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“Chicago has always been a city of big ideas, and that spirit has shaped SOM from the beginning. From our studio in Daniel Burnham’s Railway Exchange Building, we are surrounded by the forces that have long defined the city: the lakefront and parks, the scale of its infrastructure, the character of its neighborhoods, and an architectural legacy that helped give rise to the modern skyscraper. As a global practice founded here 90 years ago, we’re proud to be part of a design community still carrying Chicago’s civic ambition forward and contributing to the next chapter of one of the world’s great cities.” – SOM Chicago Partners: Adam Semel, Scott Duncan, Xuan Fu, Ryan Culligan, and Doug Voigt
There’s no question Avec is a Chicago favorite, pairing exquisite Mediterranean and North-African inspired dishes with a warm, energetic setting.
This riverfront restaurant shows how the Chicago River has become part of everyday city life, pairing pastas and pizzas with boats, pedestrian paths, and views back to downtown.
Virtue brings Southern American and soul food to Hyde Park in a way that feels warm and intimate, with a small, thoughtful menu where every dish is done with care.
The menu is intensely seasonal—I don’t think I’ve ever had the same thing twice!
One of the city’s classic Italian fine dining restaurants, specializing in Tuscan cuisine. It has been serving guests since 1992 and is known for using seasonal ingredients and traditional recipes with a modern touch. Set within a historic Chicago loft, the interior balances rustic exposed brick and high ceilings with elegant finishes, creating a classic yet inviting setting anchored by an open kitchen.
Cindy’s is hard to beat for a cocktail with a view, overlooking Millennium Park, Lake Michigan, and the city all at once.
A rooftop patio in Fulton Market where Mediterranean-inspired drinks, planting, and city views come together within one of Chicago’s most transformed neighborhoods.
Tropical drinks pair with a speakeasy-style atmosphere in this former laundromat turned upscale cocktail bar.
It’s basically a tent on North Avenue Beach, only open during the summer. You could be in Ibiza…
A lively outdoor rooftop destination with sweeping panoramic views of the Chicago River, the Magnificent Mile, and the surrounding city skyline.
Ask for a funky room in this historic beaux arts hospital now hotel, a remarkable adaptive reuse project in the Illinois Medical District.
Soho House Chicago offers a stay inside Fulton Market’s evolving industrial fabric, transforming a former belt factory into a layered hotel, social space, and rooftop destination rooted in the neighborhood’s creative energy.
The Chicago Athletic Association brings new public life to a former private club, pairing restored Venetian Gothic architecture, repurposed athletic spaces, and one of the city’s best rooftop views.
A refreshed pre-war icon—stay there if you want to understand what it means to live in Chicago’s Gold Coast.
The traditional English afternoon tea at the Peninsula is one of the city’s most elegant and well known tea experiences. It is served in the lobby—a beautiful space with soaring windows, and live music on many weekends.
A Ravenswood neighborhood gem, Sailor brings together ceramics, art, and design through a carefully edited collection of beautifully made objects.
A blend of Norwegian and Japanese items. It’s every architect’s dream.
A Chicago staple for music lovers offering a large selection of new and used vinyl.
A five block stretch of little shops and restaurants right at the Armitage Brown Line stop.
An upscale locally-owned shop that combines curated fashion, beautiful home decor, and a small bakery—a must-visit during the holidays for unique candles and seasonal gifts.
History, hope, community, architecture, and action all come together here, creating a civic place with the ambition to inspire lasting change.
Worth a trip from downtown, this layered landscape shows how gardens, water, and public life can work together as one connected ecosystem.
Stony Island Arts Bank turns a former bank into a powerful cultural hub, where restored architecture, art, archives, and community programming come together on Chicago’s South Side.
Visiting the 19th-century greenhouse in January is like taking a tropical vacation.
A hidden cultural gem in Lincoln Park, Wrightwood 659 pairs Tadao Ando’s serene concrete architecture and peaceful atmosphere with rotating exhibitions on contemporary art, design, culture, and social change.
The Chess Pavilion is a perfect stop while biking the Lakefront Trail, where Lake Michigan is constantly changing and never the same.
Visit our friends from Urban Rivers at the world’s first floating eco-park. It’s a wonderful opportunity to step out onto the water and experience the habitats and wildlife that have emerged through ongoing reclamation efforts along an industrialized stretch of the Chicago River.
Extending from Hyde Park into Lake Michigan, this peninsula is a beloved lakefront escape with skyline views, fire pits, open lawns for picnics and sports, a historic field house, and limestone lake edges made for sunbathing and summer swims.
No matter how long it’s been around, the acts and crowds are always changing. And the atmosphere around Millennium and Grant Parks becomes supercharged for a few days every year.
One of Chicago’s most beautiful historic neighborhoods, Gold Coast’s Astor Street Historic District invites visitors on a peaceful walk past elegant mansions, quiet tree-lined streets, and remarkable architecture, including the Charnley-Persky House, a pivotal residential work designed by Louis Sullivan with assistance from a young Frank Lloyd Wright.
Nearly 1,000 feet above Michigan Avenue, this iconic destination offers one of Chicago’s most panoramic views of the city and lake. Visit at sunset to watch the skyline light up below.
