Chicago, Illinois

Performing Arts, Please

The Steppenwolf Theatre Company put Chicago on the theatre map, and it always delivers. There are also a number of wonderful smaller theatres—Profiles, Chopin, Victory Gardens and Lookingglass—that feature regional playwrights and internationally known performers. For live alternative music, try Schubas Tavern and the Double Door, or go to the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge for jazz, from Dixieland to contemporary.

Best Beer

Piece Brewery in the Wicker Park neighbourhood has won numerous awards for its curiously named brews, including a silver medal in the 2008 Great American Beer Festival for its Dark & Curvy Dunkelweizen and a 2007 bronze for its Top Heavy Hefeweizen. It also has great New Haven–style thin crust pizza.

Spa Power

At the Spa and Fitness Club at Four Seasons Chicago, try the Essence of Rubies facial. The 80-minute treatment begins with a traditional Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage to relax and unwind the body. Refining facial oil, imported from the Middle East and infused with precious rubies, is applied to the face using the rebalancing techniques of Asian shiatsu. The three-layer European mask saturates the skin with botanicals and minerals for complete rejuvenation.

Dine In

At Allium, the restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, guests experience award-winning dining in an elegant yet comfortable setting that has Lake Michigan and Michigan Avenue as its scenic backdrop. The creative modern American menus are inspired by the bounty of the Midwest and the seasonal produce of local markets.