ESTA Guide USA complete your ESTA application form for your US travels to Chicago
Your ESTA application form for your Holidays in Chicago
The ESTA application form – No matter, if you are traveling for business or pleasure before you can start your travels to the United States, you’ll either need a regular USA Visa or an ESTA USA Visa. You can find the online ESTA application form here. Welcome to our ESTA Visa travel guide for Atlanta. “ESTA” stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorisation. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security manages the VWP which issues the ESTA Visa USA.
Your ESTA application form for your ESTA USA Visa.
With ESTA, there is no more need for a conventional US Vis
The ESTA application
You can complete your ESTA application here on this website in minutes, and receive an ESTA Visa USA by email within hours. An ESTA Visa USA will be valid for 2 years and allow for multiple entries into the United States. A regular USA Visa means that you will have to pay a visit to the US Embassy to apply and it will take many days or weeks for the process to complete. So, instead of a conventional US Visa, complete the ESTA application online here and be on your way within hours.
ESTA Guide to Chicago
Over the years, Chicago has managed to capture and preserve the essence of multiple ethnic groups in its diverse neighborhoods. Other areas have developed distinct characteristics as artists’ meccas or shopping havens. Together, the districts combine to form a colorful “city of neighborhoods”. Center of the city, the Loop offers a lesson in American urban architecture—bar none. Lined with stores, State Street is the city’s original shopping thoroughfare. Since the 1960s, the Magnificent Mile, a boulevard of glitzy shops of international renown, has eclipsed it. Trendy and upscale River North has also garnered a reputation for its art galleries and charming bistros and boutiques. In the South Loop, recently rehabilitated Printer’s Row caters to a young crowd with its coffee shops and bookstores.
Few big cities get an opportunity to start over from scratch, but in Chicago’s case, that rare mandate came as a mixed blessing. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was disastrous. However, the disaster also served to show Chicago’s strength. Within 20 years, the city was ready to host the world during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. In advance of the international gathering, Chicago had also embarked on a massive building boom that birthed several city icons.
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Flying from the UK to Chicago on Holiday
If you’re traveling from the UK to Chicago, most likely you will be landing at the O’Hare International Airport. O’Hare International Airport, 17 miles northwest of downtown, is among the world’s busiest airports. British Airways, United, American, Lufthansa, Iberia, and Finnair have regular flights from the UK to Chicago. In low season, you can get the round trip economy ticket for as little as $388. Norwegian usually has the cheapest rates.
Lounges at O’Hare International Airport
British Airways Terraces
Location: Near gates M11 and M12 in Terminal 5
Opening hours: 12:10 pm to 8:10 pm
Facilities: Business services, drinks and food, Wi-Fi, entertainment, telephones, air conditioning, magazines, newspapers
Access: Priority First-class or executive class passengers of British Airways or OneWorld Airlines. British Airways Gold Executive Club or Silver, Sapphire or Emerald members
United Club Lounge
Location: Near gates B18, B6 and C16 in Terminal 1
Opening hours: 4:30 am to 10:00 pm
Facilities: Snacks and drinks, phones, conference facilities, newspapers and magazines, Wi-Fi, TV, computers
Access: Members of United Club, Air Canada Maple Leaf Club. United Airlines and Star Alliance airlines first-class or business class passengers, United Premier Gold members. Pay $59 at the door
Delta Sky Club
Location: In front of gate E6 in Terminal 2
Opening hours: 5:00 am to 9:30 pm (Sunday), 4:00 am to 8:00 pm (Monday). 5:00 am to 8:30 pm (Tuesday to Friday), 4:30 am to 6:30 pm (Saturday).
Facilities: Food and drinks, telephones, Wi-Fi, newspapers and magazines, TV
Access: Delta Sky Club or Virgin Australia Velocity Gold/Platinum membership, first/business class passengers of Delta Air Lines. American Express Platinum/Centurion card users, pay $59 at the door
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Subsequently, you’ll save time and money.
ESTA USA Guide – Holiday Accommodations in Chicago
The Chicago area offers a wide range of accommodations from elegant downtown hotels ($200-$350 and up) located in the Loop and also around North Michigan Avenue to more moderately priced motels ($90-$150) found throughout the city. Rates tend to be lower in suburban areas (including O’Hare Airport) and on weekdays. Most downtown hotels charge a fee for parking. Some hotels located near Lake Shore Drive may be within walking distance of a public beach; inquire when making reservations.
Royal Sonesta Chicago Riverfront (4 Stars)
Billing itself as an “urban boutique hotel experience,” Royal Sonesta has given a tired 1950s hotel an extreme makeover. Though the facade retains a retro look, the interior has been boldly redone with upbeat colors. Seek furniture and light sculptures add a chic touch to the design. Rooms on the north side overlook the river.
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City Suites Hotel (3 Stars)
City Suits inhabit a neighborhood that bustles with street life day and night. The locality is crowded with restaurants, shops, bars, nightclubs, and entertainment venues. Most of the units in this art-deco restoration are suits furnished with hide-a-beds and refrigerators. Rates include daily complimentary breakfast and access to a nearby fitness club.
Warwick Allerton (4 Stars)
The Allerton has served Chicago as a hotel since 1924. A recent renovation nicely restores its original polish, inside and also out. Guestrooms, outfitted with marble baths and upholstered headboards, glow with vibrant wall and fabric colors. Check out the view from the 25th-floor fitness center.
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The Fairmont Chicago (4 Stars)
Rising northeast of Millennium Park, the Fairmont has long provided a home away from home for the glitterati. Spacious rooms, redecorated by David Rockwell, shine with contemporary style and also striking floral artwork. This location is ideal for attending summer music festivals in the lakeside parks.
Sofitel Chicago (5 Stars)
The Sofitel’s dramatic “upside-down” 32-floor glass prism exterior and sleek interior are all the architectural buzz. The techno-hip lobby employs decorative lighting and artwork to distinct advantage, and the rooms carry through with contemporary European styling. The sleek brasserie, Café des Architectes serves international fare.
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ESTA USA Guide – Sightseeing in Chicago
Unlike many cities, Chicago shows off just as much green as it does the cold grey of steel and glass. Several parks and outdoor areas comprise a large part of the city’s character. The imposing buildings are interspersed with broad boulevards and botanical traffic islands. But the ambitious heights of the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center are rarely out of view. The dense downtown epicenter draws attention away from the city’s impressive sprawl. Indeed, this sprawl is ironically one of Chicago’s greatest attributes.
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Art Institute of Chicago
Almost every large metropolitan city has its art museum. But given the finite number of significant works in existence, not every collection is a must-see. This is certainly not the case with the Art Institute of Chicago. Even the museum-averse will find much to love and recognize the stunning selection of famous and familiar works. It runs the gamut from primitive sculptures to playfully surreal modern pieces. Designed by the firm of Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge, the imposing building opened its doors in 1893. Inside, the Art Institute houses over 270,000 invaluable works, including one of the world’s most significant assemblages of Impressionist art.
Skydeck Chicago (Willis Tower)
Maybe you always wanted to be a high-rise tightrope walker, but without the death-defying part. Or perhaps you wanted to be one of the superheroes that can fly. Well, now you can get a glimpse of the beauty (and the mental fortitude) at Skydeck Chicago in Willis Tower. Willis Tower offers you the opportunity to step out the window and over the side of their 103rd floor. You will get to stand 1,353 feet in the air, with unobstructed views of the Chicago city streets beneath your feet.
Due to all the glass and unobstructed views, it feels like you are stepping off a 103-story building. On a clear day, you can see up to 50 miles out from the Skydeck, with views extending into four states. In addition to your short stint out on the see-thru balcony, the Skydeck experience includes museum exhibits and theatre presentations.
Your ESTA application form for your ESTA Visa instead of a conventional US Visa
Your ESTA USA Visa. With ESTA Visa, there is no more need for a conventional US Visa
Chicagos Tribune Tower
Tribune Tower stands 462 feet in the air, with its 36 stories of impressive neo-Gothic architecture, soaring spires, and shrine-like lobby. The random rock fragments embedded into the tower’s façade make the tower a unique landmark. Embedded in these walls are about 150 relics from buildings and monuments spreading across the entirety of our planet. Chicago Tribune correspondents gathered many of the rocks and pieces. They received the items as gifts during their explorations to the various historically essential sites. It’s a sort of living architectural museum. Relics include fragments from the Berlin Wall, Moonrock, Pearl Harbor, Vatican City, Colosseum, and The Great Wall of China.
Garfield Park Conservatory
Home to over 600 species of plants, Garfield Park Conservatory, is among the largest conservatories in the country. This 184-acre park features everything from a swimming pool, athletic fields, and tennis courts to fishing lagoons. Visitors can freely roam through the eight different indoor gardens housing plant species from all over the world. You can also explore the 10 acres of intricate outdoor gardens. It’s mainly a great place to visit during the winter when everything in the outside world seems to be in hibernation. The conservatory also hosts a variety of dynamic exhibits and installations from Chicago-based artists, community members, and the Conservatory staff.
Your ESTA application form for your ESTA Visa instead of a conventional US Visa.
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Magnificent Mile
The Champs Élysées of Chicago, Magnificent Mile is the city’s most prestigious. This promenade is lined with shops, luxury hotels, restaurants and premier residential and office high rises. The street lies along North Michigan Avenue between Chicago’s most important waterways, the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. The restaurants, residences and medical facilities of Streeterville occupy the area between here and Lake Shore Drive to the east.
When Chicago was incorporated as a city, today’s Magnificent Mile remained a muddy patch of Lake Michigan sediment. By the turn of the century, numerous businesses, including factories, warehouses, and taverns, transformed it into a major traffic artery. A profusion of Art Deco and Neoclassical elements adorned the limestone edifices, lending the avenue a sophisticated “European boulevard”.
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Lincoln Park Zoo
This 35-acre zoo is home to more than a thousand animals. Meander around the park past an array of exhibits like the Penguin Cove, Macaque Forest, Arctic Tundra, and Primate House. There is even a Farm-In-The-Zoo area where you can pet and interact with farm animals. Daily activities throughout the zoo include Seal Training and Feeding, where you can watch and learn. The Snow Money Science activity shows how the zoo uses touchscreens to study thinking and learning in Japanese macaques.
There are presentations involving care for Polar Bears and African Apes. And a Free-Flight Feeding where you enter a lush forest to offer food to tropical birds flying overhead. Founded in 1868, the Lincoln Park Zoo is unique because it is among the oldest zoos in North America. While the zoo is free, they accept donations to help keep the zoo open and free for everyone.
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Millennium Park
Despite some grumbling about its $475-million cost when it opened in 2004, Millennium Park is among the city’s best assets. Its 24.5 acres offer something to see at every turn. Above the Jay Pritzker Pavilion hovers the metallic mayhem of architect Frank Gehry’s proscenium arch. The theatre accommodates 4,000 in seats and 7,000 on the lawn. The “waterproof” lawn drains rainwater in 15 minutes. So don’t be afraid to bring a picnic dinner and enjoy one of the many free concerts here throughout the summer.
Dubbed the Bean, Cloud Gate by sculptor Anish Kapoor will draw you like a moth to a flame. The gleaming, 110-ton, stainless-steel “kidney bean” creates fantastic reflections of the city skyline. For the young and young at heart, the Crown Fountain provides a cool wading pool. Spanish artist Jaume Plensa designed the whimsical work of steel, glass and light. In Lurie Garden, wooden boardwalks and a watery pool called the Seam bisect the planted spaces.
Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago Cultural Center opened its doors back in 1897. This neoclassical historical building, with its imported marbles, polished brass, beautiful hardwoods, and glass mosaics, is impressive enough. But it’s the dome on the south side of the building that truly inspires awe. The Chicago Cultural Center Dome is the world’s largest stained glass Tiffany dome. About 30,000 richly vibrant pieces of colored glass portray the twelve signs of the zodiac. The Chicago Cultural Center regularly hosts films, lectures, family festivals, concerts, and art exhibitions. The best part is that you can experience all of these things free of charge.
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Navy Pier
In the 70s, Navy Pier was a working dock, with huge ships unloading pallets and shipping containers. Now it’s a festival for the senses. The Navi Pier Park transports you back to the experience of a carnival from a bygone era. Since there is a lot to do, stop at the Family Pavilion first, if you’ve never been here before. They have maps and brochures for the various exhibits and activities. Take in the great views from the 150-foot Ferris wheel, ride the Wave Swinger, or enjoy the Musical Carousel. As soon as you walk onto the pier, you’ll be taken to a world that revolves around imagination, as well as fantasy. Stroll through the stained-glass walkways and spend some time in the Children’s Museum.
John Hancock Center
Nothing represents Carl Sandburg’s epithet for Chicago “the city of big shoulders” – more than this 457-meter skyscraper. It is the third-tallest building in Chicago and the fourth-tallest in the US. Because of its vast cross-bracing steel members, it is one of the most recognizable in the city. Its 100 stories of black anodized aluminum and tinted glass are divided between office and residential space.
For a must-not-miss treat, enjoy city panoramas with drinks or a meal atop the tower at the Signature Room at the 95th. Wide steps descending into a large sunken plaza frame colourful planters and a wall waterfall. The plaza affords exciting views of the Magnificent Mile skyscrapers that loom to the north and south.
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ESTA USA Guide – Restaurants in Chicago
Home to several cutting-edge chefs, Chicago has grown into an internationally renowned culinary leader. You can find eateries of all kinds, from Latin American to Polish, Chinese to classic American steakhouses in Chicago. Fine dining and quick bites alike are also sprinkled across all neighborhoods. Here are five restaurants in Chicago that provide a unique dining experience:
Sprinkles – Cupcakes ATM (Budget-Friendly)
When you’re running low on money, what do you do? You head to the ATM. But what about if you’re running low on cupcakes? Well in Chicago, you can also head to the ATM for that! Sprinkles Cupcakes decided to fill the cupcake needs of the residents of Chicago by unveiling the world’s first Cupcake ATM. It dispenses freshly baked cupcakes and cookies every hour of every day of the year. The Cupcake ATM is precisely as it sounds. It’s a vending machine serving freshly baked cupcakes. This refreshing downtown experience is not just a gimmick either, as the cupcakes are professionally created and almost universally tasty. Popular cupcake flavors include Chocolate Marshmallow, Triple Cinnamon, Coconut, Cuban Coffee, Lemon Coconut, Salty Caramel, and also their signature Red Velvet.
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SafeHouse Chicago (Medium Level)
The inaugural spy created this secret agent haven in 1966. Since then it has been delighting wannabe spies from all over the world. A sleek Gadget Bar, interactive elements, futuristic technology, as well as games combined with an unparalleled menu fit for a true spy. The full-on Total Spy Experience includes the entrance clearance test and creating your alias on a nametag. It also consists of a reconnaissance mission comprised of a unique scavenger hunt with riddles, and an alibi booth (Instagram Photobooth). Besides, you can watch a Smoke & Mirrors magician, and solve a puzzle for a prize at your dinner table. Even exiting the Safehouse is an event. You must go through a secret exit but only after you give your password to a payphone.
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Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club (Top Level)
With its “South Beach meets Hollywood” décor, the Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club entices you with its fantastic cocktails. Enjoy a simultaneously upscale yet informal night with extravagant personalities of various performing Drag Queens. Shows run nightly every 20 minutes from 6:30 pm until midnight, as the drag queen entertainers dance and sing. They weave their way through the herd of tables and provide an interactive experience like none other. Perhaps the best time to visit the Kit Kat Lounge is on Sundays. There is a special weekly Divalicious Brunch that takes place with your special host Madam X. She is the Queen of the Drag Queens. To top it off, the Kit Kat Lounge has a cocktail menu that features an astonishing 200 varieties of cocktails.
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Kuma’s Corner (Medium Level)
The brainchildren behind Kuma’s Corner are huge fans of both meat and heavy metal, so it seemed natural to combine the two. As you can imagine, a visit to Kuma’s Corner will result in views of many tattoos. And piercings. That’s the fun of this place though! It doesn’t take itself too seriously. Besides, it creates a fun, hopping atmosphere to jam along to some tunes while you scarf down incredibly delicious burgers. Choose from burgers such as Black Sabbath, Goatsnake, High on Fire, Iron Maiden, as well as the famous Lair of the Minotaur. You’ll find homegrown alcoholic beverages too as they are huge supporters of local purveyors.
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Superdawg Drive-In (Budget Friendly)
Superdawg Drive-In had humble beginnings in 1948 as a hot dog stand. The owner opened the stand to help work his way through school. Now it’s a city-wide icon. They offer burgers and various fish products, but if you’re making the trip here, you have to get the Superdawg. And it’s worth it to also try one of their amazing milkshakes too. They’re so thick it takes a little effort to put the straw into it. If you have kids, you can snag them the Superchickenmidgees (chicken strips). Superdawg Drive-In is a quintessential Chicago legend. It’s also a local institution that fully lives up to its reputation.
Your ESTA application form.
Your ESTA USA Visa. With ESTA Visa, there is now
no more need for a conventional US Visa which will subsequently
save you time and money
ESTA USA Guide – Chicago has plenty to offer so that exploring the city can sometimes seem like a daunting task. But the train rides, long walks, and taxi trips are worth the innumerable live entertainment, culinary treats, as well as striking sights.
5 places you can’t miss in Boston
Your ESTA USA Visa. With ESTA Visa, there is no more need for a conventional US Visa.
Subsequently, you’ll save time and money.