Overview

Overview

Often called the 'Second City', Chicago is number one when it comes to culture, fine dining, shopping and commerce. Situated on Lake Michigan, incomparable architecture erupts from its western shores. The Downtown area is known as the 'Loop' since the raised metropolitan railway (known as the 'El' or 'L') circles the central business and shopping district. Just east of it is Michigan Avenue, an upscale shopping area a few blocks from the lake. Over 50 languages are spoken in this culturally and religiously diverse metropolis. Chicagoans are friendly, hard-working and serious sports fans. Festivals, theatre, dance, art, music, including a world-class symphony and great jazz, make Chicago a city of culture. An extensive French Impressionist collection puts Art Institute on the world map. Famous architects, such as Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright and his Prairie School of Architecture thrived here. Chicago is home to the Reliance Building (now Hotel Burnham), the first steel-framed skyscraper as well as the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower), one of the world's tallest buildings. A newer addition, Millennium Park is the setting for the works of Frank Gehry, Jaume Plensa and Anish Kapoor.