Chicago

CHICAGOSTARTER

The Bean, the Lions and the Fountain

≈ 1,800 steps0.8 mi · about 1.5 hoursStarter · 3 stops · 500 credStart where you live.

A short walk down the lakefront edge of the Loop: the mirrored sculpture in Millennium Park, the bronze lions on the Art Institute's steps, and Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. About ninety minutes, flat, all on park paths and Michigan Avenue sidewalk.

CHICAGOSTARTER

Up Michigan Avenue from the River

≈ 1,800 steps0.8 mi · about 2 hoursStarter · 3 stops · 500 credStart where you live.

Start on the Riverwalk at the Vietnam memorial, climb to Michigan Avenue to read the stones set into Tribune Tower, then walk north to the old Water Tower that outlasted the 1871 fire. About two hours on foot.

CHICAGOSTARTER

Wrigleyville to the Getty Tomb

≈ 3,000 steps1.4 mi · about 2 hoursStarter · 3 stops · 500 credStart where you live.

A North Side morning: the red marquee at Clark and Addison, the tiny street of Alta Vista Terrace, then into Graceland Cemetery to the Getty Tomb. About two hours on foot; the cemetery keeps daytime hours.

CHICAGOSTANDARD

Bronzeville on King Drive

≈ 6,500 steps3.1 mi · about 3.5 hoursStandard · 5 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

Down the spine of Black Metropolis from 26th to 37th Street: the migration monument, Mies van der Rohe's Crown Hall, the Victory Monument, Stephen Douglas's tomb and the Ida B. Wells monument. About three and a half hours on foot or with the Green Line.

CHICAGOSTANDARD

Lincoln Park, Beach to Glasshouse

≈ 3,500 steps1.6 mi · about 3.5 hoursStandard · 5 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

From the lake shore into Lincoln Park: the North Avenue beach house, Saint-Gaudens' Lincoln, Grant on horseback, the Lion House at the free zoo and the palm house of the conservatory. About three and a half hours; the zoo and conservatory keep daytime hours.

CHICAGOSTANDARD

Museum Campus and the Skyline

≈ 3,500 steps1.7 mi · about 3 hoursStandard · 4 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

A loop on the lakefront south of Grant Park: the Field Museum steps, the Shedd's front, the point at the Adler Planetarium and the colonnades of Soldier Field. About three hours on foot. The museums charge admission; every stop here is outside them.

CHICAGOSTANDARD

Plazas of the Loop

≈ 2,000 steps1.0 mi · about 3 hoursStandard · 5 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

Five stops under the elevated tracks and the towers: the Chicago Theatre sign on State Street, the Picasso in Daley Plaza, Calder's Flamingo, the Board of Trade at the end of LaSalle Street and the foot of Willis Tower. About three hours on foot, best on a weekday.

CHICAGOADVANCED

Chinatown, Pilsen and the Paseo

≈ 2,500 steps + 11 mi by car1.2 mi on foot · about 7 hoursAdvanced · 6 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.

A full day across the South and West sides by the L and the bus: the river pagoda and gate of Chinatown, the free museum of Mexican art in Pilsen, the glasshouses of Garfield Park, the Humboldt Park boathouse and the steel flag that spans Division Street.

CHICAGOADVANCED

Hyde Park to the Golden Lady

≈ 9,500 steps4.6 mi · about 6.5 hoursAdvanced · 7 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.

A South Side day from the Midway to the lake: the Fountain of Time, Robie House, the Obama Presidential Center, the golden Republic in Jackson Park, the Moon Bridge in the Garden of the Phoenix, the Columbia Basin steps of the Museum of Science and Industry, and Promontory Point. Six and a half hours on foot with a bus or two.

CHICAGOADVANCED

Oak Park, the North Shore and Pullman

≈ 6,500 steps + 40 mi by car3.0 mi on foot · 2 days or moreAdvanced II · 8 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.

Two days by car around the city's edges: the clock tower and hotel of the Pullman company town, Oak Park's Unity Temple, Hemingway's birthplace and Frank Lloyd Wright's studio, then north to the painted Rock at Northwestern, Grosse Point Lighthouse and the Baha'i temple in Wilmette. The Pullman visitor center is open Wednesday to Sunday.