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Shopping

No matter the limit of your wallet, Chicago boasts a seemingly limitless array of shopping opportunities, from exclusive boutiques and urbane department stores to multi-level shopping malls and funky streetside shops. Best of all for die-hard hunters and gatherers, the city's premier shopping venues are centrally located and can easily be covered on foot. No wonder it's called the "City of Big Shoulders" – the bigger the shoulders, the more shopping bags you can carry! Keep in mind that Chicago sales tax is 9% on most purchases.

Easily rivaling Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive and New York City's Fifth Avenue, the fabled Magnificent Mile, the 1.8-mile tree-lined stretch of North Michigan Avenue that extends from the Chicago River to Oak Street near the shore of Lake Michigan, is ground zero for shopaholics. This slice of retail heaven features four vertical shopping malls packed with hundreds of shops and boutiques: Chicago Place (700 N. Michigan Ave.; www.chicago-place.com), an eight-storey emporium anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue; 900 North Michigan Shops (900 N. Michigan; www.shop900.com), which includes Bloomingdales and Gucci; Water Tower Place (835 N. Michigan Ave.; www.shopwatertower.com), an eight-level atrium above Marshall Field's department store; and the newest addition, Westfield North Bridge (520 N. Michigan Ave.; www.westfield.com/northbridge), a four-level European-style arcade anchored by Nordstrom. Shop on this glittering stretch and you could be in the company of the glitterati themselves – Gwyneth Paltrow, Mel Gibson, David Schwimmer, Justin Timberlake, and Cameron Diaz have all been spotted here.

Still have a bit of breathing room on the credit card? Just west of the Magnificent Mile, leafy Oak Street is where you'll find a number of upmarket street-level shops such as Hermes, Prada, and Barneys New York. The old department stores on historic State Street are also well worth a visit, even if your shopping quota has been met and your cards have been maxed out. Marshall Field's (111 N. State St.; www.fields.com) was one of the world's first (and still greatest) department stores and features a Tiffany glass dome that's the largest glass mosaic of its kind. The Carson Pirie Scott department store (1 S. State St.; www.carsons.com), notable for its ornate iron grillwork and unique blend of form and function, was designed in 1899 by famous local architect Louis Sullivan, one of the pioneers of the modern skyscraper. State Street is also home to the Midwest's largest jewelry district.

See Chicago Travel Guide