Chicago Architecture and True Crime Tour

If you’re looking for a fun activity to try out on a nice day in the city, consider checking out the Chicago Architecture and True Crime Tour. It’s truly got something for everyone: Chicago history, breathtaking architectural scapes, a great walking trail and true stories about the city’s dark past. This spring, I was lucky enough to be guided by Joseph Kelleher, who started the tour after reading The Devil in the White City and wanting to make a career out of his passion for Chicago.

He did a phenomenal job of blending true crime stories with classic Chicago architecture by showing us several breathtaking buildings, views and hidden gems around the city, all while sharing tales of the historic events that took place right where we were standing. I’ve lived in the area for 21 years, and I’ve never been to the majority of the places he took us, let alone had any idea about the stories behind these places. I don’t want to give too much of the tour away because it’s truly such a wonderful thing to experience firsthand, but I have to say the best place we got to see was the original Chicago Public Library, now the Chicago Cultural Center. It was by far the most dazzling building I have ever been inside. I even told my friend I wanted to get married there. Along with that, I realized that I didn’t even know half of the story of what happened not only to serial killers H. H. Holmes and John Wayne Gacy, but the Tylenol incident too, which was shocking.

Joseph did a phenomenal job of blending true crime stories with classic Chicago architecture by showing us several breathtaking buildings, views and hidden gems around the city, all while sharing tales of the historic events that took place right where we were standing.

I’m so grateful for this incredible educational experience, and I highly recommend checking it out if you’re looking for something fun and different to do locally. It took roughly an hour and 45 minutes, and there is a lot of walking, so make sure you wear your gym shoes! You can book this tour via Viator, TripAdvisor or GetYourGuide.com

— Claire Scannell

Chicago water taxi

For a fresh-air introduction to Chicago, skip the traffic and board the water taxi from Museum Campus toward Navy Pier and down the Chicago River. After a morning with Sue the T-rex at the Field Museum, a stop at the Adler Planetarium, or taking photos at the lakefront near Shedd Aquarium, taking the boat is an easy, scenic way to keep the day moving without losing the magic of the city.

The real treat comes as the ride continues up along the river, where Chicago’s architecture rises dramatically on both sides. Glass towers, historical bridges, riverfront cafes, tour boats and the Riverwalk together create a lively urban canyon that invites you to come and explore. Hop off the boat for lunch, cocktails, public art works, shopping and a walk through the best city in the world. The water taxi is hands down a must-try, great for the kids and just $10 each way. ChicagoWaterTaxi.com

— Claire Scannell

Highly anticipated NAIA Mediterranean restaurant opens along Chicago’s riverfront

In early June, DineAmic Hospitality — the Chicago-based restaurant group behind more than a dozen dining and nightlife concepts like Siena Tavern, Prime & Provisions and Bandit — unveileds NAIA, a sweeping pan-Mediterranean riverfront restaurant in downtown Chicago that spans nearly an entire river-level city block from LaSalle Street to Wells Street.

At the culinary helm of this 12,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor venue is world-renowned chef Athinagoras Kostakos, winner of Top Chef Greece and an internationally celebrated figure in Mediterranean cuisine. The menu draws from southern France, Spain, Italy, and Greece, while embracing the vibrant Levantine cuisines of Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean.

With a dedicated indoor-outdoor event venue capable of hosting gatherings of 30-500 guests, as well as a coliseum-style dining room that rises outward from the water to ensure uninterrupted views of the Chicago River and skyline from every seat, NAIA is open daily for breakfast, brunch, lunch, happy hour and dinner. And it has quickly become one of the most sought-after reservations in town.

300 N. LaSalle Street on the Chicago Riverwalk. NAIArestaurant.com

Anne Frank exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry

Anne Frank The Exhibition is an immersive, full-scale recreation of the Annex where Anne Frank, her family and four other Jewish inhabitants lived in hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry is the first museum in the Midwest to present this exhibition, and Chicago is only the second U.S. city to host this extraordinary experience, featuring never-before-seen artifacts from Anne Frank’s life.

Explore the world that shaped Anne’s story, from her early childhood in Frankfurt through the rise of Nazi Germany and the spread of antisemitism across Europe, to the Frank family’s move to Amsterdam. There, Anne lived for nearly 10 years, including the final two, which were spent in hiding. Step inside the meticulously reconstructed Annex and reflect on the daily challenges, risks and courage of those who hid there before their arrest and deportation in 1944.

Through multimedia installations, photographs, film and sound elements and more than 130 original collection pieces from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Anne Frank The Exhibition offers an intimate portrait of Anne as a girl, a writer and a symbol of resilience and strength.

Tickets, which are not included with the museum’s general admission, are $19 for adults and $15 for children. 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. GriffinMSI.org

Chicago is only the second U.S. city to host this extraordinary experience, featuring never-before-seen artifacts from Anne Frank’s life.

Pop-Up Bagels

If you’re on your way to an early Cubs game or a day in the city, or just in the mood to try a hot new bagel spot, check out the newest (and currently only Illinois) PopUp Bagels location in Lincoln Park. A red-hot brand with 40 nationwide locations and counting, they’re basically the Crumbl Cookies of bagels. With bagels that are baked continuously throughout the day to meet a demand for freshness, they offer the same flavors each week: plain, everything, poppy, salt and sesame. And then they rotate special schmear flavors, which presently include spinach artichoke cream cheese and chimchurri butter.

Future life goal: Definitely getting down to the city ASAP to check out a warm everything bagel with spinach artichoke schmear. 2321 N. Lincoln Ave. PopUpBagels.com

— Claire Scannell