A guide to world cities: The place where America meets

Its location in the centre of the midwest gave Chicago its role as the trading floor for America's agricultural wealth. People still visit to do business here, but they also come to see the White Sox, listen to blues and, of course, tuck into some deep-dish pizza. Joanna Walters reports from Chicago

Arguments still rage over whether Chicago is called the Windy City because of its historical reputation for self-promotion or the refreshing breezes wafting off the lake in the summer. Travel there on business and you will be relieved to discover its denizens are not as boastful as advertised (especially compared with New York or LA) and disappointed to find the breezes not cool enough in sizzling mid-summer and too bone-chilling in icy mid-winter.

The city is the commercial, cultural and architectural focal point of the midwest and even a short, busy trip there is likely to be satisfying and memorable amid its elegant urban efficiency.

Chicago's flagship business is the CME - the new moniker for the merged Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. It is the global centre for commodities trading and the largest and most diverse exchange in the world for trading futures and options, with its roots in the city's proximity to the farming heartlands of the US. The exchange is found in the bustle of the downtown business district.

They call this city centre The Loop because of the mass transit train rumbling on a circuit of elevated tracks above the streets, before it branches towards the outskirts, including the domestic and international airports.

Taxis are also ubiquitous but, weather permitting, Chicago is a wonderful walking city, very manageable overall, and it is easy to stroll between hotel, office, restaurant, theatre, park, shops and museum. A break between meetings or some free time between a working day and business dinner gives enough time to walk to the nearby shore of Lake Michigan. As an alternative to the hotel fitness centre, in summer you can catch some afternoon sun and a swim in the lake straight off the sandy Ohio Street beach, a few minutes walk from downtown, with a view of the famous John Hancock building as you paddle. This skyscraper rivals the Sears building - not for height but for style, and houses a lounge bar with a tremendous view in the Hancock Observatory.

The city is flat and bicycles can be hired from many locations, including Millenium Park, the brilliantly reclaimed space between the loop and the lake that features contemporary art and sculpture, cafes and an open air concert pavilion and footbridge, designed by Frank Gehry.

The park is a worthwhile short detour if walking north from the city centre over the bridges across the Chicago River to reach the many restaurants and blues clubs in that area or the shops on Michigan Avenue's Magnificent Mile. There are dozens of hotels near the Magnificent Mile, which are cheaper and often more spacious than the older, more central hotels in the loop.

This area on the north bank of the river also features some of Chicago's most distinctive architectural stars. The renowned, renaissance- style Wrigley Building, which is still the world headquarters of the chewing gum company, and the nearby neo-gothic Tribune Tower housing the city's daily broadsheet newspaper, both help to put the chic in Chicago. Further from downtown is Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs baseball team. In summer the city trains are often filled with Cubs fans or White Sox fans heading to and from their respective games in a city that is passionate about sport.

Quieter, quicker and easier than going to the game is a rapid escape into the internationally respected collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, next to Millenium Park, just a few blocks from the lively theatre district. If you've 'been there, done that' all around the loop and up and down the Magnificent Mile, then the outerlying city district of Bucktown boasts a growing, eclectic range of small, trendy restaurants and shops, while Andersonville has a down-to-earth funkiness to it - and is also just steps away from nice lakeside beaches.

Venturing to the south side will bring you to the legendary Lee's Unleaded Blues club, or if you want your music without leaving downtown, Buddy Guy's Legends or the reliable House of Blues are for you.

Chicago is very proud of its pizzas, of course, and a deep dish pie, a thin crusted, or an excellent steak or top-notch burger are not hard to find amid the many fine-dining American or international options.

A car is not necessary to get around the city, though it is fantastic for a ride up Lake Shore Drive, with the distinctive city skyline on one side and the blue of Lake Michigan stretching away to the horizon on the other.

If you haven't got time for the architecture boat tour, this is a quicker way to get a memorable, but also appropriately breezy glimpse of the Windy City - America's midwest jewel.


Sleeping and eating

Top range: Ritz-Carlton Chicago, 160 E Pearson St, Chicago 60611, Tel +1 312 266 1000, fourseasons.com. Rooms from $345 (£173), lake-view suite $1,015. Gracing the Magnificent Mile, this prime Four Seasons hotel was the home of fallen newspaper tycoon Conrad Black during his fraud trial last year, before he swapped it for a jail sentence.

Burnham Hotel, 1 W Washington St, Chicago 60602, Tel +1 312 782 1111. Rooms from $219 (£110), burnhamhotel.com. Elegant, boutique Kimpton Hotel in a historic landmark building in The Loop, three blocks from Millenium Park, one block from the Theatre district.

Budget: Hilton Garden Inn, 10 E Grand Avenue, Chicago 60611, Tel +1 312 595 0000. Rooms from $109 (£55), hiltongardeninn.com. Plain but spacious rooms, great view of Hancock building, convenient location next to metro Red Line stop, River North district of Downtown, a few minutes from the Loop and the Magnificent Mile.

Restaurants: The Atwood Cafe at the Burnham Hotel offers delicious American 'updated comfort food classics' in a chic, central setting. Tel +1 312 368 1900.

Weber Grill, 539 N State St, Chicago 60610, Tel +1 312 467 9696. Smart-casual steak and burger sanctuary by the makers of the outdoor barbeque grills. Great for groups, or lone travellers can pull a stool up to the bar and order food in a warm, friendly setting.

And because it wouldn't be Chicago without pizza: Lou Malnati's Pizzeria turns out deep-dish pies at 439 N Wells St, Chicago 60610, and other locations.


History and politics

The Chicago area was settled by Native Americans of the Algonquin peoples around 5,000 years ago. French traders and missionaries began exploring the area in the 17th Century.

The territory was ceded to the United States in 1816 in a peace treaty. The opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 allowed shipping from the Great Lakes through Chicago to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. In 1871 most of the city was destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire. The city grew rapidly at the turn of the last century, based on trade, industry and a surge of incoming Europeans. It is today the third largest US city with a population of 2.9 million.

Chicago is traditionally a solid, left-of-centre Democratic stalwart city of the midwest. Its backbone is an industrious blue-collar population and down-to-earth middle class. The system was riddled with corruption and organised crime during the 1920s, when Al Capone and his gangsters ruled the roost during Prohibition. The city is no stranger to scandal but has been on an even keel of late.

Richard M Daley, 65, has been the Democratic mayor since 1989, son of Chicago's longest-serving mayor Richard J Daley. He is bidding to bring the Olympics to Chicago in 2016.


Top tips

Currency: One pound = US$1.98
Time difference: Six hours behind UK.
Top sport: Baseball
Where to shop: Magnificent Mile
What to bring back: Cubs or White Sox baseball cap
Mobiles: US dialling code is +1, Chicago area code is 312. UK mobile compatible.
Climate: Chicago has extreme weather: wear as much as possible in icy January, as little as possible in humid July and August, and bring an umbrella. Ordinary executive-wear and smart-casual in the most comfortable (but extremly short) spring and autumn.
Do say: Where can I find a deep-dish pizza before going to hear some blues?
Don't say: Don't you love the Red Sox?