Even if you’ve never been to Chicago, it seems both familiar and thrilling, like watching a famous harmonica musician perform at a “L” train stop. This is the place that gave birth to various types of blues, soul, gospel, and jazz, where blues lay the framework for rock & roll, and where new genres like hip hop and house are now evolving. If the melodies lingering down the Riverwalk or by the Bean seem familiar, it’s because Chicago’s music, musicals, and culture have made their way into every American household and throughout the world during the last century.

Chicago is the birthplace of American invention, and Highland Park’s Elisha Gray experimented with an acoustic telepathy system that some consider to be the first true telephone. It’s where, in 1884, Chicago’s Home Insurance Building rose 10 floors and 138 feet above the city, coining the term “skyscraper” decades before New York’s Empire State Building was finished. The Willis Tower and John Hancock Center are proud to carry on that legacy. Chicago has always been a center and shelter for dreamers, doers, and people motivated to achieve, from its modest beginnings as the nation’s stockyard to its current stock market.

When you visit Chicago, you are in a location that offers the finest of all America’s prairie Midwest has to offer. Our sparkling buildings and pulsating nightlife along the Magnificent Mile provide shopping, romance, and adventure as a tourist destination. We have the world-class Shedd Aquarium and the Art Institute of Chicago for the curious. Families will love exploring our pristine Lake Michigan beaches and the famous Navy Pier while fueling up on cotton candy and our renowned deep dish Chicago-style pizza. Come join us in Chicago, where we’re eager to share our slice of the Midwest with you all year.