The Time Out Chicago blog team

Temperatures are climbing into the 80s this weekend, and summer is already on everyone's mind. Fortunately for thrill-seekers, the timing couldn't be better: Six Flags Great America in suburban Gurnee reopens today for the 2025 season. What better way to kick off the season? Here are some park updates to keep in mind when visiting: the destination's 16th roller coaster, the 180-foot Wrath of Rakshasha, has arrived. With a 96-degree beyond-vertical drop and gravity-defying inversions, the ride is, according to the park, the "steepest and most inverted dive coaster in the world."  The coaster isn't for the light-hearted: with a 171-foot drop and cruising 67 miles per hour, we'll surely hear the screams from patrons all the way in downtown Chicago.  If opting to ride the classic roller coaster Demon instead, note that officials have implemented a new 48pinch height requirement. Scrambler ride Condor now requires patrons to be at least 54 inches tall. The full list of updated heights per ride can be found on the park's website.  In other news, designated smoking areas within the park's boundaries have been removed. Smokers—which include folks who enjoy vapes and e-cigarettes—have to head to a designated area outside of the park's boundaries for the 2025 season.  There's more: last year, the park implemented a chaperone policy during Fright Fest after 5pm for anyone 15 or younger. The site is still encouraging the policy and recommends that anyone under the age of 18 be...

After a two-year hiatus, the Jackson Park cherry blossoms are adorning the historic area on the South Side once again. Located near the Japanese Garden, the cherry trees represent renewal of life, impermanence and are a springtime celebration that just about anyone in town enjoys. Plus, they are beautiful to look at.  Given the erratic weather patterns of the past few years and this month’s cooler temperatures, we weren’t sure if those iconic pink and white blooms would return—but here they are! Interestingly, while peak bloom typically occurs in early to late May, the consistent mid to high 60s over the past few weeks triggered an earlier blooming period this year. So you should rush over and catch the sight in person ASAP. The first ornamental cherry trees were planted in 2013 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, which occurred in the park. In 2016, 50 additional trees were planted to honor the relationship between Chicago and Japan. Over the next few years, more trees were planted on the border of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. Last year, 60 additional ones took over the 16-acre Wooded Island in the Garden of the Phoenix, marking the 60th anniversary of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago.  That brings the total number of cherry trees in the area to 190—with the Parks District hoping to increase that figure to 250 by 2026.  The total cherry trees in the area is 190. The Parks District hopes to...

We absolutely love strolling around Chicago—and we have a feeling plenty of tourists will soon be joining us, thanks to a new ranking by Time Out highlighting the most walkable cities in the world. We surveyed 18,500 people across global cities with one simple question: how easy is it to get around your hometown on foot? While Abu Dhabi claimed the top spot (it is mostly flat, after all), the U.S. held its own in the top 20, with five American cities making the list—including Boston at number two and New York at number four. Chicago landed in fifth place, tying with the Spanish city of Bilbao. In both cases, 86% of local respondents gave high marks for walkability. In terms of U.S. cities, San Francisco also made the ranking at position number nine, followed by Washington D.C at number 18 (a tie with Lyon in France and London in the UK). In case we got you in the mood to take in the Windy City by food, check out our lists of best walking trails for a scenic stroll in Chicago and the six best tours and walks in town. These are the world’s 20 most walkable cities 1. Abu Dhabi, UAE, 91 percent2. Boston, US, 89 percent3. Brighton, UK, 88 percent4. New York, US, 87 percent5. Bilbao, Spain, 86 percent= Chicago, US, 86 percent7. Edinburgh, UK, 85 percent= Marrakech, Morocco, 85 percent9. San Francisco, US, 83 percent10. Cardiff, UK, 82 percent= Shanghai, China, 82 percent= Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 82 percent= Paris, France, 82 percent14. Oslo, Norway, 81 percent= Stockholm, Sweden,...