Few cities can boast a front yard as impressive as Chicago’s Grant Park, home of the Art Institute of Chicago; Buckingham Fountain; the annual Taste of Chicago, and summer festivals of jazz, gospel, blues and country music. In the 19th century, this area was literally a dump, surrounded by shacks and railroad tracks. Today, it’s filled with notable monuments, flowers, grass and trees – a great place to stroll or relax on a park bench and admire the Chicago skyline.

Covering some 500 acres along Lake Michigan south of 57th Street, Jackson Park is home to the Museum of Science and Industry, one of the largest science museums in the world, with more than 35,000 artifacts in 400,000 square feet of exhibit space.

Lincoln Park is home to the Chicago History Museum, Lincoln Park Conservatory, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Diversey Harbor, the Green City Market, and the Lincoln Park Zoo, one of the few free-admission zoos remaining in the world.

Chicago’s world-class showplace of architecture and the arts has been a smash hit with visitors and residents alike since it opened in 2004 to international acclaim.

Three of the world’s finest museums - The Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium - are just steps from one another on Chicago’s Museum Campus.

This area between North Michigan Avenue and Lake Michigan contains luxurious apartment buildings and hotels, top restaurants, the Museum of Contemporary Art and leading medical centers, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital.