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Chicago. City of the Big Shoulders. What started off as a small fur-trading settlement is today a bustling metropolis. Once considered the "hog butcher of the world," "stacker of wheat," and "player with railroads," Chicago´s colorful past remains hidden in the nooks and crannies of this wonderful windy city. Adventures await, from the glamourous to the gritty: Sip dirty martinis in an elegant, underground, 1920´s bank vault. Paddle a kayak down the infamous Bubbly Creek of Upton Sinclair´s The Jungle. While away an afternoon in a salt cave, or smoke a classic cigar in the oldest family-run tobacco shop in the U.S. Snorkel a 32-acre, limestone sheet shoal, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the Midwest. Dine outdoors in a 23rd floor, Beaux-Arts cupola overlooking the Chicago River. Whether you´re an out-of-towner or a diehard Chicago dweller who thinks you´ve seen it all, these 111 hidden places are waiting for you to seek out and enjoy.

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Amy Bizzarri is an extreme Chicago history buff and freelance writer. She lives with her two children in a vintage 1910 home in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. When she´s not writing, you´ll most likely find her swimming laps at Holstein Park pool, riding her bicycle around Humboldt Park or sharing an atomic sundae at Margie´s Candies.

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