Trifter

Massive, gleaming skyscrapers. Miles and miles of greenery. Miles and miles of sandy beaches. Arguably the world’s most beautiful lakefront. Nice, friendly people from all over. The world’s largest outdoor architectural museum, literally speaking. The world’s second-largest financial district.

These are just some of the amazing attributes claimed by the third-largest city in the United States. Since being incorporated as a city in 1831, Chicago has grown continuously, unstoppable even by a great fire in 1871 that reduced most of the city to ashes. The residents quickly picked up the pieces and resumed growing and less than 20 years later its population passed the 1 million mark.

Today, “The City of Big Shoulders” is a huge metropolis home to roughly 10 million hard-working residents, more than 20 of whom are billionaires. Many historians and writers have consistently labeled Chicago the true, quintessential American city. It is recognized by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network as one of the world’s ten most influential cities. Its metropolitan area GDP of more $460 billion makes it the fourth-wealthiest metropolitan area in the world, behind only Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles.

Home to the world’s first skyscraper, the Chicago area has held and continues to hold many structural superlatives. The records that the city has held or still holds are: the world’s tallest building, busiest airport, largest post office, largest indoor aquarium, tallest bank building, tallest purely residential building, tallest building with residences, tallest completed building in overall height, the building with the most floors, the most buildings over 1,000 feet (300 meters) tall and it is the only city in the world with two buildings containing 100 or more floors.

The city also boasts many museums, the most noted one being the Museum of Science and Industry. Other sites include the Shed Aquarium, the world’s largest, and Buckingham Fountain, all within walking distance of one another along the lakefront with the city’s downtown area as the backdrop.

Chicago is arguably one of the world’s greenest cities, boasting a large array of parks. A visit to the 103rd Floor Observatory Deck of the Sears Tower, formerly the world’s tallest building and still the tallest in the Western Hemisphere, would give you a glimpse of large patches of greenery over the city’s very flat landscape. The two most noted are Lincoln Park, home to Lincoln Park Zoo, and Grant Park, which practically sits on Lake Michigan.

Chicago is also one great big eatery, having a wide variety of ethnic restaurants, a testament to the city’s vast collection ethnic groups. No visit to Chicago would be complete without eating some of the famous dishes that the city introduced to the world. This is where the deep-dish pizza was born and the city is widely accepted as making the world’s best pizza.

There is certainly much to do and see…and eat for the roughly 44 million visitors that the Windy City attracts annually.

When people hear of Chicago one of the first things that come to mind is the city’s often brutally cold winter. The truth is Chicago experiences just as many days when it is nearly unbearably hot as days when it is unbearably cold. The outside temperature has been known to climb over 70 degrees F in December. The temperature is usually at its trickiest during the months March, April, November and December when it has been known to drop from as high as 65 degrees to about 45 degrees in a matter of minutes. Weather-wise, the best times to visit Chicago are the months of June, August and September. During these months the temperature is consistently warm and comfortable. Visit Chicago in July only if you wish to experience life in a deep fryer.

Ironically, July is when the city really comes to life with activity. The Fourth of July weekend is when the annual Taste of Chicago is held in Grant Park. Thousands of food vendors turn out to feed more than 2 million hungry attendees. Later on in July is the annual Blues Festival which is also held in Grant Park. And if you do decide to visit Chicago in July you can always escape the heat by chilling out in the icy cold waters of Lake Michigan. Chicago has perhaps the most beautiful beaches of any inland city in the world. During the summer months the beaches are packed with people dipping into Lake Michigan to cool off from the sweltering summer heat.

So, what are you waiting for? Come on!