Things to do in Chicago – Mary’s Top 5

The Lincoln Park Zoo is a 35 acre animal attraction that features lions, bears, and sloths! As an added bonus, you won't have to use any of that $500 to get in to the zoo, because it is free!

The Willis Tower, or better known as the Sears Tower, is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. It is the best way to get a full view of the Chicago Skyline. You don't even have to pull a Ferris Bueller to get the best view. Take one of the super fast elevators up to the Skydeck on the 103rd floor and step out on The Ledge. The Ledge extends 4.5 feet from the face of The Willis Tower to give you the feeling of floating on air.

If you are looking for some high end shopping to spend that $500, then look no further than The Magnificent Mile. It's officially Michigan Avenue, but the nickname Magnificent Mile has been embraced by the city of Chicago. The Magnificent Mile is the Chicago equivalent to New York City's 5th Avenue with it's high end shops, restaurants, and hotels. At the pentacle of the Magnificent Mile you'll find Water Tower Place. Water Tower Place is the mall of Chicago. With over 100 stores you're sure to find that new "it" bag, little black dress, or a perfect souvenir of your trip to Chicago.

Smack dab in Downtown Chicago, Millennium Park is a great place to get a little of everything; architecture, art, music, landscape and my favorite people watching. You can take a tour with a bike or even a Segway at the McDonald’s Cycle Center. My favorite is the Cloud Gate. The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect Chicago’s famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives.

Chicago is famous for its hotdogs. One restaurant, the Weiner Circle, is not just famous for serving authentic Chicago Dogs. It's famous for its dirty mouthed and not to mention rude workers. It's been featured on Shotime and an Extreme Restaurant special on the Travel Channel. Now TruTV even has a show called "The Weiner Circle."