A Culture Weekend in Chicago
Blown away by The Windy City’s long list of must-see museums? Fret not, here’s how to tick off Chicago’s biggest cultural attractions in just 48 hours.
Day 1: Morning
A trip to Chicago without deep-diving its most beloved cultural asset would be a cardinal sin, so start your day at the Art Institute of Chicago. Even repeat visitors will find something new to explore in this epic stash; the Renzo Piano-designed Modern Wing is a firm bet for its stellar C.20th-21st modern and contemporary European painting, sculpture, design, and photography.
Afternoon
You needn’t stagger far for a refuel. The Modern Wing’s viewy onsite resto, Terzo Piano, provides art-weary wanderers with top-notch produce and pizzas by Barack’s favourite panhandler Tony Mantuano. Well if it’s good enough for the Obamas...
Next, hop in a cab and whoosh up through the Gold Coast for a better understanding of what made Chi-town the ace place it is today. The fascinating Chicago History Museum spotlights everything from The Great Fire to the Haymarket Riot to the World’s Columbian Exposition, with oral histories, books and manuscripts, costumes, and decorative and industrial objects. Peepers peeled for George Washington’s suit.
Evening
Your pre-booked table at nearby Alinea awaits, the ultra-sleek food lab where superstar saucerer Grant Achatz crafts 18- to 22-course menus that put the astro in gastro. From one theatre to another, Chicago’s most renowned stage, Steppenwolf Theatre is just across the street. This oft-hyped, perma-rammed institution boasts big names and before-they-were-big smash hit plays. There are two current shows to choose from: Familiar and La Ruta, but do book sharpish, or speak to your concierge.
Finish your evening with drinklets at The J Parker, perched atop Lincoln’s towering topper with jaw-dropping city perspectives and a spiffy list of seasonal pours.
Day 2: Morning
Drink in Chicago’s spectacular lake with a due-south walk through Grant Park, heading towards one of the world’s largest natural history troves, the Field Museum. Originally built for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the museum has since amassed a whopping 24 million objects, from rare gemstones to dinosaur fossils to Egyptian mummies.
Afternoon
But a 15-minute walk away is the glammy Chicago Firehouse Restaurant, which has – somewhat ironically – gone from putting out fires to firing up steaks for the South Loop’s well-heeled crowd. Bibs on for a mouth-watering menu of lamb lollipops, oysters on the half shell, jumbo shrimp, lobster puttanesca and prime cuts.
Archi buffs rejoice! But a protractor’s toss away are two of Chicago’s greatest architectural gems; the Clarke House Museum, aka the city’s oldest surviving house, built in 1836 in the classical Greek Revival style, and the Glessner House Museum which secretes an array of decorative arts under its C.19th Richardson-Romanesque eaves. Both must be viewed via guided tour.
Evening
Phew! You must be spent. Retire to Z Bar at The Peninsula for global sips and bites, or slink up to the rouge-hued Shanghai Terrace for dim sum and speciality tipples. Cin cin!
Art Institute of Chicago / 111 S Michigan Ave / The Loop / +1 312 443 3600 / 10.30am-5pm daily, until 8pm Thu / artic.edu / Terzo Piano / +1 312 443 8650 / lunch daily, dinner Thu / terzopianochicago.com
Chicago History Museum / 1601 N Clark St / Lincoln Park / +1 312 642 4600 / 9.30am-4.30pm Mon & Wed-Sat, 9.30am-9pm Tue, noon-5pm Sun / chicagohistory.org
Alinea / 1723 N Halsted St / Lincoln Park / +1 312 867 0110 / dinner Wed-Sun / alinearestaurant.com
Steppenwolf Theatre / 1650 N Halsted St / +1 312 335 1650 / steppenwolf.org
The J Parker / 13/F / 1816 N Clark St / Lincoln Park / +1 312 254 4747 / 5pm-2am Mon-Thu, 1pm-2am Fri, 11.30am-3am Sat, 11.30am-2am Sun / jparkerchicago.com
Grant Park / 337 E Randolph St / Chicago / 6am-11pm daily
Field Museum / 1400 S Lake Shore Dr / +1 312 922 9410 / 9am-5pm daily / fieldmuseum.org
The Chicago Firehouse Restaurant / 1401 S Michigan Ave / South Loop / +1 312 786 1401 / chicagofirehouse.com
Clarke House Museum / 1827 S Indiana Ave / +1 312 744 3316 / cityofchicago.org
Glessner House Museum / 1827 S Indiana Ave / +1 312 744 3316 / glessnerhouse.org