The vibe
The Loop is downtown Chicago, named for the ring of L tracks that circles it overhead. It's skyscrapers, offices, theaters, museums, Millennium Park and Grant Park, and a crowd that disappears after the workday. River North, across the river to the north, is galleries, restaurants, nightlife and hotels.
Every L line except the Yellow runs through or around the Loop. The Red and Blue lines run all night.
Best munchies
Mr. Beef on Orleans is the tiny beef stand the whole country knows from TV. It was a Chicago favorite long before that. Portillo's in River North is the big, loud, efficient version of beef, dogs and the chocolate cake shake. Pizzeria Uno on Ohio Street claims the invention of deep dish. Take your out-of-town cousin.
See the Chicago munchies guide and late-night Chicago.
Things to do baked
The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the great museums in the world. Hopper's Nighthawks, Seurat, the Thorne Miniature Rooms, Chagall's America Windows. Millennium Park has the Bean (lie under it and look up) and the Crown Fountain's giant faces. Walk the Riverwalk, then take the architecture boat cruise if you want to feel very small surrounded by very big buildings. The Chicago Cultural Center is free and has a huge stained-glass Tiffany dome.
Museum Campus, with the Field, Shedd and Adler, is a walk south through Grant Park. See things to do high in Chicago.
Movies and music
The Gene Siskel Film Center on State Street shows festivals, restorations and international films. AMC River East 21 in Streeterville is the big-screen option. The Chicago Theatre's giant marquee is worth seeing even if you don't have tickets. See the movie theaters guide.
Best lake or park spot
Grant Park and Maggie Daley Park for green space, with Buckingham Fountain in the middle. Ohio Street Beach and Oak Street Beach are downtown beaches right next to the skyscrapers. The lakefront path runs along all of it.
A perfect baked day in downtown
Take any L line into the Loop and start at the Art Institute. Pick one wing and take your time. Walk across to Millennium Park, lie under the Bean and look up at yourself in the curve. Walk the Riverwalk west along the river, then up Michigan Avenue across the bridge to look at the old Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower. Grab a beef at the cramped little stand on Orleans in River North. Spend the late afternoon at Ohio Street Beach watching the lake right next to the skyscrapers. In the evening, catch a film at the Siskel, then head back to River North for a late bite.
Downtown is the one part of the city where tourists outnumber locals, but it's ours too. The museums, the architecture and the lakefront are world class, and nobody should skip them out of local pride.
Getting there and getting around
Every L line except the Yellow runs through the Loop, and the Red and Blue run all night. The Lake, State/Lake, Washington, Monroe and Jackson stops cover most of downtown, and the Red Line's Grand and Chicago stops cover River North. The Riverwalk and the lakefront path are both great on foot. Downtown is very walkable, just not in January wind.
Sesh notes for downtown
Locals tend to avoid downtown out of pride, and that's a mistake. The Cultural Center's Tiffany dome is free. The Riverwalk at dusk is gorgeous. The Art Institute has free days for Illinois residents at certain times, so check before you go. Pick one big thing and one small thing per trip, and you'll leave liking downtown more than you expected.
Downtown is mostly hotels, high-rises and offices, almost all of them smoke-free, so it's a neighborhood to visit after a sesh somewhere else, not a place to have one. The parks, the Riverwalk and the beaches are public. If you're staying in a downtown hotel, check its policy, and remember that most are nonsmoking. Edibles are the quiet option.
In winter, Maggie Daley Park's skating ribbon and the Art Institute are the cold-weather moves. In summer, the Riverwalk and the beaches are packed but worth it.
the Art Institute's Thorne Miniature Rooms are the single best thing to look at high in the entire city. Tiny perfect rooms. You'll want to move in.
The good and the annoying
The good
- The Art Institute.
- Every L line meets here.
- The Riverwalk and architecture.
- Mr. Beef.
The annoying
- Tourist crowds in summer.
- The Loop goes dead at night.
- Expensive food and drinks.
- Wind tunnels between the skyscrapers in winter.
Next door
The neighborhoods that border this one, or are one quick ride away.
Before you go, read the things to do high in Chicago, Chicago munchies guide, best movie theaters in Chicago, where you can sesh in Chicago. And see all twelve neighborhood guides.
