2 Best Sights in Chicago, Illinois

You need not be a baseball fan to enjoy a visit to the nation's second-oldest major league ballpark—venerable, ivy-covered Wrigley Field. This hallowed stadium hosted its first major league game in 1914 and has been home to the Chicago Cubs since 1916; the Bears also played here for a half-century before decamping to Soldier Field in 1970. The original hand-operated scoreboard is still in use today, and even though updates and renovations have added plenty of digital screen space, the character that makes this place so special remains intact. If you look up along Sheffield and Waveland Avenues beyond the bleachers, you can see the rooftop patios where baseball fans pay high prices to cheer for the home team; devoted "ball hawks" sit in lawn chairs on Sheffield, waiting for foul balls and home runs to fly their way. While you're here, check out the Harry Caray statue commemorating the late Cubs announcer, or hang out after the game in Gallagher Way, the new plaza built after the team was acquired from the Tribune Company by the Ricketts family. Big-name concerts by the likes of Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen are also staged here when the team is out of town.

Opened in 1924 as the Municipal Grant Park Stadium, the facility was renamed in 1925 to commemorate American soldiers who died during World War I. Just south of the Museum Campus, the building and its massive columns are reminiscent of ancient Greece. It's the home field for the NFL's Chicago Bears and Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire FC, as well as a venue for college games and concerts. A controversial modern glass expansion, which looks like a spaceship that landed on the arena, was completed in 2003. Behind-the-scenes tours feature the Doughboy statue, Colonnades, the field, South Courtyard, visitors' locker room, the suites, and the United Club.