Historical markers on both sides of the bridge note where Father Marquette and Louis Joliet passed in 1673 and where Fort Dearborn stood in 1803. On the evening of your first day, head for the lively nightlife center of River North, a neighborhood west of Michigan Avenue and north of the river. The former warehouse district has been brightened with some 80 art galleries, nightclubs and more than 100 restaurants. Within walking distance or a short cab ride are 10,000 hotel rooms. One of the must-see treasures is the Rookery, a national landmark that dates from 1888 and includes a lobby by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Free entertainment is presented here at noon during the week.
Another option is the Berghoff, a favorite for German food since 1898. During the afternoon, you have a date with an outstanding lineup of museums. The famous Art Institute is known for one of the world's largest collections of French Impressionist masterpieces. Radio and television buffs can revel in the nostalgia of more than 70,000 shows at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in the Chicago Cultural Center, which also houses a visitor information room on the Randolph Street side. Smell a dinosaur's breath and creep through an Egyptian tomb at the Field Museum, see whales and a tropical coral reef at the Shedd Aquarium, and find out how much you would weigh on Mars and relive the first lunar landing at the Adler Planetarium.