The University of Chicago is located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, situated on the shores of Lake Michigan about eight miles south of "The Loop," Chicago's downtown center (so-called because it is surrounded by a loop of elevated railway track). Right in Hyde Park, participants can enjoy some of the city's major cultural attractions: the Museum of Science and Industry, the DuSable Museum of African-American History, and, on the campus of the University of Chicago itself, the Oriental Institute Museum and the Smart Museum of Art, and the Court Theater. In addition, Hyde Park includes some gems in Chicago's spectacular lakeshore park system, virtually unique in the United States, which stretches for 25 miles along Lake Michigan and is filled with trees, open lawns, playing fields, jogging and biking trails, playgrounds, and swimming beaches (yes, the water is clean and crystal clear, and yes, the water is warm enough for swimming, particularly in July, August, and September). So even in the immediate vicinity of the University, there will be plenty of things to do and places to explore outside the library.

However, participants in the Institute will surely want to take full advantage also of the fabulous array of cultural and recreational opportunities offered by the City of Chicago. Frequent and convenient train and bus service from Hyde Park to the Loop and Near North areas of the city makes this a very practical undertaking. In addition to hundreds of fine restaurants and numerous clubs for jazz and blues, participants will want to take note of major cultural institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago (home of Seurat's L'Apres-midi sur la Grande Jatte, Grant Wood's American Gothic, and countless other famous works), the Field Museum of Natural History, the Adler Planetarium, and the Shedd Aquarium--all located on the "museum campus" on beautiful Grant Park in downtown Chicago.

The range of great places to visit and things to do in Chicago is almost endless: architectural and other boat tours, the Museum of Broadcast Communications, Symphony Center, the Goodman Theatre, Shakespeare Repertory Theatre, the top of the Sears Tower or John Hancock Building, architectural walking tours, Navy Pier, the Chicago Historical Society, Lincoln Park Zoo, bus tours of various Chicago neighborhoods, a sporting event (at the time of the Institute, the White Sox and Cubs [baseball] and Chicago Fire [soccer] will be active)...not to mention the frequent festivals staged by the city, particularly "Chicago Fest," a culinary extravaganza held in the week leading up to the Independence Day holiday and culminating in a grand fireworks display at the lakefront and Navy Pier that draws one million spectators to Grant Park. Participants will find plenty to keep them occupied when they are not doing readings and research!