The city's coolest quarter — Wicker Park and Bucktown, packed with indie boutiques, record shops, street art, craft-beer bars, hip restaurants and a buzzing music-and-nightlife scene, a short 'L' ride from downtown. Trendy, walkable and creative, away from the tourist core; the base for travellers who want the hippest food, bars and shopping and a real local vibe. The heart of hip Chicago. Cool and characterful.
A look around
What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.
$280–450
typical per night in United States
The sensible middle
Typical prices for Chicago — neither steal nor splurge.
Where it sits
The circle is Wicker Park & Bucktown and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.
How far is everything?
From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.
- Deep-dish pizza13 min taxi4.3 km
- The Lakefront Trail & beaches13 min taxi4.4 km
- The Magnificent Mile14 min taxi4.8 km
- Willis Tower Skydeck15 min taxi4.9 km
- The Architecture River Cruise15 min taxi5.0 km
- Millennium Park & The Bean17 min taxi5.5 km
- The Art Institute of Chicago17 min taxi5.7 km
- The Field Museum21 min taxi7.0 km
On your doorstep
What you’re living next to if you stay here.
- 12.Wicker Park & Bucktown — Chicago's hippest neighbourhood — Wicker Park and Bucktown, a buzzing tangle of indie boutiques, vintage and record stores, street art, third-wave coffee shops, craft-beer bars and some of the city's best restaurants and live music. Wander the creative streets, browse the shops, and settle into a cool bar or café; it's the perfect place to feel young, arty Chicago beyond the downtown sights. A great afternoon and evening of shopping, eating and people-watching. The heart of the city's hip side; cool and lively.
- 13.Blues & jazz — Chicago is the home of electric blues and a jazz powerhouse, and hearing live music in a smoky club is essential — catch a raw, soulful set at a legendary blues joint like Buddy Guy's Legends or Kingston Mines, or cool jazz in a Green Mill-style lounge (a former Al Capone haunt). The music is world-class, the atmosphere intimate and electric, and it's woven into the city's very soul. A quintessential, only-in-Chicago night out for any music lover. Soulful, historic and unforgettable. Don't miss it.
- 15.The neighbourhood food scene — Beyond deep-dish, Chicago is a serious food city with a gloriously diverse neighbourhood scene — the Chicago-style hot dog (never with ketchup) and Italian beef sandwich, plus superb Mexican food in Pilsen, Polish in the north-west, and celebrated fine dining and hip eateries in Logan Square, West Loop and beyond. Graze the neighbourhoods, try a classic dog and an Italian beef, and book a buzzy dinner; the quality, variety and value are outstanding. A delicious way to explore the real city. Come hungry and adventurous.
When are you staying?
Booking.com & Airbnb open searched to Wicker Park & Bucktown; flights via Google Flights.