Chicago travel guide for couples: There's no shortage of fun and romantic activities and entertainment for you and your significant other in the world-class city of Chicago.
Some call it the Windy City; Carl Sandburg famously called it the City of Big Shoulders. One visit and you'll see that Chicago is also the city for lovers, with endless possibilities for daytime fun and nighttime romance.
If you have only one day to spend in Chicago, you and your sweetie might want to visit Navy Pier--if you don't mind crowds and kids. This is a touristy but fun center where you can indulge in shopping, rent bicycles and ride along the lake, go on a boat tour, view the city from atop a Ferris wheel, take a dinner cruise, and share a kiss in the dark rooms of the beautiful Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows, located in the Festival Hall. At night, see a play at the new Chicago Shakespeare Theater, or catch an IMAX film.
Cultural couples might be more inclined to take an architectural tour and learn about the history of Chicago's beautiful skyline. Contact the Chicago Architecture Foundation for tours by bus, boat, or foot. The Art Institute of Chicago is a must for art-lovers; hold hands while strolling the famous post-impressionist galleries, and don't miss the beautiful blue Chagall stained glass windows. Avant-garde twosomes may prefer the latest works at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Couples looking for art and antiques to furnish their love nest with must stop by Broadway Antique Market, a wonderful building chock-full of vintage furniture and objects offered by dozens of dealers.
If a romantic stroll is what you're after, you'll enjoy the lush greenery of Garfield Park's conservatory and gardens. Lincoln Park also boasts a gorgeous greenhouse, and the Lincoln Park Zoo (always fun and free!) is adjacent. The new Millennium Park on Michigan Avenue is another beautiful spot for a walk, as is the shoreline along the Museum Campus where the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium are located.
Theater lovers won't want to miss a night at the famous Steppenwolf Theater Company, whose founding members include Gary Sinise and John Malkovich. The Blue Man Group will entertain you at Briar Street Theater, and if it's laughter you're after, you must go to The Second City, where so many Saturday Night Live cast members got their start. Tip: swing by a Hot Tix booth if you're buying tickets the day of the performance; you can get them for half price!
Music, drinks, and dancing: sound like your kind of date? If so, there's no shortage of bars and nightclubs in Chicago, so take your pick. Clubbers might like Excalibur, the reputedly haunted mansion turned hotspot, or Crobar, a place for the young and trendy to dance all night long. If jazz is more to your liking, snuggle up to your beloved at the Green Mill (poetry lovers, take note: the famous Uptown Poetry Slam happens here every Sunday night.) You may not have the blues, but you can hear some at Kingston Mines Chicago Blues Center or Buddy Guy's Legends. Sophisticated types can dress up and hear live music any night of the week at The Redhead Piano Bar. Or, make your own music at Hidden Cove, a popular karaoke spot. If you're looking for a small, out-of-the-way place with an alternative feel and something good on the lineup (music, open-mic, you name it), go to the Hideout.
Looking for the real Chicago, beyond the Loop? Chicago's neighborhoods offer a range of shopping and dining experiences for you to sample. Chinatown, located south of the Loop on and around Cermak Road, has a number of Chinese restaurants, as well as gift shops and a small but pretty new park right beside the Chicago River. A bit west of Chinatown is Pilsen, where great Mexican cuisine is to be found. If spooling pasta is more to your taste, venture into Little Italy; you'll find some top-notch Italian restaurants on Taylor Street. Adventurous couples might like to get matching tattoos or leather outfits in Lake View (think Halsted Street north of Diversey) or peruse the hip bookstores, cafes, and used CD shops of Wicker Park/Bucktown (the hub of which is the intersection of North, Damen, and Milwaukee.) If you're looking to share something sweet, dig in to some baklava in Greektown (on and about Halsted between Congress Parkway and Lake Street).
Is there anything more romantic than drinking beer and rooting for your team together? White Sox fans can catch a game at U.S. Cellular Field down in Bridgeport, while Cubs aficionados can head up to Wrigley Field in (you guessed it) Wrigleyville. Don't forget you can also see the Chicago Bulls at the United Center, or the Bears at Soldier Field.
Still don't know what you'd like to do? Swing by the Chicago Cultural Center. You'll find an extensive Visitor's Center on the ground floor where you can pick up maps, brochures, seasonal event schedules, and coupon books for activities and places in and around Chicago. After you've done that, look around the art galleries and check out the free music programs throughout the building. Take in the beauty of the world's largest Tiffany glass dome, located on the second floor, and see why so many people have found the Cultural Center the perfect place to get married!
