America’s third-largest metropolis booms forth from the banks of the Great Lakes in a fantastic show of multiculturalism. A sea of sky-high scrapers and entwined interstates, its throbbing downtown district conceals oodles of smoky blues bars, jazzy ballrooms and hoppy microbreweries between its damp and wind-kissed streets. It’s here that travellers will discover the iconic Loop; a cab-crammed mass of avant-garde statues and immeasurable office blocks, where the legendary theatres of the Chicago Cultural Center give way to avant-garde art museums and seas of green erupt every St Patricks Day. To the north, Lincoln Park and the city’s old district are graced with the sands of Avenue Beach and the old railroad mansions of Astor Street, while the clubs thump with after-dark energy and one of America’s biggest LGBT scenes. On the South Side, the White Sox’s stadium roars with fervour and aromatic noodles pour out from the joints in Chinatown, while just a little to the west, Chicago tour guides reveal the pizza-pies of Little Italy and hipsters sip craft beers in Greektown. The Windy City; there’s nowhere in America quite like it.