The tourist issue
Have a blast and save on gas with our insider guide to tourist attractions you might normally skip
Published: June 10, 2008

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Visiting ours: Play tourist in your own town by taking locals-only treks to attractions you normally avoid like the plague—starting with a magnificent day on North Michigan Avenue. |
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Talk the talk, walk the ’Cock: Will we convince tourists that the Hancock beats the Sears as the spear of choice? |
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Pier pressure: We set sail to discover Navy Pier’s buried cultural treasures. |
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Exile in Crotchville: You can still live the bohemian life in chain-store, stroller-cramped Wicker Park—if you know where to look. |
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Foreign exchange: Three visitors agree to take their shop class from Water Tower to Wicker Park. |
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Red alert: Do tour guides roll out truths about Chicago, or are they taking us for a ride? |
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Out of the park: You don’t have to be a Cubs fanatic to enjoy Wrigleyville, but you might want to skip the ’hood on game day. |
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Damn right they got the blues: Two music lovers discover there’s more to Chicago’s most famous music genre than Halsted Street. |
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Schlock treatment: Can these Chicago tourist traps really be all that bad? Yeah, pretty much—but some turn out to have more than a few redeeming qualities. |
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Hello, dolly: One man bravely ventures into the tourist heart of sweetness: American Girl Place. |
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Their kind of town?: Visitors give us a tourist’s-eye view of Chicago. |
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Who's just visiting?: Can you tell the tourist from the Chicagoan? Take our quiz and find out. |
| Chicago’s finest: Our list of tourist attractions that also attract city dwellers. | |















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