by Sasha Preston

Created on: November 06, 2011   Last Updated: November 10, 2011

Chicago is currently the third largest city in the U.S. Millions of people visit Chicago every year. If you plan to visit Chicago and don’t feel like driving on the crowded highways, you can arrive by plane or train. If you fly, you will arrive at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the third busiest airport in the world. If you travel by train, you can take Amtrak to Union Station in downtown Chicago. Once arriving in Chicago, you can take the Metro trains to the north, west or south; take the subway or elevated trains throughout the city; or take buses or taxis. There are many interesting and fun attractions to visit once you arrive in Chicago.

If you are interested in architecture and photography, you should visit the Sears Tower. The Sears Tower, originally built in 1973, was renamed The Willis Tower in 2009. It is 108 storeys high. It is the seventh tallest building in the world. The tower was originally built by Sears, Roebuck & Co. to house its thousands of employees in one building. An observation deck called the Skydeck opened in 1974. To view the city from the Skydeck, you will travel to the 103rd floor. You can feel the building swaying on windy days. From the Skydeck, you will be able to view the Chicago skyline as well as the plains of Illinois and across Lake Michigan to Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin on a clear day. You can take unique, amazing photos from the Skydeck. In 2009, balconies with glass floors were added to the tower. If you are a thrill seeker and not afraid of heights, you will love walking onto these glass balconies and looking directly below you through the glass to the street 1,353 feet below.

If you are intrigued by history, science, artifacts, or art, Chicago’s museums are well worth the visit. The Museum of Science and Industry first opened in 1933 and is currently the largest science museum in the western hemisphere having 2,000 exhibits. Some of the permanent exhibits include a coal mine, a submarine captured during WWII, a model railroad, the Apollo 8 spacecraft, a walk through model of the human heart, a 40 foot water vapor tornado, tsunami tank and early 20th century Chicago streets. Temporary exhibits have included relics from the Titanic wreck, Body Worlds, Robots Like Us, City of the Future and Harry Potter: The Exhibition. The Field Museum of Natural History, built in 1893, contains 21 million specimens. Some of the exhibits include Sue, a 42 foot long 67 million years old Tyrannosaurus rex

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