Hi All,

So I am starting to look at what to do for this summer holiday. Having recently been to LA, Vegas, San Diego as well as New York, I am wanting to explore the US a bit more.

I started looking at trip advisor and see that Chicago comes up very highly rated amongst US destinations.

My question is a bit general and odd but here it goes anyway: is Chicago similar to a west coast place i.e. San Fran / LA / San Diego, or is it closer to east coast - NYC? May be a stupid question but to me there is a lot of difference between east and west: the atmosphere, the people, the weather and so far I think I prefer west!

Also outside of the odd question above, can anyone suggest things to do in Chicago and around? Relatively young couple looking to explore a city, do a fair bit of shopping, look around the clubs, go on road trips to nearby destinations, may be a bit of lounging at a beach.

Thanks for all advice.

Cheers,