Tourist Guide to the Best Attractions and Sights in Chicago
Outdoor Dinning in Chicago:
Chicago is a great gastronomic city. It is also a good people watching city. So it is a natural to be one the best outdoor dinning cities. Just a decade ago there was almost no outdoor dinning option during the summer, now there are thousands of choices.
Some of our favorites are Park Grill, for their good food and one of the best views of the Michigan Ave skyline. SweetWater just north of Millennium Park has a huge outdoor space with a nice drink list and above average bar food. Emilio's Tapas has half priced wines every night, typical tapas and plenty of seating. Quartino has a good wine list, fun vibe and decent food. Osteria Via Stato has tasty Italian food, good wine and a more sophisticated feel. Orso's has Italian American food and the cities best outdoor patio.
Chicagovisitor.net was created by locals as a guide for tourists and visitors. After many years of showing friends and family the sights and sounds of Chicago we decided to share our experiences with tourists by creating this site. We are within walking distance of Navy Pier, the Magnifiencent Mile, Millennium Park and most other attractions. We have visited all of the restaurants, museums, stores and attractions listed on this site numerous times and our writing is based on personal experiences. We do not attempt to cover all of the thousands of restaurants, hundreds of hotels or myriad of sights and attractions. Instead we have narrowed down the overwhelming choices of things to do in Chicago to ones that are worth considering in an effort to make planning your visit easier. Chicago Visitor.net is designed to help visitors get the most out of their travels to the Windy City.
NATO Summit in Chicago:
On May 20 and 21 the leader of the 28 NATO member countries will be coming to Chicago for a set of meetings. There will over 10,000 people in town for the summit. It is actually a fairly small number compared to some of the cities biggest conventions. The National Restaurant Association Show being held two weeks before will draw close to 60,000 attendees. So crowds and hotels will not be a big issue. Although most of the very high-end hotels are booked. Unfortunately the Shedd, Field, Adler and Art Institute will be closed from May 19-21.
The real issues will be security and protestors. The prime ministers and presidents of many of the world's most important countries will be in attendance. There are also thousand of protestors planning on coming in to demonstrate. Security will be very tight. No one will be allowed anywhere near the McCormick Place Convention Center. The lakefront south of the Museum Campus will be off limits, Lake Shore Drive will be closed south of the city, Northerly Island will also be closed. Street closings will be a big problem. Several highways will be closed including 90 to and from O'Hare when any of the world's leaders will be escorted downtown. Parking in the city will also be even more limited than normal. The wildcard will be the protestors. They have designated areas and should be peacefully but things could get out of control. Your best bet is to avoid downtown altogether starting Friday May 19th.
Chicago Pix:
Chicagovisitor.net is proud to announce that one of our photos, no diving, shown below, is part of Chicago Pix.
It is an exhibit of local photography displayed in the lobby of City Hall, just outside the Mayor's office. This and several other of our best photos are available for purchase at Etsy.com.
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