Impressions of Chicago

I was very pleasantly surprised by my recent visit to Chicagoland (as the Greater Chicago area is called). I found it a very clean city with amazing architecture. Having grown up in a in a major city I feel always at home in the hustle and bustle even though I do not currently live in one. I was also pleased with the downtown traffic as it is very orderly. They wait for pedestrians to cross, nobody runs a red light and they do not block intersections when a light changes. Imagine that! In Miami I see one or two red-light runners every single day! Pedestrians beware!

Chicago is an urban architecture lover's dream. The amount, design and height of the buildings leaves you speechless. We bought a set of the Great Buildings of Chicago Knowledge Cards that shows you pictures, history and stats on many major buildings.

The view of the Chicago city skyline from the Adler Planetarium, in a sunny day is spectacular. There is so much to do; museums, parks, shopping and excellent restaurants all around.

Michigan Avenue in the shopping district, (the "Magnificent Mile") is beautiful. Full of tulips on the sidewalk planters, top-class shops, and excellent views, plus a Starbucks on almost every block.

We bought a Chicago City Pass (highly recommended if you visit more than one museum). It included a visit to the John Hancock Observatory on the 96th floor of the Hancock building. We were lucky to get a sunny day where the views where spectacular! The building is practically next to the Water Tower , one of the few surviving structures from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

We had a wonderful visit to Chicago Museums. They are all first class and I make it a point to visit museums in all major cities I visit. I feel I can do some comparisons and will offer my (not so) humble opinions.

We visited five museums in the week we spent there. All in all, I'd say we did very well in managing our time and dealing with traffic. We stayed in the North end of town, about an hour away from downtown Chicago. The first trip downtown we took the train (Metra). It is very convenient and we could park at the station all day. For $5 per person we took a ride into Union Station (doesn't almost every major city in the USA have one by that name?) Then a short taxi cab to the museums. For the other days we found it most convenient to just drive, avoiding rush hour, and parking in the museum lots.

I'll review the Museums in subsequent articles.