May 19 & 20 will see Chicago host the NATO summits. This is great news for the city. It will be a chance for this very underrated and under appreciated city to show itself off to the rest of the world.
Chicago with the possible exception of New York has the best collection of cultural attractions and sights in the USA. The Art Institute of Chicago is a world class art museum. Visitors can see its impressive collection of Impressionist masters like Monet. The Field Museum is a leading research museum with Sue the dinosaur as its most famous attraction. The Shedd Aquarium is the world's oldest and countries largest. Chicago also has a very good free zoo, interesting history and nature museums, modern art museum and amazing collection of public art.
Chicago is also a leading restaurant city, second only to the big apple, and visitors can sample some amazing foods from the over 7000 restaurants that represent 100 different cuisines. Chicago excels at Mexican, American and Italian cuisines.
Lake Michigan and the 18 mile long park that fronts the entire lake is a great place for visitors.
There are boat tours, bike rentals, packed beaches, Navy Pier, and beautiful views of the downtown skyline.
Those of you not attending the summit should find a different time to visit the city. Hotels are almost full and even average, run of the mill hotels are $300 a night. While the city has a plan in place to deal with protestors there are still likely to be many interruptions and inconveniences for tourist.