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Navy Pier & Chicago Skyline - courtesy David Paul Ohmer - CC-BY

Chicago is the largest city in Illinois and third largest city in the United States.

On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was organized and was incorporated on March 4, 1837. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed a third of the city, including the entire central business district. Afterward, Chicago rapidly rebuilt and grew.

Chicago is a great city for museum lovers and they are among the best in the world.  Three of them are located within a short walk of each other in what is known as the Museum Campus along the lake. There is the Adler Planetarium, with hands-on space exhibits, the Field Museum of Natural History, with, any Egyptian treasures, and the Shedd Aquariumwith the best collection of marine life east of California. You can visit Navy Pier, the Midwest’s top tourist attraction, or Millennium Park which offers dazzling music, art, landscape design and architectural treasures plus ice skating in the winter, splashing around in the Crown Fountain in the summer, and alfresco dining from spring to fall.

Whatever you need or want, you can find it in Chicago. The most famous shopping district in Chicago is a stretch of Michigan Avenue known as The Magnificent Mile. It has many designer boutiques, along with several multi-story malls and large department stores. Chicago has a world class dining scene in the downtown area, but as for the rest of the town, no other city on earth takes fast food so seriously. Chicago is a cheap, greasy, burger and pizza heaven.

Chicago is a big American city with big American city crime problems. But just because a city has a bad reputation, you might still have a perfectly good time there. Common sense should keep you safe in Chicago. Know where you’re going when you set out (or look like you do), stick to crowded places, and keep a $20 bill tucked away for cab fare if you need a quick escape.

Summer average high temperatures are 80-84 F (27-29 C) with lows of 61-65 F (16-19 C).  Winters are cold, snowy and windy with January high temperatures averaging 30 F (-1 C).

Chicago is served by Midway International Airport and O’Hare International Airport.  Public transportation is bus, elevated and subway trains, and taxi.

Chicago population is 2,836,659 (2007)  Metropolitan area, 9,785,747.

For more information about Chicago