Location: Near North Side
Top Things to do in Near North Side
Countries
Things to do in Chicago, Illinois (IL): The Best Points of Interest & Landmarks
The windy city is a cornucopia of modern art, fine dining, cutting edge comedy, and die-hard sports fans. Snap a photo of your reflection in the silver Cloud Gate sculpture at Millennium Park before heading to Grant Park to get hit with the refreshing spray of Buckingham Fountain. There are dozens of museums and theater companies in Chicago, so a cultural experience is never hard to find. You’re sure to laugh your head off at the Second City Theater, the professional launch pad of many famous comedians.
Restaurants in Chicago
1. St. James Chapel
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 14 reviews
2. Lucent
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Lucent is the mesmerizing and mind-boggling sculpture that hangs in the lobby of Chicago's John Hancock Building, which is located at 875 North Michigan Avenue. It is a wonder to behold. And it certainly lives up to its name. Lucent is derived from the Latin word "lucere," meaning "to shine." Made of 3,115 lights, the number of visible stars in the Northern Hemisphere, the 13-foot artwork depicts a scale map of the stars that shine in the night sky. The sculpture, created by English artist Wolfgang Buttress with the assistance of astrophysicist Dr. Daniel Bayliss of the Australian National University, contains thousands of glass bulbs, all fed light through blue illuminating fiber-optic lines. It represents a 3D map of all the stars in the Northern Hemisphere that are visible with the naked eye. According to Buttress, who also created the award-winning UK Pavilion at Milan Expo 2015 in Italy, this cosmic-inspired sculpture aims to express "the idea of looking up and sensing wonder." All of the piece's glass bulbs were hand blown by artists at a Chicago glass studio. Each one of the 3,115 bulbs is amplified even more against a mirrored ceiling above and a reflecting pool below. The end result is a glorious piece of artwork that seems to go on forever with light looking from sky to ground over and over again. You've never seen anything like it.
3. Wrigley Building
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 303 reviews
This white, terra-cotta landmark was built in 1922 as headquarters for the Wrigley chewing gum company.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
My wife and I have fond memories of the Wrigley Building. As a sportswriter for the Chicago Daily News in the 1970s, I once joined a platoon of other sportswriters that gathered at Philip Wrigley's top-floor office to learn about a reported Chicago Cubs trade. My wife worked in an office in the Wrigley Building for more than 20 years. I used to get monthly haircuts in the Wrigley Building's barber shop. We used to enjoy breakfasts, lunches and dinners at the old Press Club, which was headquartered in the Wrigley Building. And I cashed my weekly checks at the bank that once was housed on the first floor of the Wrigley Building's South Tower. Today, it remains a Chicago Landmark, an architectural beauty, one of the city's most distinguished buildings. Located at 410 North Michigan Avenue, on the Chicago River, at the head of the Magnificent Mile, the Wrigley Building was built from 1920 to 1924 to house the corporate headquarters of the Wrigley Company, which sold chewing gum and owned the Chicago Cubs. It was the first major office building north of the Chicago River and the city's first air-conditioned office building. The glazed terra cotta structure was designed by the architechural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White using the shape of the Giralda tower of Seville's Cathedral combined with French Renaissance details. The 425-foot, 30-story South Tower was completed in April 1921 and the 21-story North Tower was completed in May 1924. Walkways between the towers were added at the ground level and the third floor. In 1931, another walkway was added at the 14th floor. A signature feature is the clock tower. Who hasn't walked across the Michigan Avenue Bridge or along the Chicago River and glanced up at the Wrigley Building's clock tower to check the time of day? Today, the bank is gone. So is the Press Club. And the barber shop. But the new owners, who purchased the building in 2011, have added a Walgreen's drug store, Giardelli chocolate shop, coffee shop, fitness center and a nursing room for mothers. At night, bathed in lights, the grace and elegance of the Wrigley Building is beholden to one and all.
4. The Magnificent Mile
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 15,639 reviews
The Magnificent Mile is one of the great avenues of the world and is at the center of all that makes Chicago an international destination. One of the top 10 hospitality, dining and retail destinations in the world, with endless shopping, international cuisine, top rated hotels, lively entertainment, majestic architecture and natural beauty at every turn, The Magnificent Mile offers visitors to Chicago a one-of-a-kind city experience. The Magnificent Mile is the 13-block stretch of North Michigan Avenue that runs from the banks of the Chicago River to the south, to Oak Street to the north. The Magnificent Mile district extends a full square mile from North Michigan Avenue. The Magnificent Mile is a spectacular showcase of style, flavor, entertainment and fun. With more than 460 stores, 275 restaurants, 60 hotels and unique entertainments and attractions packed and stacked along its length, The Magnificent Mile has an indulgence for every passion and every pocket.
Reviewed By christiano242
The Magnificent Mlle is certainly magnificent with the high end stores and other shops along with the historic and new architecture for which Chicago is so justly proud. Just walking along the Mile, one can hear languages from many countries. Each season the street is decorated with theme-based decorations. Along with shopping I enjoy people watching.
5. Centennial Fountain and Water Arc
6. Pioneer Court
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
Reviewed By 490irinag - Illinois, United States
The location of Pioneer Court can't be beat - it is a central plaza between N Michigan Avenue, Tribune Tower, Equitable Life Assurance of America Building (a skyscraper at 401 N Michigan Ave), a new Apple Store (opened in 2017) and Michigan Ave Bridge. Pioneer Court is not that large, but now it's decorated for holidays, plus it opens to some fantastic views of major central landmarks and attraction sites of the city, including Tribune Tower, Wrigley Building, Chicago River, and London Guarantee Building across Michigan Avenue Bridge. Great place.
7. Clark Street
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 39 reviews
Street popular with tourists looking for the "real" Chicago.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
With the exception of Michigan Avenue and State Street, Clark Street may be the most significant street in Chicago with its number of historical sites and tourist attractions. Or maybe it's just because it runs through my neighborhood. By bus, it is the fastest route between Wrigley Field and City Hall. Hundreds of years ago, Clark Street was the shoreline of Lake Michigan. Today, it borders Lincoln Park. It is a north-south street that runs from the northern city boundary with Evanston to Cermak Road and to Riverdale beyond 127th Street across the Calumet River to the South. The major length of Clark Street runs a total of 98 city blocks, not as long as nearby Western Avenue. Named for George Rogers Clark, an American Revolutionary War soldier who captured much of the Northwest Territory from the British, north of the Loop it roughly follows part of the path of an Indian trail called Green Bay trail that ran all the way to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Clark Street passes through the Andersonville neighborhood, historic Graceland Cemetery, Metro Concert Hall, Wrigley Field, the site of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, Chicago History Museum, Wieners Circle Hot Dog Stand, Germania Club building, Newberry Library, Washington Park, Clark Street Bridge, the Thompson Center, City Hall and the Daley Center.
8. Chicago Pedway
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 57 reviews
Reviewed By kathycV6399HQ
We took the Chicago Architectural Loop and Pedway tour with Alex was our guide. This was a two hour tour that starts in the Marquette Building where you go into the lobby and see the beautiful moasic tiles. From there we visited the Chicago Temple; Picasso's Stature in the Daly Plaza, went into Macy's on State Street to discuss the architecture when it was built as Marshall Field's with the Tiffany and Company designed mosaic ceiling tiles; walked along sections of the Chicago Pedway and ended at the Chicago Cultural Center. I highly recommend taking this tour. The temperature when we visited was 19 degrees and it was nice to do a majority of the tour inside.
