The 2nd Trip: Chicago and the Great American West

Chicago rises along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the third-largest city in the United States and the acknowledged birthplace of the modern skyscraper: here, after the Great Fire of 1871, American architecture reinvented itself, giving rise to one of the most famous skylines in the world. Its beating heart is the Loop, the business district encircled by the elevated 'L' train, where masterpieces by Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright stand side by side. A short walk leads to Millennium Park, with the gleaming 'Cloud Gate' sculpture (nicknamed 'The Bean' by locals) and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion designed by Frank Gehry. Nearby, the Art Institute of Chicago, one of America's great museums, guards Impressionist masterpieces and Grant Wood's celebrated 'American Gothic'. Along the water, the Chicago Riverwalk offers another vantage on the city, while the boats of the Architecture River Cruise glide between the façades, recounting a century and a half of building ingenuity. Toward the lake, Navy Pier with its Ferris wheel and the Magnificent Mile, the elegant stretch of Michigan Avenue lined with shops and hotels, set the rhythm of city life. Yet Chicago is also music and flavour: the home of electric blues and jazz resounds in the clubs of the South Side, while its tables serve the hearty deep-dish pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs and the food markets of lively neighbourhoods such as Pilsen and West Loop. Rising to the 412-metre Skydeck of the Willis Tower, the gaze sweeps across the lake and the boundless Illinois plain. A city of lakes and skyscrapers, of jazz and bold architecture, Chicago reveals itself on foot, amid the gusts that earned it the nickname 'Windy City' and the unmistakable energy of the American Midwest.

Denver stretches out at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, exactly one mile above sea level, hence its famous nickname of the "Mile High City". Capital of Colorado, it is a dynamic, open-air metropolis, the ideal gateway to the great wild expanses of the American West, where urban energy meets a passion for nature and mountain sports. Its historic core is LoDo (Lower Downtown), a district of nineteenth-century red-brick warehouses skilfully restored and now alive with craft breweries, galleries and venues. Here stands the splendid Union Station, an elegant railway terminal transformed into a lively gathering place of cafés, restaurants and shops. Nearby, the pedestrian 16th Street Mall cuts through the commercial and financial centre, while the Colorado State Capitol, with its gold-leafed dome, dominates the Civic Center. The city boasts a notable arts scene, with the boldly designed Denver Art Museum and the creative RiNo (River North) district, a realm of street art and breweries, for Denver is considered one of America's craft-beer capitals. Culture lovers will find nearby the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, a natural amphitheatre set among towering red rock formations, among the most spectacular concert arenas in the world. Its privileged location makes Denver the perfect base from which to explore Rocky Mountain National Park, the ski resorts of Aspen and Vail, and Colorado's endless alpine landscapes. The local table reflects the frontier spirit, with grilled meats, Tex-Mex cuisine and local produce, to be paired with one of the city's countless beers. Between gleaming skyscrapers, mountain trails and more than three hundred days of sunshine a year, Denver invites you to fully embrace the adventure of the West, with one foot in the city and your gaze turned toward the peaks.

Cheyenne guards the authentic soul of the American Wild West in the southeastern corner of Wyoming, of which it is the capital. Grown as a hub of the transcontinental railroad, the city retains elegant Victorian buildings and the imposing gold-domed State Capitol, but it is cowboy culture above all that defines its identity. Every summer it hosts Cheyenne Frontier Days, the world's largest outdoor rodeo, a genuine celebration of horses, lassos and frontier traditions that draws visitors from far and wide. The Wyoming State Museum and the Cowgirls of the West Museum tell the story of the prairies and of those who tamed them, while the Big Boy, one of the largest steam locomotives ever built, recalls the epic age of the rails. Amid boundless prairie, vast skies and the plainspoken hospitality of the West, Cheyenne is the gateway to the natural wonders of the Rocky Mountains.

Hot Springs is a historic spa town in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, known for its natural hot springs and for the elegant pink-sandstone buildings that characterise its historic centre. Here lies the Mammoth Site, an extraordinary paleontological deposit where dozens of mammoth skeletons trapped in an ancient sinkhole have been found. The nearby Wind Cave National Park holds one of the most complex caves in the world. Between thermal waters, fossils and caves, Hot Springs is a surprising destination in the Black Hills.

Rapid City rises at the foot of South Dakota's Black Hills and has earned its nickname as the "Gateway to Mount Rushmore," the famous memorial carved into the rock a short drive away. The town is known for its "City of Presidents," a series of life-size bronze statues of American presidents scattered across downtown street corners, and for Art Alley, a lane entirely covered in murals. From here, scenic byways lead to Custer State Park, with its free-roaming bison, the granite spires of the Needles, and the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial, dedicated to the history of the Lakota people. Further east unfold the lunar landscapes of Badlands National Park. An ideal base for exploring the wild nature of the American Midwest, Rapid City blends outdoor adventure with historical memory.

Founded in 1896 by the legendary Buffalo Bill Cody, this Wyoming town is the eastern gateway to Yellowstone National Park, reached along the spectacular Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway. Cody preserves the authentic soul of the Old West: the Buffalo Bill Center of the West brings together five museums devoted to the frontier, art, firearms and Native Americans, while every summer evening the Cody Nite Rodeo revives the adrenaline of the rodeo. All around, canyons, dams and prairies open the way to the geysers and wildlife of Yellowstone.

You travel along the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway, which follows the Shoshone River through the forest and the highest mountains in Wyoming, with very diverse landscapes: expanses of wild sagebrush, fir forests, glaciers, with a wildlife including elk, deer, mountain goats, grizzly bears, and brown bears. Established in 1872 as the world's first national park, Yellowstone spreads across a volcanic plateau between Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, holding one of the most extraordinary concentrations of geothermal phenomena on the planet. Here the famous Old Faithful geyser erupts at regular intervals, while the Grand Prismatic Spring dazzles with its rings of shifting colours and the limestone terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs form surreal landscapes. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, carved by the river of the same name, plunges into spectacular waterfalls between golden walls. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park is also a wildlife sanctuary where bison, elk, grizzly bears and wolf packs can be spotted, especially in the Lamar Valley. Among forests, alpine lakes and meadows, Yellowstone offers hikes, wildlife safaris and the thrill of a primordial, powerful nature, a symbol of the American wilderness.

The landscape between Yellowstone and Jackson Hole is marked by the picturesque Teton Mountains, which rise steeply from the flat prairie between lakes, waterfalls, and forests inhabited by elk and bison. The highest peak is the Grand Teton, which exceeds 4,000 meters. Jackson Hole is a broad Wyoming valley framed by the jagged peaks of Grand Teton National Park, the southern gateway to Yellowstone and a kingdom of outdoor activities. The lively town of Jackson welcomes visitors with its famous arches made of elk antlers, art galleries, saloons and western boutiques. Don't miss a visit to the National Elk Refuge, a winter sanctuary for around 8,000 elk, and the adjacent National Museum of Wildlife Art. Along the Snake River, rafting and canoe trips run through grand landscapes, while the National Elk Refuge shelters thousands of elk in winter, viewable from horse-drawn sleighs. To the north lies Yellowstone, the world's first national park, with its steaming geysers, iridescent hot springs and extraordinary wildlife of bison, bears and wolves. An ideal destination for those seeking wild nature, hiking and skiing.

Rock Springs rises on the arid highlands of southwestern Wyoming, a city born from coal mining along the historic transcontinental railroad. A crossroads of the great expanses of the West, it is a convenient base for exploring spectacular desert landscapes such as Flaming Gorge, a red-walled canyon carved by the Green River, and the deserts of the Killpecker Sand Dunes. The town retains a multicultural soul, the fruit of waves of miners from around the world. Between grand geology and frontier spirit, Rock Springs is an authentic Wyoming stop.

Grand Junction rises in the Colorado River valley at its confluence with the Gunnison, the main city of the state's western slope. Surrounded by spectacular scenery, it is an ideal base for visiting Colorado National Monument, with its red-rock canyons, and the orchards and vineyards of the Grand Valley. The lively pedestrian downtown and thriving food-and-wine scene round out the appeal. Grand Junction is the perfect destination for those seeking desert nature, mountain wines and outdoor adventure in western Colorado.