I gave this as a college graduation gift for an individual that was moving to the city. They love it!

I nearly returned this book; it has a few morsels but in general I found the AAA guide to the region to be far more comprehensive, and free if you are a member. What I hoped for were candid reviews of hotels and restaurants, but see very little in that regard.

Having never visited and with just two days in the Windy City, you can bet that Frommer's was in my hands. Actually, there are other good guides as well, but this company's guides have never disappointed. My family and I stayed in Oak Park, and there were excellent informative tidbits about Hemmingway and Wright. We learned enough from the book that we felt fully informed. On our second (and last day) in Chicago, we took the E into town on a cloudy, rainy day, so unfortunately we were not able to do everything we had planned--but that's Chicago for you, isn't it? We spent much of our day in the Art Institute--did I say my wife and I had three kids in tow?--and everyone had a fantastic time. We didn't go up the Hancock or Sears Tower because visibility was nill. We did stop by Wrigley Field, but I wish Frommer's had been a little more specific about the tours and thus mentioned how incredibly expensive tour tickets were: $25 a person, children included! (We visited Fenway the week before for only $12--not sure why the Cubs want to rip the fans off, even if the money goes to charity. We've toured more than a half dozen fields--it's my family's hobby--and never had to pay anywhere near $25. Needless to say, our budget wouldn't allow us to see the insides, a disappointment more to me than anyone. Oh well.) We also caught a White Sox game that evening and had deep dish pizza--yummmm. Of course, if we had more time and money, we would have seen more, but I feel that we had a good overall view of a very busy city. Without something like Frommer's in your hands, you'll probably end up wasting a lot of valuable time, especially if your visit is limited...like ours. So I recommend getting it and reading through it beforehand.

I grew up in central Illinois, and Chicago was always "the city." It's one of my favorite places to visit for professional conferences and even for vacations. This guide does a nice job in relatively few pages of outlining what to see, what to do, where to eat, etc. I (as one might guess) would have some different recommendations, but this little volume does a good, solid job.

One of the cool things about Chicago is its buildings. Many historically important architectural gems are around, and most enjoyable to explore (e.g., early skyscrapers, Beaux Arts [e.g., the glorious Art Institute], Art Deco [e.g., Chicago Board of Trade], and so on)

One nice feature of this volume is a series of day trips, to take in Chicago's sites over a one to three day period. I like the one day itinerary a lot, beginning with the architectural gems in the Loop area, the Art Institute, Millennium Park, to the Magnificent Mile (and the Hancock Observatory--I find it grand, but I'm scared by heights and talk about approach avoidance when I'm at the observation level!), to the wonderful Field Museum, to Wrigley Field (and the cursed Cubs--maybe this year??), and ending at Buddy Guy's Legends, with other steps in between. Such a one day trip would be exhausting--but what a wonderful introduction to Chicago!

There's the usual suggestion regarding hotels (I might add to the list the Hyatt Regency on the river on Wacker Drive; its nice steak house, Stetson's, features large steaks and big, crunchy chunks of broccoli). Then, the listing of restaurants. Chicago is a grand venue for good eating. Fine steakhouses, nice Italian, and so on. Many good international restaurants. Go to Greektown, sit down at The Parthenon, watch the flaming saganaki (did I misspell this?), and order some good Greek food.

The cultural life of Chicago is a strong point. The Art Institute, as already mentioned, is a gem. The Lyric Opera provides major league talent in its home, the Art Deco Civic Opera House. Then, one of the world's great orchestras--the Chicago Symphony--in its Michigan Avenue home. And on it goes.

There is a nice foldout map, made of heavy duty material that lays out Chicago's heart nicely. It does not cover the entire city, but it does provide useful coverage of many of the sites and areas that visitors would want.

So, I'm convinced. Next time I visit Chicago, I'll take this little volume and the map to help me identify what I'm going to do. . . .