Chicago holidays

Chicago provides a perfect mix of top-end 5 star hotels, trendy bars and luxurious restaurants, offering a wealth of international cuisines. The Waldorf Astoria, previously the number 1 hotel in the US, offers a huge spa and health club. Spend a cultural city break in Chicago and explore the vast collection of modern American and European art at The Art Institute of Chicago, before enjoying a glass of wine or fruity cocktails in trendy Wicker Park and Bucktown.

Spa hotels provide the ideal remedy for your body and soul, after a day shopping along the Magnificent Mile. For the perfect spa break we recommend The Waldorf Astoria, for its extensive spa and fitness facilities. The Peninsula Chicago has been voted ‘America’s healthiest hotel’, and is one of the best spas in Chicago. For a personalised spa experience visit mySpa at Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park, and if time is precious choose the express lunch manicure.

Enjoy the romance of Chicago, stroll hand in hand along the shores of Lake Michigan, book a table for dinner on the 95th floor John Hancock observatory. See a theatre show at the world famous theatre district, not forgetting to take advantage of a photo opportunity in front of the illuminated lights of the ‘Chicago’ sign. For the perfect ending snuggle up at one of our luxury hotels.

There is plenty to do on Chicago family holidays with a range of family-friendly activities to choose from. Enjoy family time on the sandy beaches, take the kids to see free fireworks at Navy Pier every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the summer. Open their imagination with a visit to the Field Museum to visit the worlds most complete T. rex, ‘Sue’. Then tuck in to a famous local delicacy, the deep-dish pizza.

There are 24 beaches along the Chicago lakefront, our favourites are the popular Oak Street Beach, which has the largest sunbathing area, walking distance from Downtown. See and be seen at North Avenue Beach, for the best city views and amenities. The quieter Montrose Beach is a little further away, but there is plenty of parking if you have hired a car. Ohio Street beach is right next to the famous Navy Pier, it can often feel like you are on your own private beach.

Across the Chicago River, immediately due North of the Loop, is a neighbourhood of densely packed galleries, with its requisite arts fairs and gallery walks. Wander around boutiques and speciality shops, including upscale antique stores and furniture dealers. It is a food lover’s paradise, with an amazing assortment of dining options to satisfy every palate and budget. After dark, young and hip club-goers descend on River North for its plentiful and vibrant nightlife.

Running the length of Michigan Avenue, from the Chicago River to Lake Shore Drive, the ‘Mag Mile’ is the heart of the city’s shopping district. Here, upscale brand named stores stand alongside historic hotels and landmarks. Such as the Water Tower and Pumping Station – one of the few structures left standing after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. It is an ideal place to stay and shop, and a great base to explore from.

The central business district, nicknamed because of the elevated ‘El’ train tracks that loop around the city centre. Amid the skyscrapers and office buildings is the city’s famed Theatre District comprising the Cadillac Palace Theatre, Ford Centre for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre, Bank of America Theatre and the Chicago Theatre, whose glittering marquee is one of the city’s most recognisable icons.

Aptly named, this is one of Chicago’s most affluent neighbourhoods, where new mansions continue to spring up alongside the grand residences built by Chicago’s 19th century elite. Once home to hotel-magnate Potter Palmer’s castle-like mansion, it now includes the Astor Street Historical District’s beautiful brownstones, the architectural riches are boundless. The Rush & Division intersection, a few blocks away, is a vibrant hotspot of trendy bars and nightclubs – the perfect place for people watching and celebrity spotting.

A neighbourhood of luxurious high-rise apartment buildings, internationally renowned restaurants, popular attractions like Navy Pier and the John Hancock Observatory, and the world-famous Magnificent Mile shopping district along Michigan Avenue. Its legendary origins, however, involve a colourful eccentric, George Wellington ‘Cap’ Streeter, who laid claim to this patch of prime lakefront land around his shipwrecked schooner, and numerous gunfights with police and court battles that led to his eventual eviction.