts institution in the US – has become one of the city’s best. The vivid permanent collection…
1. Grotto of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Monastery
4.22 MILES
Polish monks built a series of trippy, fluorescent shrines at this Carmelite monastery hiding in suburban Munster. First came 250 tons of sponge rock that…
4.74 MILES
To the right, an oil refinery spewing fire and brimstone, to the left a beautiful lakefront park with views to Chicago – why not put the new Mascot Hall…
3. Pullman National Historical Park
7.12 MILES
Part of the National Park Service, Pullman offers a rare look at a capitalist's fallen utopia. The community's design and architecture make for a…
11.39 MILES
Artist-activist Theaster Gates bought a tumbledown bank building for $1 in Chicago's neglected South Shore neighborhood, and transformed it into a…
11.88 MILES
This 550-acre, lakefront green space is a gem. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, renowned creator of New York City's Central Park, it comprises bird-rich…
6. Greater Salem Baptist Church
11.92 MILES
Gospel fans can make the pilgrimage to the Greater Salem Baptist Church where gospel great Mahalia Jackson was a lifelong member.
12.32 MILES
The enchanted Garden of the Phoenix floats in Jackson Park. Birds flit through the sunlight, turtles swim in the lagoons, and stone-cut lanterns dot the…
8. Museum of Science & Industry
12.58 MILES
The MSI is the largest science museum in the Western hemisphere and a place to completely geek out. Highlights include a WWII German U-boat nestled in an…