Chicago’s Art Institute boasts of over 5,000 works, and by the time I’d spent four hours here, I was in a starry-eyed daze. There are many galleries, but the ones I can recommend are:

European Prints and Drawings, and European 1400s, 1500s-1600s, 1700s, and 1800s. A collection, spanning centuries and countries, with works ranging from the icon-like paintings of the 1400s, through the opulent mythological depictions, dreamy landscapes, still lives and portraits of later years. Along with famous names like Caravaggio, Tiepolo, Murillo and Turner, are lesser known painters - Karl Blechen’s Interior of the Palmhouse at Potsdam is in every conceivable shade of green, with brilliant light and shade. Alberto Passini’s Circassian Army Awaiting its Commander at a Byzantine Monument is full of life - down to the pigeons pecking at grain!

The collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art is mind-blowing, too. All the heavyweights are here - Monet and his waterlilies; Van Gogh (Self portrait, Bedroom at Arles); Toulouse-Lautrec (The Jockey, At the Moulin Rouge); Millet (Among others, The Song of the Lark - a peasant girl standing in the half-light, sickle in hand, listening intently - and the equally rural Bringing Home the Newborn Calf). Another monumental work is Georges Seurat’s painstakingly perfect pointillist masterpiece, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.

Chinese, Japanese and Korean Art converge in a glorious display of carved jades and serene Buddhas, ferocious warriors and mettlesome ceramic stallions glazed in vivid yellows, greens, and browns. There are delicate silk paintings, brocaded costumes - and most abundant of all - porcelain. These range from delicate green teapots to pale blue jun pottery, glazed with purple-red.

Beyond the Paperweight Collection, which houses hundreds of largely French glass paperweights in floral designs, lie the European Arts. These galleries contains everyday art: carved furniture, ornate mirrors, crystal, and porcelain- Wedgwood, Dresden, and Sèvres.

The American Arts galleries, similarly, have furniture, silverware, paintings, and sculpture. Many stalwarts are represented - John Singer Sargent (Mrs George Swinton is very impressive); Winslow Homer (the silvery fish in The Herring Net almost writhe as they’re hauled into the tossing boat); and one of my favourites - Mary Cassatt. The Bath, depicting a mother bathing her little girl, is heartwarmingly tender. Another must-see in this section are Frederic Remington’s metal sculptures. One is of four cowboys, racing their horses so fast, only six of the sixteen hooves touch the ground!

And if you have children in tow, do check out one last gallery, the Thorne Miniature Rooms. Each room, only about a foot each side, is a perfect miniature replica of a typical historical room - mainly American or European, though there are Chinese and Japanese rooms too. There are bedrooms, living rooms, libraries, drawing rooms, dining rooms, even kitchens, all the way from Louis XIV through Victorian England, to 1930s Paris, to New Mexico, Virginia, wherever. Everything- furniture, upholstery, utensils, books, toys, paintings - is a perfect miniature. Utterly enchanting!

The Institute is open from 10am to 5 or 6pm, depending upon the season. Tickets are $12 per adult; there are discounts for senior citizens and students.

From its very humble begins as the Chicago Academy of Design in 1866, the Art Institute of Chicago has grown into a world-class Art Museum and School. It has hosted many traveling exhibits over the years, in addition to its own very fine collection. The current main building was designed in 1893 by the Boston firm of Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge. The building has been expanded and added to over the years but still holds true to its neoclassical design.

What they are known for in particular is their collection of Impressionists, both American and French. Though their first major acquisition was a collection of Dutch masters.

Visiting here does not come cheap, with entrance at $12 a person. Thursday evenings from 5 to 8pm are free. In addition, you will want to take the headphone tour, which is an additional $6. There are discounted rates for seniors and children. There is a special tour, especially for children. We accidentally listen to several of the offerings, and they are very good. We found the director's tour particularly interesting.

Let me begin by saying this is a beautiful museum, and the rooms are light and bright and well set up. Having said that, this has got to be the most confusing museum I have ever visited. Because it is made up of several different buildings, the flow is not easy. It is very difficult to find some of the galleries, and the maps are not much help. There are two different sets of elevators to the upper floors, and to see the full collections you need to use both of them. Don’t be afraid to ask for directions.

We began our visit in the café, which is in the far rear of the lower floor. When we left, it seemed natural to view what was the closest which was the ancient art section. There was a beautiful collection of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman items. I am always in awe of the glassware that has survived 2,000 years; mine at home seldom survives 10 years. The audio tour was our guide to the import pieces in the collection.

From here, we passed through a small exhibit of Renaissance jewelry, which led right into the modern furniture of Frank Lloyd Wright. The desk is of particular interest, since he didn’t do a lot of office furniture and this was done for the Johnson Wax Co.

There is a particularly nice section of American historic paintings and furniture. It is done very well and highlights the work of Winslow Homer on one whole wall. If you have ever wondered where Grant Wood’s "American Gothic" is located, look no further.

The Old Masters Collection is very deep here. Two Rembrandts, Rubens, Goya, Cranach, and much more.

Allow 3 or more hours for your visit here.

Go to Art Institute for general information. The Art Institute does not have its own parking—keep that in mind.

The Art Institute of Chicago is home to one of the finest collections of art in the Western Hemisphere, including the largest collection of Impressionist works outside the Louvre.

The Art Institute welcomes a new director this year (James Cuno) and also has changed a long-standing Chicago favorite: the Tuesday free admission day will no longer be the night they are open late. Instead, extended hours will be on Thursdays. The museum is open daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas, from 10:30am to 4:30pm weekdays and 10:30am to 5pm on weekends. The Art Institute has a "suggested admission" policy, which means "Pay what you wish but you must pay something." Adults suggested admission has been raised to $12.

The Art Institute is located on the west side of Grant Park in the heart of Downtown. From the main entrance on Michigan Avenue, you are presented with several choices of directions. The museum is basically shaped like a giant "E". To your right, as you enter, is the Museum Shop, an extensive and high quality gift shop (for which you can also shop via Internet). However, all exhibits are beyond the entry desk, either up the Grand Staircase or beyond it.

Downstairs, there is the Garden Restaurant, which is good although a little pricey (as most museum cafés tend to be), the Textiles hall, an extensive paperweight collection (I love this gallery - I find glass working fascinating), European Decorative Arts, Architecture, Photography, and various classroom/workshop spaces. I have not been through these rooms as much, but there are some very nice pieces here. (You’d think that somebody who loves photography as much as I do would have, at least, seen the Photography gallery!)

On the entry level, close to the entrance, you will find the African and Ancient American galleries, Contemporary Art, and the Oriental galleries (Chinese, Japanese and Korean). To reach the Sculpture Court, American, Indian/Southeast Asian, and Ancient (Egyptian/Greek/Etruscan/Roman) galleries, you walk through the Arms and Armor exhibit. I love the AI's Arms & Armor exhibit - it's probably my favorite part of the museum. There is a fairly sizeable collection, with one of their most noteworthy pieces being a set of ornate Italian inlaid armor.

Upstairs, you can find their extensive European, Impressionism/post-Impressionism, and Modern galleries, as well as their Special Exhibitions hall, which plays hosts to several major exhibitions per year. In fact, the AI is often the solitary American stop on some major art tours. Some past exhibits the Art Institute has hosted have included Monet and the Sea, a Rembrandt perspective, Van Gogh and Gauguin, and Chinese arts.

The best times to go for a visit are weekdays afternoons, when the school tours have gone for the day and you'll find the museum is a bit quieter. Allow a minimum of 2 hours for your visit - there is lots of wonderful art to be explored!

Among the most famous works of art in the Art Institute's collections are the first that you will encounter on your visit. The pair of bronze lions standing guard at the main entrance to the museum on Michigan Avenue was unveiled on May 10, 1894 and was adopted almost instantaneously by Chicagoans as a proud symbol of the city's most prestigious art museum. Over the years the lions have come to symbolize the strength of the city, appearing on guidebook covers and tour maps.

Lions as guardians have an ancient history. The fierceness, strength, and grace of the regal animal led people in early history to adopt it as a symbol of royalty and guardianship. The Lion Gate at Mycenae (1300 BC), the parade of lions on the walls of Babylon (6th Cent. BC), and Emperor Asoka's lion columns in India (240 BC) are only a few examples. The Art Institute lions follow that famous tradition.

The lions that guard the entrance today were derived from two lions that were previously sculpted for the Palace of Fine Arts at the World's Columbian Exposition. The lion that watchfully stands on the north side of the entrance with his tail arched in attention is said to be "On the Prowl", while the other big cat that guards the south side of the museum was christened "Defiance" .

Their creator Edward Kemys was a self taught sculptor who was the most famous of the 19th-century school of animal sculptors. His artistic philosophy was to shun any sculpture that needed a professor to explain it.

I am certain that the artist would approve all the years of attention that the lion pair has had. Countless hands have rubbed away the patina on their tails and millions of photos have been taken by tourists and residents alike take standing beside these icons. They have there own special annual winter ceremonial day when the "Wreathing of the Lions" announces that the Christmas season in Chicago has officially begun. The Holiday lights can then be lit and shopping begins in earnest!

Way back in 1986, these lions where the first to celebrate the Bear’s Super Bowl victory by proudly donning custom made blue and orange team helmets. And more recently, when the entrance portico was under going reconstruction in 2000 the lions were one by one gingerly, carefully relocated to the North Garden by a specialized crew. For the duration of the renovation of their side of the entry, the bronze creatures lived in their own patina dens like their real cousins and being treated just like the celebrities that they are to Chicagoans.

Built in 1893 to highlight the Columbian Exposition, this classic building not only houses a collection of 300,000 pieces of art, but it contains the world known art school training the Michaelangelos of the future.

I must confess to you that I run around visiting my favorite pieces each and every time....as if they are long lost loves of my life !

Begin in the European collection and take extra moments to gaze at Renoir's "Acrobats of the Circus" and anything from Paris.....Monet, Seurat (A Sunday on la Grande Jatte), Degas,Gauguin (in his island stage), Caillebotte (Paris Street;Rainy day).

By now my husband is restless, so he will leave and go to the collection of armour and weapons, while I head to the American Collection !

Of course, Anything by Mary Cassett-take your pick, it's all wonderful ! check out Winslow HOmers "Croquette Scene" For a quirky fix I run over to the Remington area. Most known for his bronze work, this guy really tried it all ! I find it so bizarre that he did most of the oil paintings here in black,white, and greys immitating photography !

In the meantime, my husband has probably viewed the photography collection which is another of his favorites since photography is his hobby.

We meet upstairs for lunch (unless it is an exceptional day to sit in the outdoor enclosed patio). The Restaurant on the Park serves lunch MOnday through Saturday from 11-2:30 and has a grand time showing you how edible food can be presented as an art form ( and be yummy too !) Featuring linen tablecloths and uniformed waiters as a set-up for the sensual pleasures to come hot or cold to your table. I don't care what you order; you'll love it ! Slip into total gluttonous abandon by ordering dessert....if you can make a choice among the generous selection.

After lunch, take in the special exhibits (currently : Bonnard, Vuillard,Denis and Roussel--1890-1930) Audio tapes are a good way to add to your enjoyment here.

Wander the ancient collections from 3000 B.C. in many cultures with the remaining hours of the day. Whatever you do....don't miss the gift shop ! It is the most amazing place for notecards, journals, art books, jewelry......members receive 20 % savings !