Chicago is the largest city in the US Midwest, built on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan in the state of Illinois.
Rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1871, Chicago became a proving ground for the skyscraper, and boat tours along the Chicago River remain the standard way to take in its architecture. The lakefront holds Millennium Park with Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate sculpture, the Art Institute of Chicago and Navy Pier, while blues and jazz clubs and deep-dish pizza fill the evenings.