My Travel Guide to Chicago

I just spent three days in Chicago, and here are some of my recommendations on what to do and where to eat!

What to Do:

1) Architecture Boat Tour

I absolutely loved the architecture boat tour. I think you get to truly see the beauty of the city with buildings of all shapes and sizes as well as from different decades. Each building has its own story and I loved hearing the history about each one. My parents and I went on the Chicago Architecture Foundation Center River Cruise and we chose to go at 5:30 to 7 pm which was the perfect time as we saw the city in daylight, sunset, and nighttime. I do, however, recommend dressing for the weather as it got pretty cold, but this was definitely one of my favorite things to do in the city.

2) Magnificent Mile

This is really a great place to shop. Located on the first floor of the 900 North Michigan Shops is a little coffee stand which is great to pick up a coffee on your way in to drink while you shop. This shopping mall has Bloomingdales, Lululemon, J. Crew, Kate Spade, etc., but my personal favorite within the mall is Luxury Garage Sale, which is a designer consignment store. Water Tower Place is a shopping center on Michigan Avenue which has Aritzia, Free People, Sephora, and much more. There are also stores not located in any shopping centers on Michigan Avenue, such as Uniqlo, Saks Fifth Avenue, Zara, Levi's, and Nordstrom.

3) State Street/ Rush Street

I love the look of this street, I think it will definitely be super cute during the holiday season especially. Definitely a great place to hang out and shop. Stores in the area are Urban Outfitters, Aritzia, All Saints, Dr. Martens, Lululemon, Madewell, and high-end stores such as Dior, Saint Laurent, and Intermix. It has lots of cute stores and restaurants. Sprinkles is located off one of the side streets and Devereaux is at the top of it. Also, the restaurant at the bottom of the Viceroy and below Devereaux is Somerset, which looks really good too!

4) Art Institute of Chicago

If you love art, there is a big selection! We went on a Friday and thought that we would be able to see the Andy Warhol exhibit, but it was members only, and they didn't tell us when we bought the tickets and it wasn't said anywhere else. So that was disappointing.

5) Skydeck

Come here on a weekday and early in the morning to miss the line. My parents and I wanted to go, but unfortunately the wait time was an hour and a half, and with the little time we had in Chicago, we wanted to make the most of every minute.

Where to Eat:

For a fast lunch on Magnificent Mile:

Bandera