Chicago Awards 

Travelers and travel publications from the United States and overseas have discovered Chicago’s cultural and recreational appeal.  Chicago received the “top city in the Midwest” award given by Family Fun magazine because of its kid-friendly museums, which include the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago Children’s Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum and The Field Museum.  Families also rave about the city’s year-round free special events such as the Taste of Chicago, Venetian Night and the Air & Water Show.

Millennium Park has garnered numerous awards since opening in 2004. Most recently it received the 2006 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design. The AIA jury called the Park “the most beautifully executed new urban public space in America . . . It’s a masterpiece of urban ingenuity and creativity.” In 2004, it received an award for “Best Public Space” in the First Annual Travel & Leisure Design Awards.

Being home to The Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art and dozens of other museums helped Chicago earn the title of one of the country’s “top 25 arts destinations.”  The city’s flourishing art gallery district, world-renowned architecture and public art including the – Picasso sculpture, Miró’s Chicago and Dubuffet’s Monument with Standing Beast also contributed to Chicago’s receiving this honor.

In addition to culture, Chicago’s recreational opportunities have been well received.  Eighteen miles of bicycling and walking trail along the city’s sparkling lakefront, hundreds of miles of bicycle routes within the city, bike rental facilities, and the city’s efforts to equip the public transportation system with bike racks prompted Bicycle magazine to select Chicago as the “best cycling city in the United States with a population of more than one million.”

The city’s bicycle programs have also earned it the title of one of the country’s “healthiest destinations” by Cooking Light magazine.  Cooking Light also highlighted Chicago’s annual bike celebration, summertime jogging along the lakefront and Mayor Daley’s Annual Holiday Sports Festival held in December.  The annual festival features basketball, hockey, golfing, a climbing wall and more. The city’s 18 miles of lakefront path and 552 parks earned it the title of one of the “best walking cities” in the United States by American Podiatric Medical Association and Prevention magazine. 

It is fortunate that Chicago is a great city for bicycling and walking because visitors will have to burn some calories after dining in the one of the “best food cities” in America, according to participants in the Food & Wine/AOL Food in America Poll.  Poll participants also ranked Chicago as one of the best cities for four-star restaurants, neighborhood restaurants and for restaurants offering the best overall value.  Readers of Condé Nast Traveller in the UK agree because they also named Chicago a “top food city” and the editors of the luxury lifestyle magazine Robb Report designated Chicago the “Most exceptional dining destination.”    

Recently, visitors to AOL Travel and Travel & Leisure online rated Chicago among the top five cities in America offering the best in shopping, dining out and cultural events.  In the same poll, readers listed Chicago among the top five American cities with top-notch public transportation, which expands visitors’ choices for navigating the city’s first-rate shopping emporiums, cultural institutions, restaurants, neighborhoods and more.