(FORTUNE Magazine) – AN HOUR: The Brachiosaurus that spent decades greeting visitors at the Field Museum of Natural History was recently bumped to make room for Sue, a T. rex moving in this spring. In its new home in the United terminal at O'Hare Airport, the four-story Brachiosaurus model looks more awesome than ever. If you're in the city, take a cab to Navy Pier for a stroll through the new Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows (312-595-5024).

AN AFTERNOON: Do a loop around the Loop on one of the terrific walking tours offered by the Chicago Architecture Foundation (312-922-3432). The daily afternoon tour--Modern and Beyond--covers ground from the Inland Steel building, the city's first postwar skyscraper, to Helmut Jahn's love-it-or-hate-it James R. Thompson Center. Afterward, raise a toast to the city's architectural history at the Atwood Cafe (1 West Washington Street, 312-368-1900), a handsome restaurant in the refurbished Reliance Building--reborn last year as the Hotel Burnham (in honor of Chicago architect Daniel Burnham). Erected in 1895, it was one of the first steel-and-glass skyscrapers.

AN EVENING: Start at Bin 36 (339 North Dearborn Street, 312-755-9463), a sprawling restaurant-wine bar-market from the owner of much-lauded Spruce. Then see a concert or show at one of the restored movie palaces in the Randolph Street theater district. Alternatively, watch A Midsummer Night's Dream, running through April 1 at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier (312-595-5600). Later, check out the city's thriving alt.country scene at the Hideout (1354 West Wabansia Avenue, 773-227-4433). The out-of-the-way beer-and-shot shack had been popular with workers at nearby factories until a few years ago, when new owners reimagined it as a haven for believers in old-school Nashville.

AN ENTIRE DAY: Neighborhood-hop on the South Side, starting in Hyde Park with the Museum of Science and Industry's Titanic exhibit, through Sept. 4 (773-684-1414). In Chinatown go for dim sum and skyline views at Phoenix (2131 South Archer Avenue, 312-328-0848), one of the city's best Chinese restaurants, then stock up at Ten Ren Tea & Ginseng Co. (2247 South Wentworth Avenue, 312-842-1171). In Pilsen, a Mexican enclave with an artistic bent, stop for coffee and the lowdown on the community's studios at Bic's Hardware Cafe (1733 South Halsted Street, 312-850-2884).

--TODD SAVAGE