Skip to consent to cookiesSkip navigation
gold-coast
neighborhood

Gold Coast


Why we love it

The Gold Coast is a luxury lover’s haven. Charming homes on picture-perfect streets, high-end boutiques, and restaurants favored by celebrities past and present all give this neighborhood its star power.

Explore like a local

Insider tips

Nestled close to the Lake Michigan shoreline, the Gold Coast is luxury and romance personified (as the name implies, this is one of the country’s most affluent neighborhoods).

Streets are lined with historic mansions, designer boutiques, celebrated restaurants, and historic hotels. In the evenings, you’ll find a dynamic bar-hopping scene spilling out onto Rush Street until late into the night.

Gold Coast is also known as an architectural jewel box. The Astor Street District features rows of 19th-century homes designed in various historical revival styles. Among the neighborhoods’s other notable buildings are the Charnley-Perksy House, designed by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, and the Former Playboy Mansion, legendary for Hugh Hefner’s star-studded parties.

For an out-of-the-ordinary museum experience, head to the curiosity-laden International Museum of Surgical Science, the only museum of its kind in America. It’s housed in a stunning lakefront mansion, and features a tiny gift shop filled with fabulously quirky finds.

Chicago Greeter: free guided tours

Taste, shop and explore the neighborhoods with a friendly local as your guide. Explore rich histories, diverse cultural traditions and hidden treasures. See sides of the city you may not have adventured out to on your own, and take away a truly authentic Chicago experience. Greeter visits are customized based on your choice of neighborhoods, language and interests.

Request a tour with a Chicago Greeter

Explore all neighborhoods

Explore Gold Coast

Brass Tack
Newberry Library
Jam Productions LLC
CDA
Viceroy Chicago
Gotham Bagels Gold Coast
1550 N State Parkway
Pizano’s Pizza & Pasta – Gold Coast
COQ d’ Or

Explore more neighborhoods

bean-night

Explore Chicago hotels, flights, deals, and more

Plan your trip

Expedia
Expedia
Expedia
Expedia

CTA Newsletter

Chicago Newsletter

Stay in the know

Sign up

visitors_guide_2024_cover

Chicago Visitors Guide

Start planning today

Get the guide