Gold Coast Holidays

The Gold Coast is Chicago's most elegant address: leafy streets of Victorian mansions between the Magnificent Mile and the lake. Stay here and the beach, the boutiques and the city's best people-watching are all on your morning stroll.

Highlights of your Gold Coast Holiday

• Oak Street Beach - The city's most glamorous stretch of sand sits at the foot of the neighbourhood, towels and skyline in the same glance

• Astor Street - A protected historic district of Victorian mansions and leafy calm, the prettiest architecture walk in the city

• Rush Street - The Gold Coast's dining and nightlife strip, steakhouses, wine bars and patios that hum on summer evenings

• Oak Street boutiques - The designer end of Chicago shopping, with the Magnificent Mile's big stores one block over

Good to Know

• ☀️ Weather - Four proper seasons: high 20s°C summers made for the beach at the end of the street, golden autumns, snow-globe winters and a fresh green spring

• 💰 Money - This is Chicago's fanciest postcode, so budget accordingly: a sit-down meal runs £20-£30 / €23-€35 on Rush Street, though a beer stays £5-£6 / €6-€7 and the beach is free

• 🏰 Fun Fact - The name is no accident: tycoon Potter Palmer built a lakeshore castle here in 1882, Chicago's wealthy followed, and the streets have been gilded ever since

🏨 Hotels

Staying in the Gold Coast means boutique style and grand names on quiet streets, with the city one L stop away. See all hotels in Gold Coast.

💑 What are the best Gold Coast hotels for couples?

• Thompson Chicago is the neighbourhood's chic boutique heart, moody interiors, a very good bar and Oak Street's boutiques on the doorstep, with strong reviews to back up the style.

• Viceroy Chicago layers art deco glamour with a seasonal rooftop pool overlooking the skyline, the sundowner spot the neighbourhood deserves.

✨ What are the best luxury hotels in the Gold Coast?

• Waldorf Astoria Chicago hides a Parisian-style courtyard entrance off a Gold Coast side street, with an award-winning spa and an indoor pool, pure old-money elegance in the neighbourhood that invented Chicago's version of it.

• Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile rises at the neighbourhood's edge in a celebrated wedge of glass, French service and a serious bar within a stroll of Oak Street Beach.

👉 All hotels in Gold Coast

Gold Coast Holidays 2026/2027 - Travel Guide

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are the best things to do on a Gold Coast family holiday?

Oak Street Beach mornings - Sand, safe swimming and skyline photos ten minutes from breakfast, beat the crowds by going early

• Lincoln Park Zoo - Free entry, brilliant and a flat stroll north through the park, the easiest family win in Chicago

• The lakefront trail - Hire bikes and roll along the water for ice cream at North Avenue Beach, flat all the way

💑 What are the best things to do for couples on a Gold Coast holiday?

• Astor Street at golden hour - Mansion-gazing on the prettiest streets in the city, pick your fantasy brownstone

• Rush Street dinner - Classic steakhouses and buzzy patios, the neighbourhood's signature night out

• Washington Square and the Newberry - A leafy old square and a grand research library with free exhibitions, quiet-morning romance

🎉 What are the top things to do for groups on a Gold Coast holiday?

• Beach afternoon, Rush Street evening - The neighbourhood one-two: volleyball and swims at Oak Street Beach, then patios and late bars a few blocks inland

• Division Street brunch - The strip's generous American brunches soak up the night before, arrive hungry

• Magnificent Mile sweep - One block east and the big-store shopping day begins, meet back at the hotel bar to compare damage

More Destinations

• Chicago - The whole city: skyline architecture, world-beating pizza, blues bars and lakefront beaches

• America - The full US adventure: city breaks, beach weeks and road-trip legends coast to coast

• New York - Broadway lights, Central Park mornings and skyline views that need no introduction

• Las Vegas - Neon, mega-resorts, world-famous shows and the Grand Canyon within day-trip distance

• Miami - Art deco glamour, Cuban coffee, golden sand and a nightlife scene that never got the memo about bedtime