From its delectable dining to its family-friendly attractions, Chicago has received numerous awards praising the city as a great travel destination. Since 1999, Chicago has received such titles and awards as:
2008
- Chicago Named City of the Year by GQ magazine
- Voted one of the Top 10 Cities in the World by Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2009
- “Topolobampo (named after a Mexican port) is one of the reasons we think Chicago is arguably America's top eating city, with fewer high-end addresses than New York but a more stellar, dramatic pantheon.”
Wall Street Journal, July 19
- Four Chicago Hotels Named to Travel + Leisure's List of Top 100 Hotels
- Chicago Named U.S. City of the Year by Fast Company magazine for its 2008 Fast Cities List
- Chicago Ranked #2 in American Style magazine's "Top 25 Arts Destinations" for 2008
- Outstanding Chef Award – awarded to Alinea's Grant Achatz by James Beard Foundation (2008)
- Ritz Carlton named best hotel in Chicago and #4 in the U.S. by Institutional Investor
- Voted "World's Top Trading City for Traders" by Trader Monthly (2008)
- Voted North America's "City of the Future" by the Financial times publication Foreign Direct Investment Magazine (2007-08)
2007
- Ritz-Carlton Chicago Is Named "Best Hotel In The US In 2007" By Conde Nast Traveler
- #1 among Top 25 cities for a business/meeting trip that's also fun - Travel & Leisure/CNN Headline News
- Ranked #3 for “Favorite Domestic Destination” by readers of Out Traveler (2007)
- More five diamond restaurants than any other city in the nation (Alinea, Arun’s, Avenues, Charlie Trotter’s, Everest, Seasons and Tru) – AAA (2007)
- Voted favorite road trip city by Major League Baseball players – Sports Illustrated (2007)
- Best Skyline, Best Food/Dining & Best Pizza and Best Sports Fan's Vacation – America's Favorite Cities poll, Travel + Leisure (2007)
2006
- “Best Restaurant City in America” – GQ magazine (2006)
- Alinea was ranked the “Best Restaurant in America” – Gourmet magazine (2006)
- “Best Sports City” – Sporting News magazine (2006)
- Millennium Park was ranked #1and North Michigan Avenue #2 in a study by Priceline.com of the Top 50 Destinations for Summer 2006 (2006)
- Millennium Park received the 2006 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design -The AIA jury called the Park “the most beautifully executed new urban public space in America . . . It’s a masterpiece of urban ingenuity and creativity.” (2006)
- “Top 2006 U.S. Destination” as ranked by Orbitz.com (2006)
- Chicago and Mayor Richard M. Daley awarded First Place honors in the “2006 City Livability Awards Program” by The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Waste Management
- Among the top three cities most traveled by adults with disabilities – Open Doors Organization (2006)
2005
- Voted one of the “Top Ten Green Cities in the U.S. by The Green Guide (2005)
- “Bicycle Friendly Community” designation by The League of American Bicyclists (2005)
- Voted the #1 most dog-friendly city to visit in North America by DogFriendly.com (2005)
- Voted one of the Top 10 U.S. Destinations - American Airlines’ Celebrated Living Magazine (2005)
- Voted #2 in AmericanStyle magazine’s Top 25 Arts Destinations readers poll (2005)
2004 and prior
- “Best Public Space: Millennium Park” – First Annual Travel & Leisure Design Awards (2004)
- O’Hare Airport was voted "Best Airport in North America" by Business Traveler International for seven consecutive years (1998-2004)
- One of the “Best Walking Cities” in the USA – APMA/Prevention magazine (2003- 2004)
- One of “America’s Favorite Cities” – AOL Travel/ Travel + Leisure magazine (2003-2004)
- “Most exceptional dining destination” – Robb Report magazine (2003)
- One of the “Ten Best Places to Live” – Money magazine (2002)
- One the country’s ”Healthiest Destinations” – Cooking Light magazine (2002)
- One of the “best cities in the world” – Travel & Leisure magazine (2000 & 2002)
- One of the “best food cities” in America – Food & Wine/AOL (2002)
- One of the “Top 25 Arts Destinations” in the country – AmericanStyle magazine (2000-2005)
- One of the “Ten top-rated Shopping Meccas” – Condé Nast Traveler (2001)
- One of the “Top 10 U.S. Cities” - Condé Nast Traveler (2000-2005)
- “Best Cycling City in the United States with a Population of More Than One Million" - Bicycle magazine (2001)
- “Place of a Lifetime” – National Geographic Traveler (2001)
- “Favorite City in the World” – Britain’s Guardian and Observer magazine (2000)
- “Best City in the World” – Condé Nast Traveller in the UK (2000)
- “Top Food City” – Condé Nast Traveller in the UK (2000)
- “Top City in the Midwest” for family-friendly travel – Family Fun magazine (1999-2002)
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