The best neighborhoods in Chicago

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

The city center is an architectural wonder, but it’s Chicago’s mural-splashed neighborhoods – full of inventive restaurants, fringe theaters and sociable 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.

The Loop

Best neighborhood for sightseeing

The Loop is the center of the action in Chicago, named for the elevated train tracks that encircle its busy streets. And though there’s debate on whether the Loop is an actual neighborhood, no one can deny it’s the beating heart of the city. 

There’s lots to see and do here: the Art Institute, Willis Tower, the Theater District and Millennium Park are top draws, while the city’s biggest festivals keep people flocking to the area’s large green spaces.

The Loop has loads of lodgings – cool boutique and architectural hotels are the specialty. The neighborhood is convenient for the parks, festival grounds, museums and the Theater District, with easy transport access to anywhere in the city. 

Nightlife, however, is not the Loop’s strong point. Most of the restaurants and bars here are geared toward office workers, so there’s not much open after 9pm.

Streeterville and Navy Pier

Best neighborhoods for shopping 

Streeterville packs in deep-dish pizza parlors, buzzy bistros, art galleries and so many upscale stores that its main artery – Michigan Ave – has been dubbed the “Magnificent Mile.”

This neighborhood is unapologetically in-your-face commercial. Shops, restaurants and amusements abound. Navy Pier, a half-mile-long wharf of tour boats, carnival rides and a flashy, king-sized Ferris wheel, is the top sight.

Architecture is a neighborhood highlight, thanks to iconic buildings such as the neo-Gothic Tribune Tower and Marina City, a 1960s vision of the future. Art is another strong suit of the area, especially underrated sights such as the Driehaus Museum and Arts Club of Chicago, as well as Streeterville’s many galleries.

The Near North is Chicago’s most lodgings-packed neighborhood, with hotels on practically every street corner. They’re mostly midrange chain properties, though a couple of nifty boutique hotels and hostel-hotel hybrids are mixed in. 

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