Chicago is the third largest city in the United States and boasts over 8 million people in the the Chicagoland metro area. It is the center of commerce, finance, industry, and culture for the midwestern United States. Chicago covers over 200 sq miles. In addition to its noted expressways and boulevards, Chicago has a famous system of elevated railways (the L) that extend into the heart of the city, making a huge rectangle, the celebrated Loop, which gives its name to the downtown section.
Chicago has 77 official community areas. Some names are instantly recognizable, others aren't much used outside of official pronouncements. Informal neighborhood names are used more commonly. In some of the community areas, especially those which were pasted together from more than one neighborhood at the time they were created, the residents will tend to identify with a sub-neighborhood. There are no large political divisions like New York's boroughs, but outside of the downtown Loop area, Chicago community areas group into six "sides" - the North Side, the Northwest Side, the Southwest Side, the West Side, the South Side, and the far South Side. The last includes a section of southeast addresses. Because the zero point for the grid is near the Lake at State and Madison, there is no directly East Side to speak of. If you tell someone from Chicago to go to the East Side, you are telling them to jump in the lake!
Most tourist-visited neighborhoods are on the North Side. Exceptions would be Hyde Park, Kenwood and Bronzeville on the South Side; Bucktown and Wicker Park on the Northwest Side; and Pilsen, Little Village and the Garfield Park area on the West Side. The Far South Side requires a car to see easily but contains two areas of historic and architectural interest - Pullman and Beverly.
Some of the most notable neighborhoods of Chicago include:
Hyde Park / University of Chicago