Where should I stay in Chicago?

River North is the right answer for a first trip to Chicago. The neighborhood sits between the Chicago River and Michigan Avenue, which means you're walking to most of the things you came here to see. Millennium Park and Cloud Gate, installed in 2004, are about 12 minutes south on foot. The Art Institute of Chicago, open since 1879, is 15 minutes down Michigan Avenue. The Brown and Red L lines run through the Merchandise Mart station at the neighborhood's southern edge, connecting you to Wrigley Field in roughly 25 minutes. Hotels here run $180-280 for a reliable four-star on streets like Hubbard or Ontario. You'll hear the L trains rattling overhead on Wells Street and feel the lake wind cutting east down every cross street. The trade-off is noise. Friday and Saturday nights on Hubbard Street get loud, with bar crowds spilling onto sidewalks past midnight. Ask for a room above the 8th floor facing away from the street.

The Loop tends to empty out after 6pm on weekdays, which gives it an oddly quiet feel for a downtown. That said, weekend rates at business hotels drop to $120-170, sometimes lower in January and February when the wind chill hits -15°C and the sidewalks turn to gray ice. The Palmer House Hilton on Monroe Street, first opened in 1871, still has a lobby ceiling that stops people mid-stride. West Loop is a 10-minute walk across the river and is where Chicago's restaurant scene currently lives. Fulton Market smells like smoked meat and roasted coffee from the warehouses-turned-restaurants along Randolph Street. Girl & the Goat has been packed since it opened in 2010. Expect $60-80 per person for dinner without drinks. Hotels in West Loop run $200-320, and you're trading lakefront proximity for proximity to dinner. If food matters more to you than museums on this trip, stay here.

Lincoln Park works if crowds make you tense. The neighborhood runs along the lakefront north of Old Town, roughly between North Avenue and Diversey Parkway. Lincoln Park Zoo is free, and mornings there smell like wet grass and animal hay before the families arrive around 10am. Hotels are fewer. You're mostly looking at vacation rentals at $130-200 a night for a one-bedroom. The Red and Brown lines at Fullerton station connect you to the Loop in about 15 minutes. Mind you, Lincoln Park is quieter at night than River North, but restaurant options thin out past Armitage Avenue. This is not the neighborhood for spontaneous dining at 9:30pm on a Tuesday.

Chicago's South and West sides include neighborhoods with serious violent crime that no tourist has a reason to visit. Englewood, Austin, and North Lawndale are miles from anything on your itinerary. The exception is Hyde Park on the South Side. The University of Chicago campus keeps the blocks around 53rd Street safe and walkable, and the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, open since 1933, sits at the neighborhood's eastern edge in Jackson Park. If you stay in Hyde Park, budget $100-150 per night and plan on a 30-minute ride on the Metra Electric line to reach the Loop. One practical note for June. Chicago is currently around 22°C with 80% humidity. Hotels include air conditioning as standard, but older vacation rental listings in walk-up buildings sometimes lack it. Confirm before you book.