Chicago

Chicago is an amazing place to visit any time, but if you get to spend some time there during the spring to summer months, you're truly in for a treat. There are so many great things to do and more for free than a lot of other cities.

A taste of what's free. Many of this city's best attractions are free. This is just a sampling:

• Lincoln Park Zoo-education, conservation, and story telling on Mondays and Wednesdays, open year-round
• Millennium Park-music, festivals, tours, nature walks, fitness classes, stories, talks, and performances
• Navy Pier-park, children's museum, Segway tour, bike tour, fireworks every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the summer, performances, IMAX theater, sightseeing and dinner cruises
• Chicago Botanic Garden-flowers, plants, botanical classes, fitness walks and classes
• Garfield Park Conservancy-flower shows, children's garden, tours, exhibits, refreshments

Tours.

• Wrigley Field
• Food Planet
• Shopwalk
• Supernatural Ghost
• Trolley and Double Decker
• Cruises
• Segway
• Chocolate
• Scavenger Hunts
• Sears Tower Skydeck

Comedy.

• The Second City-Do you remember a television show called 'SCTV', with John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Katherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, and Martin Short? How about Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell from 'Saturday Night Live'? Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell from Comedy Central? And for the older folks, how about Alan Arkin and Robert Klein? The Second City started it all in 1959 and is still going strong.
• Comedy Sportz-More improv, with games and audience participation. If you're a comedy fan, get here too.
• The Chicago Improv Festival-an annual event, with workshops and performances for the general public. Why not head out for a 'comedy tour'?

More. Golf, baseball games, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, opera, architecture, art, music, food (don't forget the big pizza rivalry between Chicago and New York City-which one do you think is best?), chocolate (Chicago is the 'Candy Capital of America'), spas (you might need one).

Did you know? A recent travel survey named Chicago third of the top ten most popular destinations for travelers with disabilities, (behind only New York City and Washington, D.C.). Rentals of hand-cycles are available, and so is an 'Easy Access Chicago' guide with a list of over 100 attractions accessible to people with disabilities. Isn't that cool?