Erin Yarnall

There’s no surer sign that fall is coming than seeing pumpkins everywhere—whether used in fancy coffee drinks, recipes or just as decorations, pumpkins are the ubiquitous symbol of autumn. Maybe you don’t love pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin pies, but it’s hard to deny the appeal of choosing your own gourd at a pumpkin patch. All of the farms and pumpkin patches on this list are within a two hour drive from the city (one is even in Chicago), and bursting with fall fun. After you’ve picked out a jack-o’-lantern, spend the day exploring creative corn mazes, eating apple cider donuts and checking out fall foliage. RECOMMENDED: Your complete guide to fall in Chicago

If you're coming to Chicago, there's no shortage of places to explore—and you shouldn't limit yourself to the Loop. If you want to experience the real Chicago, head for the city's 77 community areas, where you'll find some of the most unique things to do in Chicago and many of the best restaurants in Chicago. Keep in mind that Chicago is a city with excellent public transportation, so a trip downtown to Museum Campus or the "Bean" is only a short ride away (and we won't shame you for sneaking away to try the best deep dish pizza Chicago has to offer). From eclectic dining in Logan Square to a free Mexican art museum in Pilsen, here are the best neighborhoods to stay in Chicago when you visit. RECOMMENDED: 🏨 The best hotels in Chicago🛏️ The best Airbnbs in Chicago

It often feels like the second you step outside, money is immediately sucked from your wallet. Prices for things like concerts, a fancy latte or trendy bars are getting higher and higher, but that doesn't mean that everything in Chicago will break your budget. There are plenty of activities around the city that don't cost a penny. Give your bank account a rest by exploring captivating Chicago museums during free museum days, checking out a beautiful park or laughing out loud during a free show at a comedy club. Our list of the best free things to do in Chicago is here to save you some dough. RECOMMENDED: Our complete guide to the best things to do in Chicago

Often defined by its amazing restaurants, beautiful beaches, lively jazz scene and culturally significant architecture, there's another side to Chicago that most tourists don't get the opportunity to delve into ...  The city has a notorious history of Prohibition-era organized crime and violence, which you can explore by signing up for one of the best Chicago crime tours. Learn the nitty gritty details of the city's dark past as your guide unearths stories that will leave you shocked. While the tours may be a bit eerie, some can be experienced on your own schedule, whether in-person or virtually. Certain tours even make stops at the most haunted places in Chicago to help set the mood. RECOMMENDED: 📍 Check out the full guide to the best Chicago tours🏠 The best Airbnbs in Chicago 🏨 The best hotels in Chicago

Between the best restaurants to try, swankiest bars to visit and events to attend, having a good time in Chicago can be expensive. However, there are still plenty of options for fun on a budget. Chicagoans have access to affordable museums around the city, creative activities that don't break the bank and even a cat cafe. Here are some of the best cheap things to do in Chicago for under $25. And for even more cost-effective options, check out the best free things to do in Chicago. RECOMMENDED: The best cheap eats in Chicago

As the weather turns a bit chillier and the leaves begin to change, it’s not just fall that’s upon us, but spooky season. Autumn is the perfect time to watch horror movies, tell scary stories and walk through haunted houses. If you’ve ever wanted to have a real paranormal encounter, though, Chicago has plenty of destinations to try and make that happen. Historic buildings aren't the only places that have reported hauntings—music venues, cemeteries and hotels all have ghost stories surrounding them as well. So for those who are looking for more than pumpkin patches and corn mazes this fall, we’ve put together a list of some of the most haunted spots in Chicago that offer a truly chilling experience. RECOMMENDED: Our complete guide to Halloween in Chicago

Summer in Chicago is fun, but the city really stands out in the fall when the trees start to change colors, a slight chill permeates the air and there's an abundance of autumnal activities to take part in. One of the most fun ways to celebrate the season? Visiting a corn maze. It’s nearly impossible to find one in the city, as you need a pretty large field, but we've traveled just outside of Chicago to nearby suburbs to find find a wide array of farms and orchards that have creative and sometimes daunting corn mazes to get lost in (plus apple picking). Open through the end of October, some of them serve as a festive way to get into the Halloween spirit as well. So make the most of the season with a fun-filled day at the best corn mazes near Chicago. RECOMMENDED: Find the best pumpkin patches near Chicago

With all of the many concerts, attractions and amazing restaurants that it has to offer, Chicago is a pretty exciting place to be—but sometimes you need a little bit more of a thrill. You might assume you'd have to travel the world to find hair-raising experiences, but there are actually plenty of things to do in, and around, Chicago that provide an adrenaline rush. Some activities require a day trip, like hiking and rock climbing in one of Wisconsin’s most beautiful state parks. Others can easily be done without leaving the city, like jet skiing and wakesurfing on Lake Michigan. The most daring risk-takers can participate in death-defying thrills such as skydiving and paragliding. So get your blood flowing with our guide to the best adrenaline activities near Chicago. RECOMMENDED: Discover unique day trips from Chicago

Between deep dish pizza, Italian beef sandwiches, and hot dogs served in steamed buns, Chicagoans tend to consume a lot of gluten—a protein found in grains like wheat, barley and rye. So it might seem like it would be tricky to find a delicious, gluten-free meal in the city, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. While there hasn’t always been an abundance of gluten-free restaurants in the city—many of them have popped up in the past decade—there’s certainly plenty to choose from now. From innovative bakeries that make amazing pastries and cakes to flourless taco joints to a marshmallow cafe, these are the best gluten-free spots throughout Chicago. RECOMMENDED: Discover more of the the best restaurants in Chicago

There's no shortage of outdoor activities in Chicago, especially during the warmer months. Two of our favorite things to do are hiking and going on a leisurely walk. Whether you want to walk on a wood chip trail, along the Chicago Riverwalk or simply on a nice, paved surface by some trees, Chicago has plenty to offer for anyone who wants to take a stroll. The city may be a dense and sprawling urban area, but there are still places to enjoy a calm walk near nature (and they even double as excellent biking trails), helping you forget that you’re even in one of the largest cities in the country. So if you’re ready to go for a peaceful jaunt, here are some of the best walking trails to traverse in Chicago. RECOMMENDED: Explore the most beautiful Chicago Parks

A fusion of tennis, badminton and table tennis, pickleball's popularity has surged in the U.S., and its increased following is especially apparent during summer in Chicago, when pairs of players and groups of four can be spotted hustling around courts throughout the city. Best of all: It’s easy to pick up the sport if you want to get in on the fun. Whether you’re looking for an active way to enjoy a beautiful day or need a good indoor activity when the weather isn’t cooperating, you can get your game on at one of the best gyms in Chicago or play for free at a Chicago park by bringing your own equipment. These are the best places to play pickleball in Chicago right now. RECOMMENDED: The best outdoor activities in Chicago

Over the years, Chicago has served as the backdrop for films like The Dark Knight, The Blues Brothers and just about every movie made by John Hughes. While it’s always thrilling to see a movie being filmed, it’s just as fun to see the finished product put together at the movie theater. Thankfully, the city’s home to a wide array of great theaters, from multiplexes with massive recliner seats and in-theater dining service to art houses where you can catch up on all of the latest indies or an international flick at one of the city’s film festivals. And, like any respectable Chicago institution, many of them come with fully stocked bars, offering extensive beer and cocktail options. No matter what movie you're looking to see, you’ll find the perfect place to watch among our list of the best movie theaters in Chicago. RECOMMENDED: The best drive-in movie theaters near Chicago

DePaul University students use The Ray to help avoid the freshman 15, but it’s not just for students. Undergraduate students have the membership cost included in their tuition, but graduate students, staff, faculty and members of the community can purchase memberships with community memberships costing $91 per month. The 12,000-square-foot open fitness area has more than 100 pieces of cardio equipment, free weights and strength equipment. The gym also offers up a six-lane swimming pool, a banked jogging track, racquetball courts and more than 40 group classes each week.

If you’ve ever craved a private space to work out beyond your home office or living room, The Gym Pod, a cluster of repurposed shipping containers in Fulton Market, is ideal. The Gym Pod offers five different types of pods, each equipped for various types of workouts—the gym pod, which comes equipped with free weights and a cardio station; the spin pod, where spin classes are available; the flow pod, which offers yoga, dance barre and martial arts classes; the rumble pod for anyone looking to improve their boxing or MMA; and the grit pod, which has three weight training stations.

You don’t have to be ready to rumble in order to have a good workout at Gold Coast’s Rumble Boxing—the gym welcomes first-timers and breaks down each of the six punches they’ll be using during class five minutes before it begins. Like a boxing match without a knockout, classes consist of 10 rounds, alternating back and forth between boxing on bags and strength and conditioning, making sure you’re ready to jab, cross and hook with the best of them.

If you’ve heard your really in-shape friends talking about CrossFit and thought you should give it a try, then look no further than MagMile CrossFit. The gym offers several different membership options, including drop-in options for either a day or a week for those who are curious about the workout but not ready to dedicate themselves to it just yet.

Since opening in 1997, Cinema Chatham has been owned by a number of different companies, and has closed and reopened several times. After shuttering due to Covid-19, the South Side multiplex was purchased by Emagine Entertainment, and reopened in August 2021, showing the latest blockbusters to hit the silver screen.

Before she started working with My Block, My Hood, My City, Ashanti Marshall says that, despite living in Chicago, she and many teenagers like her hadn't actually seen much of the city. Marshall, who's currently a sophomore at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, first started working with the Chicago-based nonprofit four years ago and is now much more familiar with the city's 77 neighborhoods—including her own, North Lawndale. My Block, My Hood, My City aims to provide educational programs and field trips to underprivileged youth communities throughout Chicago (which, by the way, was just named the second best city in the world according to Time Out readers). It was founded in 2013 by Jahmal Cole after he spent time volunteering at Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. According to Ernesto Gonzalez, the nonprofit's marketing manager, while working at Cook County Cole heard young people talk about their blocks and their hoods, but never the city as a whole. From there, Cole started an after-school program and the organization grew from there. "We're one of the fastest-growing nonprofits in the city," Gonzalez says. It's very local work, but with a loud purpose For the past five years, My Block has been hosting youth-led community walks through neighborhoods like Marshall's native North Lawndale. She's one of many young people leading community walks through their own Chicago neighborhoods, giving historical context and sharing what makes their blocks special. "I rea

One of the distinctive features of the West Loop is its vast collection of street art created by numerous artists, present amid the streets lined with restaurants and on the side of overpasses and railway embankments. Painter and muralist Jenny Vyas is one of those artists whose work has helped to shape the former industrial area, adding splashes of color and creativity to the trendy destination for nightlife and dining that it has become. A self-taught artist, Vyas first became inspired to paint while recovering from a breakup in 2013. She said that much of her work is inspired by “a lot of the darkness in life that we don’t really talk about.”. Her latest show, “Awaken,” opened last month and is on display at Pilsen Yards through October 31. The show features 15 of Vyas’ paintings, all of which center on themes of vulnerability and finding strength through exploring one’s own demons. “It’s the show I’ve been working toward for the last five years so it’s been really great to bring it all together,” Vyas said. “It’s my largest body of work, ever.” Although she’s originally from India, Vyas has lived in Chicago for more than two decades and considers the city to be her home. “I love the inclusivity and different cultures in Chicago,” Vyas said. “I’ve been to so many cities in America and the feeling of home that you get, it’s very much integral in Chicago. You can go to a bar and make friends that night.” One of the painter and muralist’s favorite neighborhoods in the city is