International Museum of Surgical Science
This unintentionally macabre shrine to medicine is my pick for the weirdest tourist attraction in town. Not for the faint of stomach, it is run by the International College of Surgeons and is housed in a historic 1917 Gold Coast mansion designed by the noted architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, who modeled it after Le Petit Trianon at Versailles. Displayed throughout its four floors are surgical instruments, paintings, and sculptures depicting the history of surgery and healing practices in Eastern and Western civilizations. The exhibits are old-fashioned (no interactive computer displays here!), but that's part of the museum's odd appeal.You'll look at your doctor in a whole new way after viewing the trepanned skulls excavated from an ancient tomb in Peru. The accompanying tools were used to bore holes in patients' skulls, a horrific practice thought to release the evil spirits causing their illness (some skulls show signs of new bone growth, meaning that some lucky headache-sufferers actually survived this low-tech surgery). There are also battlefield amputation kits, a working iron-lung machine in the polio exhibit, and oddities such as a stethoscope designed to be transported inside a top hat. Other attractions include an apothecary shop and dentist's office (ca. 1900), re-created in a historic street exhibit, and the hyperbolically titled "Hall of Immortals," a sculpture gallery depicting 12 historic figures in medicine, from Hippocrates to Madame Curie.

Chicago Trolley Company
Chicago Trolley Company offers guided tours on a fleet of rubber-wheeled "San Francisco-style" trolleys that stop at a number of popular spots around the city, including Navy Pier, the Grant Park museums, the historic Water Tower, and the Sears Tower. You can stay on for the full 1 1/2-hour ride or get on and off at each stop. The trolleys operate year-round, but winter visitors won't need to wear a snowsuit; the vehicles are enclosed and heated during the chilliest months. The same company also operates the Chicago Double Decker Company, which has a fleet of London-style, red, two-story buses. The buses follow the same route as the trolleys; if you buy an all-day pass, you can hop from bus to trolley at any point.

Brookfield Zoo
Brookfield is the Chicago area's largest zoo. In contrast to the rather efficient Lincoln Park Zoo, Brookfield is spacious, spreading out over 216 acres with thousands of animal residents -- camels, dolphins, giraffes, baboons, wolves, tigers, green sea turtles, Siberian tigers, snow leopards, and more -- living in naturalistic environments that put them side by side with other inhabitants of their regions. These creative indoor and outdoor settings -- filled with activities to keep kids interested -- are what set Brookfield apart. One of the newest exhibits, The Living Coast, explores the western coast of Chile and Peru and includes everything from a tank of plate-size moon jellies to a rocky shore where Humboldt penguins swim and nest as Inca terns and gray gulls fly freely overhead. Other impressive exhibits include The Swamp, which re-creates the bioregions of a southern cypress swamp and an Illinois river scene and discusses what people can do to protect wetlands, and Habitat Africa!, a multiple ecosystem exhibit that encompasses 30 acres -- about the size of the entire Lincoln Park Zoo. The thrills here aren't always high concept: Some of my favorite exhibits are the Australia House, where fruit bats flit around your head, and Tropic World, where you wander at tree-top level with monkeys. The dolphins at the Seven Seas Panorama put on an amazing show that has been a Brookfield Zoo fixture for years. If you go on a weekend, buy tickets to the dolphin show at least a couple of hours before the one you plan to attend because they tend to sell out quickly.The Hamill Family Play Zoo is a wonderful stop for kids, a place where they not only get to pet animals, but also can build habitats, learn how to plant a garden, and even play animal dress-up. The only catch: You will have to pay a separate admission fee ($3 adults, $2 children). Allow 3 hours.

Courtyard by Marriott Chicago Downtown
The Courtyard Chicago Downtown is the ultimate choice for any guest seeking the soul of Chicago. Nestled in cosmopolitan downtown Chicago at Hubbard and State Streets, the hotel is a haven of urban sophistication no longer seen as the sole pleasure of business travelers, but as a vacation destination for all. We offer guests the opportunity to experience the character of this great city in a moderately priced, casually elegant atmosphere. Distinctive amenities include luxuriously oversized ...

Chinatown Hotel SRO Ltd.
The Hotel is a nice hotel located in the heart of Chinatown Chicago, and is an ideal choice for budget minded travelers. -Only 4 blocks from McCormick Place;-Just 10 minutes way by bus or train from the Chicago Downtown, Grant Park or Museum Campus. -A couple of minutes to charming Chinese cuisine dining, shopping and entertainment venues inside Chinatown. Easy accessible to both O'Hare and Midway airports and other parts of the ...

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A unique guest experience, the Inn at Lincoln Park is a pleasant Victorian style Inn on the edge of breath taking Lincoln Park. The Inn at Lincoln Park is ideal for the value driven guest, looking for gracious hospitality in the heart of a bustling ...