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CHICAGO: THE CITY THAT WORKS |
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The Chicago River architectural cruises start in May but the Lyric
Opera has usually closed its season by April. Chicago has theater
for every taste but prices are high in the downtown theaters. Ask
your concierge what's playing in neighborhood theaters; that's where
many of today's thespians got their start. |
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WHERE TO EAT Personal favorites range from the Cape Cod Room at the Drake to Nick's Fishmarket. In the Cape Cod Room you can lean over the bar where Joe DiMaggio carved Marilyn Monro's initials into the counter; at Nick's you can sit in subdued light, surrounded in opulence like a character in an Untouchable tour. In former days if you wanted characters, you would head for the Fairmont and dinner at Primavera's, its restaurant with professional singing waiters but that run is ended. Now the Fairmont hotel's most popular restaurant is Entre Nous, one of the most romantic spots for dinner in town. But you can still find characters at Berghoff's on West Adams, a German restaurant now in its second century of family ownership. You sit there getting the fastest service you could imagine from the oldest waiters, hoping they know cardiac resuscitation -- not for a patron who might need the Heimlich maneuver but for a waiter whose body finally answers the call -- literally. WHERE TO STAY Chicago has some of the most sophisticated and expensive hotels in the United States. When you come to Chicago you bite the bullet and pay up. This is not a place for boutique hotels and cute Bed & Breakfasts. Discriminating visitors choose according to the season and what they want to see. If you come to the Windy City in winter, for example, and your main interest is shopping, nothing beats the Four Seasons on East Delaware Place, a deluxe hotel located above 900 North Michigan atop 100 shops (including Bloomingdales), theaters and restaurants. It has an extensive health club. If you want to see as many museums as possible then no luxury hotel is closer than the Fairmont where it's actually just a short walk to the Art Institute. The river cruise embarkation sites are close by too. The Fairmont is conveniently connected by a corridor to the Athletic Club whose state-of-the-art facilities include a climbing wall! If you enjoy tradition, the Drake Hotel built in 1920 and refurbished several times remains the Chicago experience. It's all Bedford limestone and Tennessee marble, oak paneling, crystal chandeliers, marble fountains with dolphins and cherubs and even a French bronze urn 270 years old. The hotel, like all great ones, is as proud of its service as of its construction and decor. Chicago's citizens are equally proud of their city. "When
the Chicago Hilton opened in 1926, it had a 9-hole golf course on
the roof," says a guide. "We had the largest McDonald's
in the world till the company opened one in Moscow," offers
a taxi driver. And "I'll tell you what's special about Chicago,"
continues our friend, JoAnn Bongiorno. "Of all the one and
a half million cities in the world, Chicago is the most diverse,
the most livable and the best looking. This is the city that works." To get more information or make hotel reservations call toll free, 1-877CHICAGO or visit 877chicago.com |
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