Chicago

Public Transport

The ChicagoTransitAuthority (CTA) (tel: 1 888 968 7282/YOUR CTA; www.transitchicago.com) operates trains and buses within the city. The trains are referred to as the ‘El' or ‘L' (the name is derived from the elevated rail that circles around the main Downtown business and shopping district). Each of the seven train lines are identified and named by a different colour. CTA services run 24 hours. Overnight or Night Owl services operate between approximately 0000 and 0500.

Passes for two, three and five days are available. There is a transfer charge of US$0.25 between routes, whether train or bus. Tickets and passes are available for purchase from machines and ticket offices at the stations, as well as from visitor information centres and directly from the CTA.

Metra (tel: (312) 322 6777; www.metrarail.com) is a commuter rail system serving the suburbs and surrounding cities with 12 lines.

The RegionalTransitAuthority (RTA) (tel: (312) 913-3110weekdays 0830-1900 or (312) 836 7000; www.rtachicago.com) oversees Northern Illinois public transportation and includes, the CTA, the suburban bus line, PACE (tel: (847) 364 7223), and Metra.

Free trolley buses (tel: 1 877 244 2246/CHICAGO; www.choosechicago.com) travel between the city's most popular attractions like Navy Pier, the Museum Campus and North Michigan Avenue. Buses run from late May until early September and then again during the holiday season (late November until after New Year's Day).

Pedways

An underground system of ‘pedways' (pedestrian walkways or subways to the British) is especially useful for escaping the weather and crowded downtown streets. From this network, which links over 40 blocks of streets, there is access to many buildings, stations and shops in the Loop. Maps are available, free of charge, from hotels and around the various points of the system, including the Illinois Center.

Taxis

These are easy to hail on the streets, especially in the Loop and Wrigleyville. A tip of 10-15% is usually expected. The main companies are AmericanUnitedCabAssoc. (tel: (773) 248 7600; www.discoverourtown.com/IL/local-49380.html), CheckerTaxiAssoc. Inc. (tel: (312) 243 2537), FlashCab Co (tel: (773) 992 0303; www.flashcab.com), WolleyCab (tel: 1 877 888 8294) and Yellow Cab (tel: (312) 829 4222/TAXICAB; www.yellowcabchicago.com).

Driving in the City

For those who are new to the city, driving is not recommended. The traffic is hectic during rush hours (0700-0930 and 1600-1900) and confusing because of the one-way street systems in Downtown areas. Local drivers are sometimes impatient with those who do not know where they are going, so it is best for visitors to get into the main areas by train, bus or taxi and continue on foot.

If driving is the only option, be aware that the city streets are largely based on a grid pattern, the central point of which is the crossroads at Madison Avenue and State Street, in the Loop district. From here, the naming of a street as ‘north' or ‘south' or as ‘west' or ‘east' is taken for granted.

Street parking meters take coins above US$0.10 (a dime), with US$0.25 (a quarter) being the most useful coin. The more congested the area, the higher the meter rate. Major attractions may have limited parking but, in general, Downtown parking is difficult and expensive. From 1 December to 1 April, Snow Parking regulations apply on many streets, making fewer spaces available, and cars parked on snow routes are likely to be towed.

Car Hire

The minimum age for hiring a car varies from 21 to 25 years. Car rental agencies charge an extra premium to drivers under 25. A valid driving licence or an International Driving Permit is required. Costly insurance can be part of the hire arrangement, but renters should check their auto insurance to see if their policies cover rental cars.

The major US car hire companies are all available. These include Alamo (tel: 1 800 327 9633; www.alamo.com), Avis (tel: 1 800 331 1212; www.avis.com), Budget (tel: 1 800 527 0700; www.budget.com), Dollar (tel: 1 800 800 4000; www.dollar.com), Hertz (tel: 1 800 654 3131; www.hertz.com) and National (tel: 1 800 227 7368; www.nationalcar.com).

Bicycle Hire

For visitors, cycling on the streets is discouraged; however, biking the lakefront cycling paths is quite pleasant. BikeChicago, at Navy Pier, Millennium Park (tel: 1 888 245 3929; www.bikechicago.com) or at its other locations: North Avenue Beach, 1603 N. Lakeshore Drive; Riverwalk, Wacker Dr. & Columbus St; Navy Pier,600 E. Grand Avenue or Foster Beach, 5200 N. Lakeshore Drive, has a good range of bicycles for hire. Bike Chicago also offers cycling tours.

Introduction

Chicago's culture scene is extraordinary - a scene that includes a world-class opera and symphony, plus great jazz, theatre, dance, art and architecture.

To keep abreast, pick up a copy of the free weekly, TheReader (www.chireader.com) distributed on Thursdays. The city's dailies, ChicagoTribune and Chicago Sun-Times, have up-to-date cultural reviews and comments, particularly on Fridays. The best online information is at www.metromix.com, City Search at http://chicago.citysearch.com or the Things to See & Do section of the city's website (www.choosechicago.com).

Tickets can be purchased from individual box offices or from Ticketmaster (tel: (312) 902 1500 for the arts line). At HotTix booths, 72 East Randolph and 163 East Pearson (Water Works Visitors Center), half-priced tickets are available on the day of performance. Check the website (www.hottix.org) for daily availability listings. There is a fee of US$3-4 per ticket for processing, so cash is more desirable.

Music: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 220 South Michigan Avenue (tel: (312) 294 3000; www.cso.org), is internationally renowned. The symphony box office offers Rush Seating - discounted tickets to students and senior citizens (aged 64 and over) on the day of the performance at 1200 for matinees and 1700 for evening performances. The symphony's outdoor, summer home is Ravinia, 400 Iris Lane, Highland Park (tel: (847) 266 5100; www.ravinia.org).

Chicago's notable opera companies are the Lyric Opera of Chicago, 20 North Wacker Drive (tel: (312) 332 2244; www.lyricopera.org) and the Chicago Opera Theater, 205 East Randolph (tel: (312) 704 8414; www.chicagooperatheater.org), which always performs in English.

Theatre: The theatre scene pulsates with everything from regional ensembles to elaborate productions. Productions can vary from classical to avant-garde. TheLoop's revived theatre district, which includes the Cadillac Palace, 151 West Randolph (tel: (312) 977 1700; www.broadwayinchicago.com),  the Oriental, 24 West Randolph, (tel: (312) 977 1700; www.broadwayinchicago.com) and the LaSalle Bank Theatre (formerly the Schubert) at 18 West Monroe Street (tel: (312) 902 1400; www.broadwayinchicago.com), host booming Broadway productions, while the Goodman Theatre, 170 North Dearborn (tel: (312) 443 3800; www.goodman-theatre.org) and the Steppenwolf, 1650 North Halsted, (tel: (312) 335 1650; www.steppenwolf.org) are renowned for their workings of the classics and contemporary productions. A creative approach to the bard's works is the focus of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier (tel: (312) 595 5600; www.chicagoshakes.com).

Besides the Loop, a multitude of theatres are scattered throughout the city, though many are located on the North Side around Halsted and Lincoln. In 1934, gangster John Dillinger was shot by the FBI in front of the Biograph Theatre, 2433 North Lincoln Avenue. It is now home to the Victory Gardens Theater, an intimate 229-seat venue. The League of Chicago Theatres (tel: (312) 554 9800; www.chicagoplays.com) has a complete listing of current programmes.

Dance: The city has several talented companies that perform regularly. Its top ballet company is the Joffrey Ballet Company of Chicago (tel: (312) 739 0120; www.joffrey.com). A daring mix of jazz with classical ballet and contemporary techniques is a speciality of the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (tel: (312) 850 9744 or 1 866 535 4732; www.hubbardstreetdance.com). Pure jazz is performed by Gus Giordano Jazz Dance of Chicago (tel: (847) 866 6779; www.giordanojazzdance.com/), founded in 1962 and based in the Evanston suburb. Ethnic dance troupes are an example of the city's diversity. For dances from the Emerald Isle, there is Trinity Academy of Irish Dance (tel: (773) 774 5961 or 1 877 326 2328; www.trinity-dancers.com), while Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago (tel: (773) 602 1135; www.muntu.com) teaches and performs traditional African rhythms and African-American style.

Film: Many of the mainstream cinemas, such as the AMC Loew's Cinema, 600 North Michigan Avenue (tel: (312) 255 9340; www.amctheatres.com), have several screens. Cheap, cheerful and sometimes rowdy typifies the Brew and View at the Vic cinema, 3145 North Sheffield Avenue (tel: (773) 929 6713; www.brewview.com), which screens late-night films, cult numbers and new releases. For a rich mix of the old and the new, there is the Music Box Theatre, 3733 North Southport Avenue (tel: (773) 871 6604; www.musicboxtheatre.com), a 1920s movie palace, which features independent films, foreign films, classics and silent films accompanied by a live organ. The Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State (tel: (312) 846 2600; www.siskelfilmcenter.org) specialises in unusual films, classics and film festivals. Moviefone (tel: (312) 444 3456; www.moviefone.com) is the principal source of information and also sells tickets to some cinemas (‘movie theatres').

Of the many films set or filmed in Chicago, some of the most famous are TheSting (1973), starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford; the classic John Belushi film, TheBluesBrothers (1980); the Oscar-winning OrdinaryPeople (1980); RiskyBusiness (1983), the film that launched Tom Cruise; the cult comedy classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986); the John Candy, Steve Martin film, Planes, TrainsandAutomobiles (1987); HomeAlone and BackDraft (1990), HoopDreams, a documentary about inner-city kids becoming basketball stars (1994); the Bill Murray movie, GroundhogDay (1993), the 1930s gangster dramas, TheUntouchables (1987), HighFidelity and ReturntoMe (1999), TheRoadtoPerdition (2002) with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman, Barbershop (2002), Barbershop2 (2003) and AmityvilleHorror (2004). Proof (2005), starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins, the story of a devoted daughter coming to terms with the death of her father, a brilliant mathematician crippled by insanity. TheBreak Up (2006)with Jennifer Anniston, and Beau Jeste (2007),the hilarious story of young woman who falls in love with a man who is unacceptable to her parents, were also shot in Chicago. The 2002 production of the musical Chicago, starring Renée Zellweger and Richard Gere, was actually filmed in Toronto. Scenes from the late Heath Ledger's last film, Dark Knight (2008)were also filmed here.

Literary Notes: The poet Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was part of the heady Chicago Renaissance in the first two decades of the 1900s. In his poem, Chicago (1916), he coined the phrase ‘City of the Big Shoulders'. Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) wrote about the horrors of the meatpacking world of Union Stockyards and the Jewish-Lithuanian ghetto in TheJungle (1903). The book was the catalyst for the changing of food laws in America.

Chicago's most famous writers are probably Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), born in the Oak Park suburb (see Excursions), and Saul Bellow (1915-2005), who was born in Quebec but raised in Chicago. Bellow portrayed the post-modern city in many guises, including Pulitzer-Prize-winning Humboldt'sGift (1975) and TheDean'sDecember (1982).

The dangerous, frenzied and unscrupulous underside of the Board of Trade was the subject of ThePit (1903), by Frank Norris (1870-1902). James T Farrell (1904-1979) was born in Chicago. His best-known work is the trilogy, StudsLonigan (1932-1935), depicting the ethnic turmoil of the South Side slums. The clash of races in the slums was also the subject of Richard Wright's (1908-1960) NativeSon (1940). Detroit-born Nelson Algren (1909-1981), as part of the Chicago school of realism, continued the unadorned style associated with the city's portrayal in several of his novels, including TheManwiththeGoldenArm (1949), a novel about drug addiction, often regarded as his best work. Defending the Damned (2007) by Kevin Davis is about the murder task force of Chicago's public defender's office.

Theatre has also made its mark in this city, particularly with AmericanBuffalo (1976), by David Mamet (b 1947), the Chicago-born playwright and film director. With Chicago's gangster tradition, it is fitting that he also wrote the screenplay for TheUntouchables (1987). It is also appropriate that two writers have based their detective novels in the city. Sara Paretsky's ‘VI Warshawski' stories and Andrew Greeley's ‘Monsignor Ryan' tales feature Chicago as a major location or, one could even say, character.

© Columbus Travel Media Ltd.