"Hey, are you a tourist? No? Then can you tell me how to get to..."

This is a good way to start a conversation with one of Chicago’s locals. A real Chicagoan is never happier than when he’s giving advice to someone from out of town. Sure, we’ve got great architecture, great art, great music, food, lakefront, and so on - sometimes we even have great sports teams! But what we really want to share are our great opinions.

Best blues club? Best discount shopping? Best filet mignon, pizza pie or hot dog? You’ll get some pretty good advice if you ask around. And while you’re at it, ask a local what you absolutely shouldn’t miss on your trip. Of course you may choose not to make a trip to Graceland Cemetery - or not this trip, anyway - instead of DisneyQuest. But you’ll never lack for options if you ask your way around.

Pick up a copy of the Chicago Reader on Thursday night or Friday morning. It’s a free paper that will tell you all about what’s going on. Keep your eyes open for the Reader’s distinctive yellow newspaper boxes because they’ll all be gone by Saturday morning. (It’s also a primary source for the residential housing listings.) The Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times both have an activities-laden weekend guide in Friday’s paper.

Sightseeing is fun, informative, and sometimes even free, but it is always exhausting. Be sure to plan some down time on a park bench, in a coffee shop, or in one of our downtown plazas watching the human parade pass by. There’s so much to see and do, and we want you to have a good time. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Chicago can’t be experienced in a weekend, so save something for your next trip!

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