8 Best Sights in Chicago, Illinois

Just northwest of Uptown there's a neighborhood that still shows signs of the Swedish settlers who founded it. Andersonville has some great restaurants and bakeries, many of which pay tribute to its Scandinavian roots. In winter months, be sure to drop by Simon's Tavern ( 5210 North Clark) for a glass of glögg (hot mulled wine)—it's a traditional favorite. Helping anchor the area is the Women & Children First bookstore ( 5233 North Clark), which stocks an extensive selection of feminist tomes and children's lit.

Just east of Wrigleyville lies this section of Lakeview; it's been a major "gayborhood" since the 1970s, which also makes it one of the country's first. In recent years there's been an admirable push by the local queer community to go beyond the gendered moniker of "Boystown" and reflect the more inclusive LGBTQIA+ world, which is why you'll hear the area referred to as Northalsted more often these days (as most of the queer-oriented shops, bars, and restaurants are concentrated on and around North Halsted Street). In June the area becomes a sea of people, when tens of thousands attend the annual Pride Fest as it floats down the street. One of the city's largest music-focused neighborhood street fests, Northalsted Market Days, floods the area with visitors once again in August.

Also known as "Little Vietnam," the stretch of Argyle Avenue between Broadway and Sheridan (and the blocks surrounding it) offers much more than just steaming bowls of pho. Among the storefront noodle-focused restaurants are Chinese bakeries, Thai curry specialists, dim sum destinations, and pan-Asian grocery stores that are a huge draw for locals and tourists alike. Roasted ducks hang in shop windows and bubble tea shops abound. 

Chicagoans flock to Devon Avenue to satisfy cravings for Indian, Pakistani, and other Middle Eastern flavors, from restaurants to grocery stores to clothing boutiques (if you need a nine-yard sari, this is the place). Though the many orthodox Jews and Russian immigrants who used to settle on Devon west of Talman have relocated to the northern suburbs, kosher grocers and bakeries are still dotted around the area. 

This small strip may as well be half a world away from the rest of the West Loop. Greek restaurants are the main draw here. Continue west on Madison, past the slew of new condo developments and vintage conversions in progress, and you'll come to one of Chicago's popular dining and nightlife destinations. On a stretch of Madison roughly between Sangamon and Elizabeth streets, you'll find boutiques, trendy bars and lounges, and popular restaurants. The National Hellenic Museum, at 333 South Halsted, explores the Greek immigrant experience and the influence of Greek culture.

Long known for its Teutonic heritage, Lincoln Square is home to two annual German gatherings—Maifest in late May and German-American Fest in September—both featuring plenty of beer, brats, pretzels, and folks clad in dirndl and lederhosen. Thursday evenings in summer bring free concerts and a farmers' market. Bars and restaurants line Lincoln Avenue between Montrose and Lawrence; shopping is a draw, too. Many credit Lincoln Square's renaissance to the relocation of the Old Town School of Folk Music, which moved to a long-vacant art deco building at  4544 North Lincoln Avenue in 1998. Each July, it sponsors the Square Roots festival. But those longing for a taste of Lincoln Square's ethnic roots shouldn't entirely despair—spots like Himmel's and the Hansa Clipper are still heralding their heritage through lager and schnitzel. Also still here is the 1922 Krause Music Store building ( 4611 North Lincoln Avenue), with its ornate green terra-cotta facade; it was the last work commissioned by architect Louis Sullivan.

Old Town was known in the mid-1800s as the Cabbage Patch (for its German immigrant inhabitants’ proclivity for planting, well, you guessed it) and took turns in the 20th century as a stronghold for LGBTQ+ rights and an incubator for artists and comedians. Today the neighborhood feels more polished and less bohemian, but hints of the old world can still be found in the narrow cobbled alleys, the tolling bells of historic St. Michael’s church, and the barroom banter at mainstay Old Town Ale House. Head to Wells Street, the main drag, for independent shops and good bars and clubs (including the famed Second City).

North of the Merchandise Mart and south of Chicago Avenue, between Orleans and Dearborn, is a concentration of art galleries carrying just about every kind of work imaginable. Virtually every building on Superior Street between Wells and Orleans houses at least one gallery, and visitors are welcome to stop in. Free tours leave from Addington Gallery at 704 N. Wells on the second Saturday of the month at 11 am; galleries also coordinate their exhibitions to showcase new works typically on "First Fridays" (check the Chicago Gallery News for dates). Although many artists have left this high-rent district for the less expensive, more industrial West Town, there is still a lot to see here, just a 10-minute walk from Michigan Avenue.