Two famous names associated with the city are revolutionary architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright who's work is celebrated in Robie house, also in Hyde park, and Ernest Hemingway. A museum dedicated to the famous writer is found in the pretty suburb of Oak Park, now reserved as a National Historic District.

Navy Pier has a long history of service to the city and today, after a US$200 million revamp, it has been converted into a combination amusement park, entertainment complex and children's museum. The Shedd Aquarium is billed as the world's largest assortment of finned, gilled, amphibious and other aquatic creatures all swimming within its marble-clad interior, while the Oceanarium is a spectacular space where huge mammal pools seem to blend into the lake outside with its floor-to-ceiling windows.

Lincoln Park is a hive of activity during the day with people in-line skating, walking dogs, pushing strollers and driving in circles for hours looking for a place to park. It's also home to the Biograph Theater, where gangster John Dillinger was gunned down by the FBI in 1934. Alternatively the free Lincoln Park Zoo, founded in 1868, enjoys considerable community support. Sports fans can check out the historic Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, and Americas oldest surviving stadium.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a reserve beyond the industrial suburb of Gary, is 20 miles (32km) of sandy beaches and dunes formed by the prevailing winds on Lake Michigan, and in the summer it is popular with locals. A lakeshore cruise is also a popular way to admire Chicago's skyline.

Entertainment options are staggering, accommodation plentiful, transport convenient and well planned, and tourist facilities extensive, making Chicago an ideal and central entry point to the States.

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