Mark Schmandt, Baird & Warner Real Estate

09/19/2026

From an all-day restaurant serving ceviche and saudero tacos to a long-awaited bistro from an Atelier alum, it’s a promising autumn for local diners.

09/19/2026

Whether you’re craving an Italian beef or grilled octopus and bone marrow mashed potatoes, Downtown Chicago’s busiest dining neighborhood has you covered.

09/15/2026

09/14/2026

Chicago native Joan Cusack owns a whimsical shop🎁 in Old Town, filled with the cutest items✨ Unlock more 👇below.....

08/31/2026

The CTA is one of only two American systems that never stop. The Red Line and the Blue Line run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year. New York is the other one. That is the entire list.

Which means a person in Chicago can leave a bar in Wicker Park at 3:40 in the morning and get to O'Hare without owning a car, calling anyone, or explaining themselves. That single fact shapes how the city works more than any building in it.

The Blue Line is the one out-of-towners never believe. It runs to the airport, all night, for the price of a fare. Most major American cities cannot get you to their airport at noon on a Tuesday.

The other thing the map does not show is what the ride actually feels like, and that is the real Chicago experience. On the Brown Line through Ravenswood you are riding at the third-floor level past people's apartment windows. You can see their kitchens. You can see what they are watching. Nobody is bothered by this on either side of the glass, which is a negotiated peace a hundred years old.

The Loop tracks are the loudest infrastructure in America. Steel wheels on elevated steel curves at Lake and Wabash produce a sound that stops conversation dead on the sidewalk below, and locals simply pause mid-sentence and resume when it passes without acknowledging it happened.

The Red Line goes from Wrigleyville to Sox-35th, which means the two fan bases share one train, and on the rare days both teams are home the ride is genuinely something.

The Blue Line has that stretch in the Kennedy median where the train briefly outruns traffic and the whole car quietly enjoys it.

Everyone has a home line and everyone has an opinion about the others.

08/31/2026

Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park is one of the largest fountains in the world, and it was a gift from a woman honoring her brother.

Kate Sturges Buckingham gave it to Chicago in 1927 in memory of Clarence Buckingham, and she funded not just the construction but an endowment for its maintenance, which is why it has survived nearly a century without becoming a budget fight.

Edward Bennett designed it, and the model was the Latona Fountain at Versailles, scaled up to roughly twice the size. Pink Georgia marble, three concentric tiers, and four pairs of bronze sea horses around the base representing the four states that border Lake Michigan. Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The lake is the entire concept. The basin represents Lake Michigan and the sea horses stand for the states reaching into it, which is why the fountain sits where it does, facing the water.

The numbers are absurd. About 1.5 million gallons of water in the system. Nearly 200 jets. The center jet fires 150 feet into the air during the major display, which happens for twenty minutes at the top of every hour.

At night the water show gets colored lights and music, and that has been running in some form since the 1950s.

The season runs roughly early May through mid October. In winter it is drained and dark, and Chicagoans check the reopening date the way they check other signs of spring.

The wind is the ongoing complication. Grant Park sits open to the lake, and gusts push spray across the plaza with no warning. Sensors cut the display back when it gets bad, which does not always happen fast enough for people standing on the east side.

Married with Children put it in the opening credits for eleven seasons, which made it recognizable to a national audience.

It sits at Columbus and Congress with the skyline behind it, and the walk up to it from Michigan Avenue is one of the best approaches in the city.

08/27/2026

08/27/2026

The Taste of Greektown is the city’s largest celebration of Hellenic cuisine and culture, and it returns for its 36th year this weekend. Chef Saul Ramos from Greektown’s new restaurant,…

08/20/2026

Southport and Addison. Who doesn't love delicious tacos?

Learn about 13th Annual Lakeview Taco Fest taking place in Chicago. Visit Choose Chicago to learn how you can buy tickets to attend the event and more.