A lakefront city, from the water and from a point at the end of it
Chicago, Illinois · 3 nights · May · Jun · Jul · Sep · Oct · up to 8
Chicago is the best-looking American city from the water, and the architecture cruise is not a tourist compromise — it is the correct way to see it. Do that first. The lakefront path runs eighteen miles and the good stretch is south of the Loop, where the skyline stops being above you and becomes a view. Promontory Point is at the end of that stretch in Hyde Park, a limestone-stepped headland built out into the lake in the thirties.
The ending
A promontory of rough limestone steps built out into a lake, water on three sides, and the whole downtown skyline standing five miles off to the north like a separate city.
That is Promontory Point. See how private it is and when it’s open, or build the rest of the trip around it.
Do
- Chicago Architecture River Cruise
- Chicago Food Tour — West Loop
- Pottery Class in Wicker Park
- Spa Day at The Peninsula
Eat
- Girl & the Goat
- The Publican
Stay
- The Langham Chicago
- The Hoxton Chicago
Is the Point far out?
Twenty minutes from the Loop along the lakeshore. It is a neighbourhood park in Hyde Park, which is why it is quiet on a weekday and full of the neighbourhood on a Saturday.
Best months?
May to October. The wind off the lake in winter is not a joke, and the Point is the most exposed place on the shoreline.