Cubs games are another defining part of the Chicago experience.

Cubs games are pretty regular (during the regular season), and tickets are easy to get. They can cost anywhere from $10 to $50 depending on what seat you get. Inside the Wrigley field there are tons of hot dog vendors (selling Chicago style hot dogs of course, but also pizza, burgers, etc). There are many restaurants and bars around the stadium if you're hungry when you leave, but I'd recommend going a couple El train stop away or else you'll get caught in a mad rush.

The games are plenty of fun, there are pretty regular give aways at the gates and from surveys, etc. I got a free little Snoopy doll (Given at gates) and a free fleece Cubs blanket (bank survey). You can also bring food and drinks in if you want, just not a huge cooler (you could try haha).

Transportation to the field is easy enough, there are major thoroughfares around it, but parking is rough. My suggestion is to park several El Stations away, and to ride a bus, or catch the El, or just walk (the nearest stations are two blocks away from the field.

The games are pretty fun, even though the Cubs haven't been awesome recently. The games are never jam packed, but they can be busy. It is easy to get a large group in, but you should get tickets ahead of time.

All in all Cub's games and Wrigley field are a great way to relax and enjoy the summer and fall nights. With the sights and sounds of a ball park, especially one with such history, nothing can go wrong (except rain).

Just the name of the street --- Astor --- conveys an image of prestige and power. Indeed, Astor St. WAS the home of many of turn-of-the-century Chicago’s wealthiest families, and some of their mansions still stand. Strolling past them is a great way of unwinding after a day of power shopping on Michigan Ave.

The southernmost block of Astor St. now contains many high-rise condos and isn’t as attractive as it used to be. So, let’s start our walking tour at Division St. and North State Parkway and admire a mansion with a different sort of notoriety: The conjoined buildings at 1336-1340 N. State are the former Playboy Mansion --- the late Hiugh Heffner’s infamous "Bunny Hutch".

Continue north to Schiller and turn toward the lake. At the intersection of Schiller and Astor is the Charnley House, built in 1892 by the firm of Louis Sullivan, an employer and mentor of Frank Lloyd Wright. Walk north along Astor and imagine yourself living in one of the magnificent old greystones you’ll pass. The Patterson-McCormick Mansion, 1500 Astor, is an even statelier example of Prairie School design. (The "McCormick" was Cyrus R., who reaped a fortune from inventing the first successful mechanical grain harvester.) This isn’t a Wright building, but there are several of his works --- including his own home --- in nearby Oak Park.

Admire the parkway gardens --- gardening is a competitive sport here --- as you continue north to The Cardinal’s Residence. This angular brick mansion, with nearly a score of chimneys, has been the official residence of Chicago’s Roman Catholic archbishops for a century and a half. In the late 1970s, I watched the then-Pope address congregants from its balcony.

If it’s a pleasant day, you can enjoy magnicient views of Navy Pier, the north end of the Magnificent Mile, and the Chicago skylne by walking a block east to the lake, through a pedestrian underpass beneath Outer Lake Shore Drive, and as far out as you care to venture onto the breakwater at North Ave. Beach.

The quirky Museum of Surgical Science is in the 1500 block of Inner Lake Shore drive, just south of the pedestrian underpass. It normally charges admission to its collection of centuries-old medical tools and memorabilia, but is free on Tuesdays.

You can walk back along the lakefront seawall to Michigan Ave. or swing back west through the Gold Coast for some garden-walking.

Chicago’s Latin motto, Urbs in Horto means "City in a Garden." Some of Chicago’s finest private gardens are along North Dearborn Parkway, a block west of State and the Cardinal’s Residence. You can follow Dearborn back to Division St. and catch a subway train back to the Loop, or, better yet, turn back north and visit Lincoln Park

On summer weekends, when the Cubs are out of town, you can take a tour or Wrigley Field. For a $10 donation to the charity Cubs Care, you will get a great behind-the-scenes look at beautiful Wrigley Field. Tickets will need to be purchased in advance through Ticketmaster because it sells out every time. You will tour the press box, Cubs locker room, the Cubs dugout, the bleachers and more. You will learn about the security system, the scoreboard, movies filmed at Wrigley (like "A League of Their Own" starring Madonna). You can ask questions of your host - like what do the players eat before a game? Bring a ball and glove because you will be able to play catch on the field and take all the pictures you want - even in the on-deck circle!

Over the years, I've spent many, many afternoons at Wrigley Field. This is one of the highlights of any Chicago trip; obviously, the baseball schedule will determine whether or not you have an opportunity to attend a game.

Most games start at 1.20pm. Some start later. The best way to kick off a day in Wrigleyville is to arrive early and preparty in the neighborhood. The stadium is practically surrounded by bars and restaurants. The Cubbybear is probably the most famous, but it's also the most touristy. On game day, a can of Miller Lite will be four or five bucks. Go a block away to Texas Star Fajita Bar for some decent Tex-Mex. On Sheffield (beyond the right field wall) there are two bars: Murphy's and the Sports Corner. Both are good places to primer.

If you have the prized bleacher seats, you might want to enter the gates early (at least 1 hour before game time) if you actually want a decent seat. On hot days in the summer, the most comfortable "seat" is to simply stand against the chain-link fence in right or left field, behind the seating area. You're simply a few feet farther away from the field, and you get a decent breeze.

Stick around through at least the seventh inning - sometimes someone halfway famous will sing. I've seen Jimmy Buffett do the seventh-inning stretch in the past. If anyone halfway cool is in town for a concert, there's a decent chance they'll sing at Wrigley. Always fun to see who it will be (just hope it's not Da Coach).

After the game, postparty in the neighborhood or walk a couple blocks away for any one of the good restaurants in the area. Sheffield's in a fun place...a few blocks south on Sheffield.

Note about tickets: Bleacher tickets can be hard to get, especially if a division rival is in town or if there's a good pitching matchup (i.e., Kerry Wood vs. Anybody). In fact, bleacher seats to almost all of the premium games sell out before the season even starts. If you are serious about attending a Cubs game, try to line up your tickets ahead of time, either by buying them the day the go on sale (in Feb. 2002), picking one of the rare games with tickets will available (Marlins, etc.), or get seats to the game you want via an online broker (at a premium, of course). If you really want to experience Wrigley, I would definitely advise getting into the bleachers, but I would not advise relying on the (semi-illegal) scalping scene on game day to get your tickets. It can be done, but if you show up on a Friday and it happens to be Wood vs. the Unit, you will be watching the game from Murphy's. The bleachers may not be suitable for young children, as it can be quite a debaucherous and well-hydrated crowd.

Wrigley Field, one of the great icons of American Sports, opened April 23, 1914, and is home to the Chicago Cubs. The second-oldest major league ballpark in the country (second only to Boston's Fenway, 1912) holds a special place in the heart of many a ball fan. Chicago is one of the few cities that sports two major league baseball teams: the Cubs in the National League and the White Sox in the American League. It is one of the great Chicago dreams to see a cross-town World Series.

The Cubs are the "loveable losers" of baseball, having failed to win a World Series since 1908 (95 years and still counting). Will the "goat curse" ever truly be lifted from the Cubs?

It's easy to get to Wrigley Field -- just jump on the Red Line "L" and get off at Addison -- you can see into the field from the platform. There's no official parking at the field; local merchants and homeowners hawk their parking spaces for $5-20 on game days.

On the streets that flank the stadium, you can find all kinds of sports bars, memorabilia shops and ticket brokers (book your tickets online or buy them at the ball park, $14 and up). The 2004 season is almost sold out due to the near miss that the Cubs had with the World Series last year. You can tell if the Cubs won or lost their game today (home or away) by looking for the "W" or "L" flag atop the scoreboard.

The Wrigley Field tour (cost $15) runs on weekends throughout the summer and takes approximately 90 minutes. On the tour you visit a number of areas of the stadium, including the Cubs clubhouse, visitors clubhouse, dugouts, playing field, bleachers, mezzanine suites, press box, and security headquarters. Cameras are permitted on tours.

Wrigley has also been host to some of the most memorable moments in baseball. Among them is Babe Ruth's famous "called shot" in the third game of the 1932 World Series, when Ruth allegedly pointed to a bleacher location when he came to bat, and then hit the next pitch for a homer. Pete Rose also hit his 4191st career hit here, which tied him with Ty Cobb for the most hits in baseball history. On the trivia side, Wrigley still sports its original scoreboard from 1937, and in nearly 70 years of play, no batter has ever hit the scoreboard.

A die-hard Chicago tradition is partying on rooftops and nowhere is that more celebrated than the rooftops around Wrigley. After a lengthy battle where the park owners planned to construct obstructions to non-ticket-buying spectators, an agreement was reached and the Cubs-sanctioned Ballpark Rooftops organization was born. Member rooftops pay 17% of earnings to the Cubs, and in return, fans get one of the most unique experiences in major league ball.

Cubs baseball is as much about the fans as the players. Come see a game!