Chicago’s Best Neighborhoods

With steel skyscrapers, lakefront beaches and world-class museums, Chicago will blow you away with its low-key yet highly cultured spirit.

Downtown is an architectural marvel, but it’s Chicago’s walled neighborhoods – full of innovative restaurants, fringe theaters and friendly dive bars – that will create lasting memories of your time in the Windy City.

Here are the best neighborhoods to explore on your trip to Chicago..

Loop

Great neighborhood for sightseeing

The Loop is Chicago’s heart of action, named for the elevated train tracks that line its busy streets. And while there’s debate over whether the Loop is a true neighborhood, no one can deny that it’s the beating heart of the city.

There’s more to see here: Art Institute, Willis TowerTheater District and Millennium Park The top draws are, while The biggest festivals in the city Keep people coming to the area’s large green spaces.

Accommodation abounds in the Loop – cool boutiques and architectural hotels are its specialty. The neighborhood is convenient to parks, festival grounds, museums and the theater district, with easy transportation access to anywhere in the city.

However, nightlife is not the Loop’s strong point, as most of the restaurants and bars here are geared towards office workers. Not open much after 9pm.

Stratwell and Navy Pier

Best Neighborhoods for Shopping

Streeterville packs in deep-dish pizza parlors, buzzy bistros, art galleries and stores so big that its main thoroughfare – Michigan Avenue – has been dubbed the “Excellent mail.”

This neighborhood is unapologetically in-your-face commercial. Shops, restaurants and entertainment venues abound. Navy PierA half-mile long pier of tour boats, carnival rides and a sparkling, king-size Ferris wheel is the top sight.

Architecture is a neighborhood highlight, thanks to its iconic buildings Tribune Tower And Marina City. Art is another strong suit of the area, especially in under-the-radar spots such as Dray House Museum And Arts Club of ChicagoAs well as Streeterville’s many galleries.

Near North is Chicago’s most residential neighborhood, with Hotel On practically every street corner. These are mostly midrange chain properties, although some nifty boutique hotels and hostel-hotel hybrids are mixed in.

This neighborhood is also where you’ll find restaurants full of Chicago moms. From, there is a huge variety Deep dish pizza and modern Mexican to ritzy seafood. Visitors are drawn here by all the hotels, so prices can be higher than elsewhere.

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Gold Coast

The best neighborhood for luxury

The Gold Coast, as you would expect from the name, is the largest area of ​​Chicago. Stylish locals wander the leafy streets in and out of the neighborhood’s top-end boutiques, occasionally wheeling a Tesla or Rolls-Royce.

The Gold Coast is relatively compact, but has many worthwhile destinations. gave 360° Chicago Observatory and Museum of Contemporary Art At the top are attention grabbers.

Accommodation options here are large, luxury hotels, with easy access to both the city center and the lakefront, plus you get the bonus of shopping on your doorstep.

The Gold Coast hotspot is a hub of steakhouses, gourmet eateries and martini lounges for the beautiful people. Grand old-time lounges and skyscraper bars with spectacular views can also be found in the neighborhood.

Lincoln Park and Old Town

Best neighborhood for comedy and live music

The green space of Lincoln Park Chicago’s largest playground, filled with lagoons, walking trails, beaches and zoo animals. Nearby Lincoln Park adds upscale restaurants, chic boutiques and lively blues and rock clubs to the mix.

To the south, the stylish Old Town hangs with its free-spirited, bohemian past alongside artsy bars and improv comedy hotbeds. Another city.

Accommodations in the area range from hotels to B&Bs and hostels, and have many characters. They are close to fun nightlife, and some are just a short walk to Lincoln Park. Zoo and the beach. However, they are a little removed from the city center locations. It is also a popular neighborhood for short-term apartment rentals.

Upscale restaurants like Paragraph And Book It holds court, but Lincoln Park also caters to budget tastes, thanks to DePaul University’s student population.

The Old Town options are quieter and quainter. This is a great area to catch some top-notch live performances in the evenings, with a variety of options from blues and rock music to comedy improv and dramatic plays.

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South Loop

Great neighborhood for museums

The South Loop offers many things to do. gave Field Museum, Shed Aquarium And Adler Planetarium Cluster on the Lakefront Museum campus. Peaceful 12th Street Beach And the mountainous North Island offers nearby shelters for burrowing sheep. Historic house museums and a famous blues sighting beckon nearby. There aren’t many hotel options in the neighborhood other than the one around the huge convention center.

Pilsen and Chinatown

The perfect neighborhood for culture

Chinatown bustles with noodle shops and small storefronts, and further west is Pilsen, where Mexican culture mixes with Chicago’s bohemian underground, and colorful murals, taquerias and cafes result.

Pilsen’s 18th Street is lined with Mexican taquerias, tamale shops, hip gastropubs and trendy American restaurants. The roads It is the main location of the neighborhood. Hosts a dive bar on weekends. NaturalsA pop-up natural wine bar, before transforming into a late-night hot spot.

Blue Island Avenue is a similarly rich vein. Chinatown offers a teeming smorgasbord of noodle houses, low-cost bakeries and dim sum spots.

Pilsen has activist cafes, microbrewery taprooms and artsy dive bars, while the Near South Side has neighborhood pubs and leafy patios. Chinatown isn’t much of a drinking destination, though it’s buzzing late into the night to satisfy the post-booze munchies.

Lakeview and Wrigleyville

Best neighborhoods for nightlife

Lakeview is the biggest name in this good-time neighborhood, known for its non-stop lineup of bars, theaters, rock halls and global eateries. Wrigleyville is the pocket that surrounds the star attraction. Wrigley FieldWhere big changes are happening.

For years, boozers with sticky floors were the stock in trade. Now cocktail bars, fancy donut shops and trendy eateries have joined the game – foodies and families alike are excited. Those who understand the loss of native color are not.

Nightlife is a specialty of Lakeview and Wrigleyville, and there are plenty of options: traditional sports bars and new cocktail bars around Wrigley Field, dance clubs and gay bars and cozy wine bars in Boys Town, English pubs and small taverns with jazz wafting are scattered everywhere. the neighborhood

Some great new boutique hotels have popped up recently, especially near Wrigley Field. They join a number of already existing boutique properties and B&Bs, most of which are surrounded by rolling bars, restaurants and music venues. Important areas can be crowded and noisy at night. Room rates usually go up when kids are playing.

Wicker Park, Bucktown and Ukrainian Village

Best neighborhoods for restaurants

Three neighborhoods of Wicker Park, Bucktown and Ukrainian Village The large Westtown area has modern, warm properties. Hip record stores, thrift stores and cocktail lounges have proliferated, though vintage Eastern European dive bars remain on many street corners.

Wicker Park is the more commercial heart. It is connected to Bucktown, Ukrainian Village and Eastern Village, and the small Noble Square. The restaurant scene includes a number of Michelin-starred/James Beard Award nominees. Chef Bill Comes Urban Bailey, big starAnd Pigeon luncheonette Among the neighborhood standouts are

Art galleries, onion-domed churches, national/ethnic museums and the home of writer Nelson Algren make the area interesting. Hike or bike the 606 Trail A great way to spend an afternoon.

For hostels, B&Bs and apartment rentals away from the tourists, this is your neighborhood. Everything is close to bustling nightlife and trendy shops, plus it’s only a 15-minute L ride to downtown.

Modern restaurants like Wazwan Open almost every day, with many serving nouveau classic comfort food. Division Street is a great vein of snazzy bistros and pubs, many with sidewalk seating.

Milwaukee, Dimon, Division and Chicago avenues burst with cocktail lounges and chic bars, while authentically retro mom-and-pop joints thrive quietly on neighborhood side streets.

Not surprisingly, for such a hip area, the Northwest neighborhoods have many choices for evening entertainment. You’ll find venues for indie rock, hip-hop and other popular genres, as well as some of Chicago’s smaller independent theater companies.

Close to West Loop and West Side

The perfect neighborhood for modern Chicago

The West Loop buzzes with hot-chef restaurants and on-trend bars that have taken over former meatpacking factories.

There is a chef. Joe Flame’s Rose Mary A fusion of Croatian and Italian fare, Swift & Sons SteakhouseAnd Josie’s for mexican. reach to The blind barber For a drink and some late night dancing. Development has been in full swing, with condos, tech company offices and brand-name hotels picking up pace.

The West Loop packs in a bunch of the city’s best, trendiest properties, with great access to all the trendy eateries around. You will pay big for happiness.

Fancy cocktails are West Loop’s calling card. Distilleries, wine bars and coffee shops that take their lattes seriously add to the scene. Further expanding the industrial landscape of the Near West Side is a patchwork of breweries.