Hi, I'm James. And I'm Laurent. And welcome to our beautiful city of Chicago.
So, you've been to Chicago before. You've done all the touristy stuff: Michigan Avenue,
and Navy Pier, and Millennium Park. And you're looking for things to do off-the-beaten-path.
Well, this is what this video is going to be about. We're gonna take you to all
our favorite spots in Chicago, outside of the main touristic attractions. Let's get started!
So, 1st on our list, is the neighborhood of Andersonville. Andersonville has historically
been a Swedish neighborhood. In fact, in 1920, there were more Swedes living in Andersonville,
than in Stockholm. The Swedish heritage is still present. There's still some Swedish
restaurants. There's the Swedish American Museum. And then, there's the yellow and blue water tower,
that you can see from everywhere in the neighborhood. There's lots of great shopping
in Andersonville. In fact, on Sunday's, you'll see many people going to brunch,
and going to all the antique stores, that line the street on Clark Street. Well, aside from
Starbucks and Walgreens, there's almost no chains in Andersonville. Because the Chamber of Commerce
tries really hard to attract independent stores. Yeah, there are lots of stores,
that you won't find anywhere else, except in Andersonville. It goes from pet store,
to clothing store, to gourmet food, to independent bookstores. There's just a lot of variety.
And then, in the last few years, Andersonville has also become a restaurant destination.
You can find all kinds of cuisines. Swedish, of course, Mexican, Italian,
Japanese, and even Dutch! Yeah, and the thing that I like about Andersonville,
is that it actually has a European feel to it. In the summer, there's a lot of outdoor seating.
And it kind of reminds me of Europe. One of the things I really like about Andersonville, is that,
as soon as you venture outside of the main strip on Clark, it has a very neighborhood feel to it.
For example, there's a neighborhood called Lakewood Balmoral. It's a beautiful historic area,
between the lake and Clark street, with many large vintage homes, built in the late 1890's,
through the 1920's. It's a historic neighborhood. It's been on the Historic
National Register since 1998. And it's very well-preserved. And the thing that I like,
is that you really don't feel like you're in a big city. You get flowers. You get bunnies.
You get all kinds of wild life. And you just don't realize you're still in Chicago.
And 2nd on our list is the 606. The 606 is relatively new. And it's a great attraction.
It's kind of Chicago's version of the High Line, in New York. But it's a bit be different from the
High Line in New York. One of the differences, is that the High Line is right in the middle of
the city. You got high-rises on both sides. As opposed to the 606 is further west in the city.
In like a more neighborhoody area. The architecture along the 606 is
really fantastic. Because it's kind of a warehouse district,
in different places. And there are a lot of lofts, and some newer construction,
and really modern houses, with incredible patios, and great views of downtown.
You still overlook the city. You overlook the streets. And you can see into people's back yard,
into people's windows. That's my favorite part, actually! That's what James loves to do!
The 606 is 2.7-mile long. And the signage is very well done. And every 0.1 mile,
you actually can keep track of how far you are. And there are
lots of ways to get in and out of the trail, every couple of blocks.
As a runner, I have to say I've really enjoyed the blue paving that they put down,
that has a certain cush to it. It's made for runners. It's awesome! The middle is
all concrete. And that's where the bikes go. And then, the side is that... I don't know
what it is. I don't know. But everyone wants to walk on it. No one wants to run on the concrete.
Even though you're in the middle of the city, it actually feels like you're outdoors,
because you got all those plants and the trees. It is just a very relaxing trail.
And 3rd on our list, is the Garden of the Phoenix, also called the Osaka Garden.
And it's on the south side of the city, just behind the Museum of Science and Industry.
The history of the garden is really fascinating, because it was built
during the time of the Columbia Exposition, which was one of the largest events ever,
in the city of Chicago. It's part of the World's Fair, in 1893. And the funny thing is,
actually, we had never heard of the Osaka Garden. And someone mentioned it
in the comments of our video about the Top 10 free things to do in Chicago.
So, we decided to check it out. And we're so glad that we went. Because it's such a beautiful garden.
It's incredibly well-maintained. And the wildlife, that comes through there, is just amazing.
We saw this incredible bird. It's a Black-crowned Night Heron. I had never seen one of those,
in the city of Chicago. But here, along the lake, you see all kinds of birds, which apparently comes
here very often. Yeah, he was very friendly. He didn't have any problem being around people.
As the name indicates, it's a Japanese garden. It's just so peaceful.
That little bridge over the water was so beautiful. And the waterfalls
were very relaxing. It's great to have this, right in the middle of the city.
So, 4th on our list, is the Chicago Cultural Center. And it's right across Michigan Avenue,
from Millennium Park. So, you have millions of people, who go see the Bean. But then,
very few of them go on the other side of the street, to see the Cultural Center. It used to be
Chicago's first library. It was built in 1897. But since then, it's been converted into a cultural
center. And it just hosts a lot of temporary exhibits. It has beautiful stairs, inspired
by the Bridge of Sighs, in Venice. The white marble was brought in from Carrara, in Italy.
On the south side, it has a rotunda, with a glass dome, from Tiffany
It's the largest Tiffany dome in the world. It also displays the
signs of the zodiac. And then, on the north side, there is another rotunda,
with a dome as well, that's even more colorful than the Tiffany one, on the south side.
I love the coffered ceilings. I just think they're beautiful, in the neoclassical style,
with Italian Renaissance elements. It also imitates the Doge's Palace, in Venice.
And then, there is mosaics everywhere: on the walls, on the floor. Back in the days,
that was the building where the mayor of Chicago used to host presidents and royalty,
visiting the city. And is just an amazing building. I mean, it really
has a European feel to this building. Just not something that we're used to see in the US.
An then, 5th on the list, is Lakeshore East Park. Lakeshore East Park is one of these places,
that I didn't know existed. It's completely hidden by skyscrapers. You would never know
it's there. We actually found out about it, by my sister, who's from out-of-town,
and actually showed us this place. We didn't even know about it, because it hasn't been around
for very long. It's a great park. And what's really interesting about it, is it's not only
a beautiful green space, but it's surrounded by incredible architecture. You just look up,
and all around you. And you have the Aqua Tower, and all these incredible buildings, right there.
Let's face it, Lakeshore East Park is not something extraordinary.
It's not like the pyramids in Egypt. It's not something you're gonna travel 5,000 miles,
to go see it. But what I really like about this park, is that it's right downtown,
kind of a little oasis, in the middle of the city. And it's just so quiet.
Because it's surrounded by all of these buildings, it's a great outlet, for everyone to walk their dog,
and to take their kids out, and play. So, there's always lots of activity there.
And Number 6 on our list, is the neighborhood of Pilsen. Pilsen is a Mexican neighborhood,
on the south side of Chicago. It has some incredible artwork. On every street corner,
you'll find amazing murals, representing different aspects of Mexican culture.
Even on the El stop! The El stop, is covered with street art. It's actually really interesting,
that it was all the way into the El stop.
Even though Pilsen is a historic Mexican neighborhood, it has been gentrifying a lot,
in the last few years. The neighborhood has really taken off. And not everybody is happy
about it. Yeah, there are a lot of new condos. A lot of new construction. And much of it,
not keeping in character with the neighborhood.
And obviously, the rents have been going up, which has been displacing a lot of people.
And you can actually see this message, being carried over, at the Mexican Art Museum.
It's a free museum, by the way. Really beautiful Museum! I thought it was very interesting.
Yeah, it's one of my favorite museums in the city. There are some really incredible things there.
And it's kind of this place, that you just discover. It's because it's somewhat small.
And it's kind of off-the-beaten-path. But you'll never forget it, when you see it.
So, one of the sections, is about pre-colonial art. And it has a lot of
traditional Mexican handcrafts. There's also a great section,
with religious art. And some beautiful sculptures and paintings.
The section about Contemporary Art, we found most interesting. Some really unusual things,
from all different kinds of design perspectives.
Most of all, everything was incredibly colorful. And that's what I love about this museum.
Yeah, and a lot of the art was about the identity of Mexican immigrants,
who are being torn between two cultures: The cultures they come from. And the culture that
they moved to. And trying to merge those two cultures, to create a true Hispanic identity in the US.
And that's what we thought was very interesting about the art in that Museum.
And last on our list, is the Garfield Park Conservatory, on the west side of the city.
Garfield Park is a great area. It's a beautiful park, with an incredible conservatory.
It's one of the largest in the city, and really is a great place to go, and be both indoors and outdoors.
So, what's great about the conservatory is, in the middle of the winter,
you have all those palm trees. And you just feel like you're in the jungle. And you're in Chicago,
in the winter. It's great. It's green and it's warm, in the middle of the winter.
But it's great in the summer as well. Because you have both this indoor and outdoor thing.
And outdoor, you have all those beautiful plants. And I really liked the Koi ponds.
It was actually really beautiful. Yeah, there was also a Chihuly art exhibit there,
a number of years ago. That was spectacular! And they still have some of the pieces in the pond.
And I also really like the cactus section. You just feel like you're in
the desert. You're like in Arizona. And you get all those cactuses. It was pretty cool!
The other thing that was cool, was the Aroids section. I wasn't really familiar with that term.
But it essentially means house plants. So, a lot of the plants in that section, were plants
you could grow indoors, in your own house. And I really like the carnivorous plants. Yeah, I was
hopeful that we'd see a fly in the Venus Flytrap. But unfortunately, we didn't see anything.
And even though it's on the west side of the city,
the Garfield Park Conservatory is very easily accessible from downtown. Because it's right
on the green line. And the name of the stop is Conservatory. And you just can't miss it.
Yeah, and it's fun to actually drive underneath the El track,
all the way back into the city, which we did, when we left.
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