Chicago - Prepare

The Windy City can blow you away so be prepared for all kinds of weather. Winters can be brutal and summers sometimes sizzle. Bring moisturisers and mufflers for winter and suntan lotion and layers for the rest of the year. Good walking shoes are a must.

Savour Taste of Chicago (Jun-Jul). Hear great music at Grant Park during Chicago Blues Festival (Jun), Chicago Country Music Festival (Jun/Jul), Chicago Jazz Festival (Aug-Sep) and in Millennium Park at Chicago Gospel Music Festival (Jun). Feel the glow of the Lights on the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue) (Nov-Mar).

New Year's Day (1 Jan), Martin Luther King Day (15 Jan), Presidents' Day (19 Feb), Good Friday (Apr/May), Easter (Apr/May), Memorial Day (May), Independence Day (4 Jul), Labour Day (Sep), Veterans' Day (11 Nov), Thanksgiving (Nov), Christmas Day (25 Dec).

Weather can be unpredictable, but balmy days happen. January is most chilly – 6ºC, rising to 23ºC in July (73ºF). Pack boots for winter travel (annual snowfall is 762mm). Springtime is wet.

110 volts AC, 50Hz; standard two-pin plugs are used.

+1 USA, 312 or 773 Chicago.

The currency is the US dollar ($).

GMT - 6 (GMT -5 from first Sunday in April to last Sunday in October).

Chicago Office of Tourism website

Don a Cubs baseball hat or a Chicago Bears shirt and be one of the crowd. In the evening, smart dress is the norm for fine dining, while funky fashion works for the bar scene.