America's Best Downtowns

Of the country’s big city downtowns, Chicago’s relatively compact zone in and around what’s known as “The Loop,” wins hands down for being the most accessible, pedestrian-friendly and varied in its offerings. Within a two-mile radius, visitors and residents alike can visit some of the world’s best restaurants, lounge in a resplendently outfitted urban park, visit world-class art museums, shop their wallets dry on Chicago’s famous store-covered Magnificent Mile, examine some of the finest architecture on the planet, find boats to tour Lake Michigan, or wander around the waterfront tourist-friendly esplanade, Navy Pier.