Chicago Shopping

The Chicagoland area offers a wide variety of shopping experiences, from upscale boutiques to discount outlet malls, and everything in between. The primary shopping strip in the city is the Magnificent Mile, which runs along north Michigan Avenue from the Chicago River to Oak Street. Here you’ll find department stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom, home furnishing retailers such as Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn, jewelers such as Tiffany and Van Cleef & Arpels, big name apparel retailers such as Gap, Banana Republic and Ralph Lauren, plus a host of boutiques and specialty shops. The Magnificent Mile also features indoor shopping malls, such as Water Tower Place and 900 North Michigan Shops. State Street is another major shopping destination, with Marshall Field’s and Carson Pirie Scott being the main department stores.

The Chicago suburbs offer excellent shopping centers as well. Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois is an enclosed mall and the largest in the area. Its anchors include Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, J C Penney and Sears. Beautiful outdoor malls include Oakbrook Center in Oakbrook and Old Orchard in Skokie. These two malls feature manicured landscaping and lush surroundings to create a very pleasant atmosphere. You can include the thrill of an amusement park with your shopping trip in Gurnee, Illinois, where you’ll find Gurnee Mills Outlet Mall and Six Flags Great America.