Chinatown Gate & Wentworth Avenue

Chicago's Chinatown is the busiest in the Midwest and one of the oldest in the country — the community dates to the 1870s, making it one of the few Chicago neighbourhoods that predates the Great Fire. The ornate nine-dragon gateway on Cermak Road opens onto Wentworth Avenue, a bustling commercial strip of restaurants, bakeries, tea shops, and herbalists that feels like a transplanted slice of Guangdong.

The food is the main draw. Dim sum at Phoenix or Ming Hin — where carts of dumplings, rice noodle rolls, and steamed buns circle the dining room on weekend mornings — is one of Chicago's great eating experiences. Lao Sze Chuan, specialising in fiery Sichuan cuisine, has a menu that runs to hundreds of items and a following that includes professional chefs from across the city. The bakeries on Wentworth sell custard buns, egg tarts, and pineapple cake for prices that feel like a different economic reality from the Loop a mile north.

Beyond the food, Chinatown has the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago (small but well-curated), Ping Tom Memorial Park (a beautifully designed riverfront park), and the Nine Dragon Wall — a recreation of the famous glazed-tile screen in Beijing's Beihai Park. The neighbourhood is easily accessible by L train and makes an excellent half-day trip from the Loop, particularly if you time it for weekend dim sum and follow it with a walk along the river.