Chicago is the home of the blues and the truth of jazz, the heart of comedy and the idea of the skyscraper. Here, the age of railroads found its center, and airplanes followed suit. Butcher of hogs and believer in progress, it is one of the world’s great cities, and yet the metropolitan luxuries of theater, shopping, and fine dining have barely put a dent in real Midwestern friendliness. It’s a city with a swagger, but without the surliness or even the fake smiles found in other cities of its size.

As the hub of the Midwest, Chicago is easy to find — its picturesque skyline calls across the waters of Lake Michigan, a first impression that soon reveals world-class museums of art and science, miles of sandy beaches, huge parks and public art, and perhaps the finest downtown collection of modern architecture in the world.

With a wealth of iconic sights and neighborhoods to explore, there’s enough to fill a visit of days, weeks, or even months without ever seeing the end. Dress warm in the winter, and prepare to cover a lot of ground: the meaning of Chicago is only found in movement, through subways and archaic elevated tracks, in the pride of tired feet and eyes raised once more to the sky.

Weather is definitely not one of the attractions in Chicago. There’s a good time to be had in any season, but it is a place where the climate has to be taken into consideration. Obscured by Chicago’s ferocious winters are the heat waves of summer. Many days in July and August are disgustingly hot and humid. Summer nights are more reasonable, though, and you’ll get a few degrees’ respite along the lakefront — in the local parlance, that’s "cooler by the lake." But then there are those winters. The months from December to March will see very cold temperatures, with even more bitter wind chill factors. Snow is usually limited to a handful of heavy storms per season, with a few light dustings in-between. (And a little more along the lakefront — again in the local parlance, that’s "lake effect snow".) Ice storms are also a risk. It’s a city that’s well-accustomed to these winters, though, so city services and public transportation are highly unlikely to shut down. That said, Chicago does have a few nice months of weather. May and September are pleasant and mild; April and June are mostly fine, although thunderstorms with heavy winds can also occur suddenly. Although there may be a chill in the air in October, it rarely calls for more than a light coat. The lake effect may prolong a pleasant autumn through October, and sometimes into November.

Chicago is served by two major airports: O’Hare International Airport and Midway Airport . There are plenty of taxis from both to and from the city center, but they are quite expensive, especially during rush hours. Expect upwards of $40 for O’Hare and $30 for Midway. CTA trains provide direct service to both larger airports for $2.25 from anywhere in the city — faster than a taxi during rush hour and a lot less expensive.

Latest travel News

• Lufthansa launches A380 flights to Beijing
  Lufthansa has launched Airbus A380 flights to Beijing from Frankfurt. Initially, the A380 will serve Beijing once a week. In coordination with Chinese authorities, Lufthansa aims to gradually increase the frequency of this service. The A380, which be...
• More flights to Senegal as Emirates launched Dakar flight route
  Emirates has launched its new direct flights to Dakar in Senegal, West Africa. Dakar is the airline's 105th destination and the only non-stop, scheduled passenger link between Dubai and Senegal. The new route will cut current journey times to Dakar b...
• Another Strike ? British Airways turned down UNITE’s demands
  The Unite trade union is hoping to meet British Airways for further peace talks next week after accusing the airline of turning down its latest attempt to end a long-running industrial dispute with cabin crew. Unite's joint general secretary, To...
• Malaysia Airlines to add 5 More flights on Delhi – Kuala Lumpur route
  Malaysia Airlines will offer 5 additional flights to Kuala Lumpur from New Delhi, bringing the total number of flights to 12 weekly non-stop flights to the capital city of Malaysia. The new services will commence operations effective September 1, 201...
• Travel Africa : Visiting capital city of Namibia, Windhoek
  Whether this is your first trip to Namibia or not, there is no shortage of things to do and see in Namibia. Most of Namibia is Savannah. You can find tree and bush Savannahs next to sand desserts and stone deserts. It boasts remarkable natural att...
• Passenger died aboard flight to Atlanta, USA
  Delta Air Lines said a 57-year-old passenger was found dead aboard a flight to Atlanta from Nigeria. Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said an autopsy determined Aolatou Assani died of ovarian cancer. Delta spokeswoman Susan El...
• British Airways apologizes over crash warning error on flight to Hong Kong
  "Were about to crash!"  This is the computer-triggered message aka crash warning, that frightened passengers aboard a British Airways (BA) flight to Hong Kong from London, heard on Friday.  It turned out to be human error, but sen...
• Arik Air will be starting direct flights to USA
  Following the United States Category One certification to Nigeria, Arik Air yesterday said it will commence direct flights to USA. Describing the United States Federal Aviation Administration (US FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) c...
• Air France may restart flights to Libya
  Air France may reopen its flights to Tripoli from Paris more than two decades, the carrier said on Monday. "The Paris Charles de Gaulle to Tripoli route is among the destinations of potential interest to Air France," a spokeswoman for the F...