Tag Archives: museums

Travel to The Windy City – Chicago

By Kamila Dautnokova

New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas…there are so many exciting cities to visit in America that sometimes others get overlooked by international students looking for somewhere new to travel. Yes, all of the above cities are amazing, and I have enjoyed visiting them very much, but the city of Chicago also made an unforgettable impression on me. In some ways it is similar to Manhattan, but in my opinion is somehow more spacious, more clean, and more comfortable. The architecture in Chicago is amazing, and isn’t quite as overwhelming as some of the skyscrapers in New York can be. Chicago is an amazing city that I hope to return to soon, and here are some reasons why you should visit!

Located on the southwest coast of Lake Michigan in Illinois, Chicago is the third largest city in the United States (after New York and Los Angeles), the second most important financial center of the country (after New York), and the largest transport hub in North America. Being the largest city in the entire Midwest, it is also the largest transportation, industrial, economic, and cultural center in North America. As a stronghold of the Democrats, many well-known politicians have come out of Chicago, including Barack Obama (senator from Illinois). The unofficial name of the city is the Windy City and speaking from personal experience, this is accurate–the Chicago winter is freezing.

Photo by Cole Parsons on Unsplash

Chicago is a “city of skyscrapers”, and is home to lots of interesting sites to see and places for hiking. There are many parks, recreation areas, beaches, museums, theaters, and restaurants. In my opinion, the first thing to do in Chicago once you arrive is to wander aimlessly. The city itself is one giant landmark, where the streets are narrow, and the skyscrapers are so tall that you need to tilt your head fully to see the top of them.

Millennium Park is a green park in downtown Chicago the size of fourteen football fields. There are bizarre sculptures, concert zones, and benches to sit and relax. The famous Crown Fountain is also located there – two fifteen-meter glass blocks, on which video images of Chicagoans are broadcast. Millennium Park is the center of Chicago’s social life. Entrance is free everywhere. Volunteers lead tours of the park, tourists watch spiders through microscopes, and actors give free theatrical performances. Cloud Gate is also located in Millennium Park. This is the most recognizable monument in Chicago and, perhaps, America – a hundred-ton metal sculpture of a bizarre shape. However, the locals came up with a more spunky nickname for the sculpture: The Bean. The scultpure really looks like a giant bean from above, and is an iconic place to visit if you have the chance.

Photo by Christopher Alvarenga on Unsplash

One of the most famous eateries in the city is the restaurant “Jordan’s”. This is a Chicago pizzeria with a forty-year history, which was founded by immigrants from Italy. The New York Times and dozens of other influential media wrote that they served the best pizza in Chicago.

Art museums are also very popular in Chicago. Some of the best include the Art Institute of Chicago, where you can view classical art for tickets priced at $27, or the Museum of Contemporary Art, where adult admission costs $15. Among the historical museums, the one that was the most memorable for me was the Chicago History Museum where adult tickets sell for $19.

Photo by JR Harris on Unsplash
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Explore LA Through Art

By Erika Gomi

I’ve come to realize that going to school in Los Angeles is not so bad (despite the heat). LA is a huge city just begging to be explored. There will always be a new restaurant to try or a screening to go see. One of the many things to do in this city is to visit some of the many museums. I, sadly, have not visited many of them, but the ones I’ve been to have all been fun experiences.

One of the most famous museums is probably the Getty Museum. There are two campuses: the Getty Center and the Getty Villa. The Getty Center is a huge museum at the top of a hill and has rooms dedicated to art like old renaissance paintings and ancient sculptures. What I remember most from my visit was the garden. While the museum is famous for its art pieces, it also has a beautiful garden full of flowers and some meandering dirt paths. There is also another part of the museum called the Getty Villa out by Malibu. It’s much smaller than the Getty Center, but if you go on a sunny day, LA does not get more beautiful than this. The Getty Villa is off the Pacific Coast Highway, up a long winding road in the hills off the highway. Once there, your view will open up to an expansive villa that overlooks the ocean; it will feel like you’ve been transported to a summer vacation home in Italy. The museum is filled with Greek and Roman art and even houses an actual mummy. The Villa also has a garden in back with big columns and a beautiful view of the ocean. I highly recommend going on a sunny day.

In addition to the Getty, there are museums like LACMA, MOCA, and the Broad. These museums exhibit more contemporary art unlike the Getty’s classical pieces. I’ve only been to LACMA, but I’ve heard amazing things about all three. LACMA is probably the most famous out of the three with its iconic streetlight sculpture out front. When I first went, I didn’t realize how huge the museum was. LACMA is made up of several buildings and it takes hours to get through even one. It was fun when I went though because they had a special exhibit on the famous movie director Guillermo del Toro. The exhibit was full of his inspirations – all very creepy. There were even life size models and costumes of characters from his films like Crimson Peak and Pan’s Labyrinth. I want to go to LACMA again so I can explore the rest of the museum. You definitely need more than one day.

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Art Museums of Los Angeles

By Eamon White

Los Angeles is known for many things from its movie business to the busiest highways in the country, but something that many people tend to forget is its wealth of quality art museums. There are only two other cities in America where you can see more—New York and Chicago. Even if you aren’t into old renaissance paintings or outlandish conceptual art, there will be a museum for you in Los Angeles.

Here are just a few of the best and most notable museums in LA:

Photo by CTG/SF on Flickr

The Broad— This museum is LA’s newest (for now) and most instagrammable museum of art. The museum opened just over a year ago and is already one of LA’s hottest destinations. It features many famous artists from Andy Warhol to Takashi Murakami to Jeff Koons. Even if you aren’t a fan of modern/contemporary art there will be something here that interests you, not only that, but it’s free! It is very popular, so you better be willing to wait in line to get in. It is also conveniently located only a few blocks from the Pershing Square metro station so you can get there easily on the red or purple lines.

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