i'm not an architect and this is not exactly "sightseeing", but if you're interested in galleries, there's a ton of cool galleries in the river north district worth checking out, i.e. walsh gallery and bodybuilder&sportsman.

check out the old lift bridges down the river via boat. theyre amazing

cheap eats:

Rick Bayless's place fast-food place 7th floor State St. Marshall Fields (open 11:30am - 4pm)

Sticky Rice (4000 block of North Western) close to authentic Thai joint with chilis that will set you clothes afire

Check out Devon Avenue (right west of Western) on Friday night for Indian--it's like being in India

Feast for the eyes:

Check out the four Bruce Goff buildings around town (the one in Aurora is a masterpiece)

And take in a concert at Milennium Park

And for laughs:

Improv at 2nd City

Kick Stanley in the crotch when you see him and tell him that it's the customary way of greeting someone from your neck of the woods!

I thought they were "cheeeeeeppppppsssssssss"? not fries ;-)

Galleries, bridges...
I must say I'm somewhat intrigued by the sign.........
makeArchitecture, I'm in love with the suggestion to visit Devon Avenue...I love Indian food and culture. Judging from the Stanley comment, are you a member of the Archeworks alumni??? If I were so gullible I might just honor that suggestion.
Thanks guys for all the neat tips, keep them coming....anything away from the usual tourist route!!!

Anymore tips!!!????

Go to the Hancock building's 95th floor bar and get a drink to avoid paying $11 for the Observation deck.

Other than that, North Avenue beach to stare at hot women in the sun.

What about hot men?

I found a hot man in Chicago, but you can't have him. ;) I suggest O'Hare... lots of hot men there.

If you only have a few hours to kill in Chicago, and you've never been there before, honestly you should just bum around downtown a bit--it's one of those rare downtowns that remains bustling after 5pm, oddly enough. Also it is constantly fascinating to look at! (or, UP at, I should say...)

If you feel like checking out a fun neighborhood that everyone who lives in Chicago claims to hate but secretly likes, take the Blue line out to the Damen stop and get off in what's known as Wicker Park. You can poke around the used bookstore a block down on... I think it's on Damen but it might be on Milwaukee, take your book purchase over to Filter Café (hot dudes abound, trust me), or eat at Earwax Cafe (WAY better than the name suggests), or go shopping at one of the bazillions of good boutiques in the area... it'd be a really pleasant way to spend your afternoon. The place is hopping at night of course too.

postal's chicago scavenger hunt:

sit on a sill of the monadnock building

sit in the highest seat in US Cellular Field

go see TJ & Dave at I.O. on Midnight on a Wed.

get drenched by the mouth of the Crown Fountain

touch a seahorse at Buckingham Fountain

walk across Gehry's bridge and realize that you went nowhere

stand in all four corners at crown hall

get a chunk of glitter caulk from Rem's student center

go to the top floor of the Thompson center and get told to go back down

stand across the river on lasalle street and look towards the board of trade building

slide down the picasso

head over to UIC's Art & Arch Bldg, find a door to a wall

pay for an over-priced snack at the Artist's Snack Shop

watch the simultaneous glee on children and horror on their father's faces while entering american girl place

take a dip at North Ave beach, take a mouthful of water and say, ewww, e. coli

get chinese at Lao Sze Chuan

...all right, maybe i'll add more later

dont forget the dog, dog...

myriam, great suggestions.

You could probably find a lot of hot men at O'hare, but I suggest you visit the locals in Wicker Park. you're bound to find very attractive men with a flair that only Chicagoans boast. While in Wicker Park, visit Filter Cafe, a great place to grab some coffee, listen to music, or just read a book that you've just bought at Myopics Bookstore, the best used book store in the nation. If you want to browse for books, I also suggest Prairie Avenue Bookstore in downtown, near Wabash and Congress. The largest architectural selection to date (I've run into very good looking men there as well). Here is a list of some of the greater things in Chicago:

To read:
Filter (Wicker Park)

To buy architecture books:
Prairie Avenue Bookstore (Downtown)

To eat (mexican):
Frontera Grill (Downtown)

To see extra-good-looking people (in summer):
Oak Street Beach

To have a drink:
Signature Room @ the John Hancock

To see star-chitecture:
Rem Koolhaas @ Illinois Institute of Chicago

To see architecture:
Oak Park, Illinois (20 minutes on the Green Line)

I can keep going, but Chicago is full of great things to do...
Oh, and there is a Tadao Ando building...in Lakeview...its a hidden gem...private, so the only way to see is through the alley and through the gaps in the impenetrable facade...a very archi-voyeuristic experience.

Enjoy Chicago.

yeah, if you are here for architecture, hop on the Green Line west to Oak Park and check out Frank Lloyd Wright's work.

Don't miss Unity Temple, no photograph does it justice.

Then, go get some tacos and shaved ice in Pilsen, nearby to UIC campus. Head up to the Jazz Showcase, Hot House, or the Kingston Mines for some of the best music in the city. Look in the free newspaper, the Reader.

Enjoy

while walking down michigan ave, my friend and i counted that about every three min. we could spot a hot man =)
and don't forget the jazz bar andy's (downtown).

recommended drink you cannot get anywhere else:

Topolo magarita at Frontera Grill-- Playboy magazine called it the best Margarita in the world and for once I think the hyperbole is justified

The Ceviche at Frontera Grill is pretty amazing. It's unlike Mexican food you've had anywhere else. I second the previous endorsement.

And these days I am pushing Bruce Goff because I think there's a lot there, it's unpretentious, it's pretty spectacular and there's a way of thinking that can engaged without copying him formally. And there's a lot more of it in the Chicago Area than I realized...

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This was built in 1940 in Park Ridge:

My favorite bar in Chicago is The Berghoff, on West Adams. Did it really close?

the resturant closed, but the bar is supposed to re-open. Don't know when though.

The Berghoff situation:

The Berghoff parents closed the restaurant and passed it onto one (or more) of their children. The restaurant space is used for a catering business and the bar has a new sign and appeared to be open when I walked by the other day. The Cafe is open. (They maybe one and the same.) Lettuce Entertain You reportedly offered mondo bucks for the buildings and the business but were rebuffed. The restaurant was union and closing it allowed the owners to shed their union contracts and allowed the new owners, the children, to hire cheaper help. I believe the Berghoff trademarks are now held by the children...

I think the bar is open. As I said it has a new sign and looks open. Someone should investigate! ;-)

When's the open house?

The kinko's at Division and Dearborn is hot....stay for a drink at any one of 20 bars, then walk the mansions and intl. style highrises along the lake.....

If you visit mileneum park, the neoclassical 5 story building at michigan and randolph, under the diamond topped building, is the visitors and cultural center. The interiors are amazing in themselves but checkout all the literature, maps, going-ons to be found in the city that day. It's a great resource for visitors and locals alike, and will help you orient yourself to the city and transportation.

Have fun.....

there are beautiful and rich people everywhere in chicago. thats why i left...

forget all that junk...the essentials is harolds chicken and the REAL maxwells...