Loop

The Loop is Chicago's central business district, home to many corporate headquarters, glamorous hotels, beautiful and verdant city parks, historic buildings and museums, world-class restaurants and a shopper’s paradise. Nicknamed ‘the Loop’ because of elevated “El” train tracks that loop around the city center, downtown Chicago is a feast for the senses, from the clatter of the El trains passing overheard, to the Chicago Theatre’s glittering marquee and the stoic Picasso sculpture standing in Daley Plaza. Whether you’re a visitor to the city or a lifelong Chicagoan, the Loop is a place that must be experienced to be fully appreciated.

A first stop for any visitor to Chicago should be the historic Chicago Cultural Center (77 E. Randolph St.), where there is almost always something going on: lunchtime concerts, public lectures, art exhibitions…you name it…and almost all for FREE! The city’s official Visitor Information Center, located on the first floor of the Cultural Center, is staffed with helpful tourism professionals that will happily provide free maps and brochures, as well as suggestions about where to go and what to see and do in the city. Culinary Concierges are also on duty and always ready to recommend a restaurant to fit any cuisine or budget!

Chicago’s Theater District 

Brightly lit marquees along Dearborn and Randolph Streets mark an area widely known as the city’s famed Theater District.  Within the span of four city blocks in the Loop are such magnificently restored venues as the Cadillac Palace Theatre, Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre, The Chicago Theatre, and Bank of America Theatre.

Be sure and reserve your seat for this season's hottest live musical entertainment, like Broadway in Chicago’s Billy Elliot The Musical, winner of 10 Tony Awards in 2009 including 'Best Musical', which opens March 18 at  the Ford Center/Oriental Theatre. 

Chicago Tribute Markers of Distinction 

Located throughout the city, Chicago Tribute Markers of Distinction commemorate where notable Chicagoans lived and worked. Four markers located in the Loop honor businessman and preservationist A. Montgomery Ward, abolitionist John Jones, opera singer Mary Garden and dancer/choreographer Ruth Page.