From the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum to the great deep-dish debate, while you’re in Chicago for #NASW2025, here’s a guide to the city’s must-see sights, activities, and eats!
By Faye Beard
Did you know Chicago is a metropolis of more than 7,300 restaurants, 600 parks, 250 live music venues, and some of the largest museums in the country? That’s a lot of ground to cover for attendees of the National Association of Social Workers Annual Conference during June 14–June 19. Don’t fret! We spoke to local experts—a mayor, a luxury concierge and a social worker—to help guests make the most of their trip to Chi Town.
Visiting the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, a national historic landmark, tops the list of recommendations from Cassandra McKay, Ph.D., LCSW, and an NASW-IL member. It is the site of the nation’s first settlement house, which Addams co-founded and provided numerous social welfare programs to immigrant communities. On display is a life of service that earned Addams a Nobel Peace Prize and established the profession that would become social work.
The southern part of the city is often excluded from tour guides, said McKay, who serves as associate dean for academic affairs and student services at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. McKay suggested relaxing at Promontory Point, the landfill-turned beachfront park overlooking Lake Michigan. Or visitors can head north to eat, drink, shop, and play at Navy Pier, a waterfront entertainment complex that bills itself as the top-visited destination in the Midwest. “You can get a real sense of the culture of Chicago there,” McKay said.
Choose Chicago, the city’s Tourist Information Center, suggested an array of cultural institutions, music venues, and outdoor events. Selections then were curated based on happenings during the NASW conference dates.
Cultural Centers
- The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the largest and oldest art museums in the nation. There, patrons can view the masterpieces of Renoir, Chagall, Monet, Van Gogh, and other greats. Check out the exhibit, “Frida Kahlo’s Month in Paris.”
- Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the Haitian founder of Chicago, is the namesake of the nation’s oldest independent Black history museum. If you’re sticking around for the holiday, the DuSable is hosting its Juneteenth Annual Community BBQ on June 19; the public is invited to the cookout.
- At the Chicago Botanic Gardens, horticultural lovers can explore the seasonal trees on the Wednesday Walk starting at 9 a.m. Tourists can also view the 385-acre garden on the open-air Tram Tour, which is free with admission.
- Go below the surface at Shedd Aquarium. In celebration of the LGBTQ+A community, the aquarium will host an ocean-themed drag showcase on Pride Night, June 14. Or visitors may opt for a Shark Feeding Tour on that Saturday.
Chicago Sounds
- Throughout the summer, the Grant Park Music Festival features free classical concerts. Renowned artists will present Holst’s The Planets on June 14 and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto on June 18. Both shows start at 6:30 p.m. in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.
- House originated in Chicago, and Spybar is one of the top venues for the music genre. Check them out on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights in River North. There’s an intimate vibe, international DJs, and a nod from Rolling Stone as one of the best dance clubs in America.
- Kingston Mines, Chicago’s largest and longest-running Blues club, serves Mississippi Sweet Tea cocktails, catfish dinners with Southern-fried Okra, and music until the wee hours. Sunday Blues Jam with Mike Wheeler from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. invites musicians and singers to share the stage with the Chicago Blues icon.
Great Outdoors
- Stroll Fulton Market, a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with chic shops and trendy cafes. Randolph Street is home to Restaurant Row and the Taste of Randolph, a street fest running from June 13–15.
- Root for the home team. Here’s a chance to visit an iconic baseball park, Wrigley Field. The Chicago Cubs will play the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 14–15. The Cubs take on the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-game series from June 17–19.
- Pack in as many Chicago points of interest as possible, with the Hop-On, Hop-Off Big Bus tour. Skydeck Chicago at Willis Tower, Millennium Park, and Adler Planetarium will be on the route. Daily service begins at the Chicago Riverwalk from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with buses leaving in 20-minute to 30-minute intervals.
Decadent Dining
Chicago is known for exquisite dining with 26 Michelin-starred and 40 James Beard Award-winning restaurants. Michel “Miche” Battaglin, a personal concierge at the five-star Waldorf Astoria in the Gold Coast, shared some of his favorite culinary establishments.
- For Black Tiger Shrimp Tacos and Salmon Tostadas, try the upscale Mexican eatery Vela Bar y Cocina in the River North District.
- Visitors can feast on Veal Chop Parmigiana and Duck Lasagna from a team led by Michelin-starred chef Soo Ahn at the Italian-themed Adalina in the Gold Coast.
- Kayao, in Old Town, is a seafood sanctuary but also offers Wok-Stir Fried Filet Mignon as part of its artistic excursion to Peruvian cuisine.
- Bistro Monadnock, a French restaurant in the South Loop, prepares Parisian Gnocchi, oyster shooters, and spring rabbit.
- On the Magnificent Mile, The Evie reimagines American classics from butter-poached lobster rolls, beets and brown rice veggie burgers, and Chicago-style Wagyu hot dogs.
- At the Greek-inspired Avli on the Park on Lakeshore East, there’s a $30 three-course lunch menu with Chicken Souvlaki.
- If guests crave jumbo omelets and silver dollar pancakes, they’ll want to try Lou Mitchell’s Restaurant and Bakery for old-fashioned diner options.
Deep-dish Debate
Guidebooks and media reviews may list Giordano’s as the most popular pizzeria in Chicago. Based on an Italian Easter Pie recipe from Mama Giordano, the meal was double-crusted and cheese-stuffed. If this name sounds familiar, the brand is stocked in the frozen-food sections of major supermarkets. It’s also a chain, established in 1974, that now has spread to 65 locations in Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada, Wisconsin, and coming soon to Washington, D.C.
Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria has a richer history and some locals say a richer flavor. Established in 1971, Malnati is one of the oldest family names in Chicago-style pizza. Malnati’s father, Rudy, is said to have helped to develop the deep-dish recipe, according to the restaurant’s history. Today, the chain has 60 Chicagoland locations and recently debuted its Buffalou Chicken Pizza.
Mayor Nathaniel George Booker of the neighboring Village of Maywood, Ill., agrees that Giordano’s is a solid choice, but proclaims that Lou Malnati’s is better. His favorite deep-dish pizza, however, is Williams Inn Pizza & Sports Bar off 22nd and South Michigan Avenue. “Williams Inn is a 45-minute wait for the pizza,” the mayor said, “but Bourbon wings, good drinks, and nice vibes will make the time fly.”
Hopefully, that adjourns the great deep-dish pizza debate. If not, taste-testers will have to draw their own conclusions.
Faye Beard is a freelance writer based in New York.
