Chicago

In 2012 and 2014 we visited Chicago. The "Windy City" is the American city of high-rise architecture par excellence. In the center, the "Loop", and the adjacent streets,

skyscrapers line up one skyscraper after the other from different epochs and styles. The best overview of the "Skyscrappers" is gained during a city tour on the Chicago River. For this we took the "Chicago's First Lady". We could admire Chicago from above from the 86th floor of the Hancock Center.

The many parks in Chicago stand in contrast to the skyscrapers, especially Grant Park, at whose south entrance our Essex Inn Hotel was located. Worth seeing in the park is the Buckingham Fountain which is illuminated in the evening with Chicago's glowing skyline in the background. Towards the city, the newly built Millenium Park, whose attraction is the Cloud Gate, follows. Here, masses of people can be visually distorted in the vaults of the enormous work of art. Art sculptures can be found in many places in Chicago.

We were particularly impressed by the time-honoured Art Institute of Chicago, especially the extensive Impressionist collection. Further highlights are the Shedd Aquarium and the Eagle Planetarium south of Chicago Harbour, which you can pass elegantly by water in the direction of the Navy Pier. Musically, Chicago is home to the blues. Many venues in the "Blues City" offer live performances in the evenings.

Many elegant luxury shops can be found on Michigan Avenue, in the northern part also called "Magnificent Mile", in the southern part directly bordering the Millennium and Grant Parks.

Chicago was our start and end point of our trip around the Greater Lakes.

To enlarge please click into a picture and navigate from here.