Chicago is one of the world's great cities, sure of itself and in better shape than it has been for generations. Many old-timers attribute its revival to Mayor Richard M. Daley, who has been in office since 1989 and is routinely referred to as ''mayor for life.'' Detractors complain about his bare-knuckle tactics, but admirers say his record is an argument for the benevolent-dictator form of government.

Whatever the cause, Chicago looks great these days -- despite a sanitation workers' strike. Public gardens have sprouted, downtown avenues are aglitter, and development projects are revitalizing many outlying neighborhoods. The city is still afflicted with crime, poor schools and the rest of what blights urban America, but it is also invigorating proof that big cities can be well run.

Visitors cannot hope to absorb everything Chicago has to offer, but they can have great fun trying. This is one of the world's architectural capitals, the home of urban blues music, a great city for shopping, dining, museumgoing and seeing theater. Public transportation works well, so a jaunt to hot neighborhoods like Bucktown or Wicker Park is just a $1.50 fare away.

A remarkable aspect of Chicago is its waterfront. The city is long and skinny, hugging the Lake Michigan shoreline. There are parks, bike trails and public beaches along most of the way, with spectacular skyscrapers forming an exciting and often awe-inspiring backdrop.

Events

The Lyric Opera and Chicago Symphony Orchestra are at the center of this city's rich cultural life. During October the opera presents two very different works, Mozart's ''Marriage of Figaro,'' with Wayne Tigges and Isabel Bayrakdarian, and Marc Blitzstein's ''Regina,'' based on Lillian Hellman's ''Little Foxes,'' and with Catherine Malfitano in the title role. Order tickets, from $29 to $164, at www.lyricopera.org or (312) 332-2244, extension 5600.

Symphony Center's opening-night gala is Oct. 18, an all-Tchaikovsky program with Daniel Barenboim conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, to be followed by a dinner dance. Tickets, from $14 to $176, are available at www.cso.org or (312) 294-3000; gala tickets are $500 to $1,750, at (312) 294-3185. (312) 294-3185. Sir Andrew Davis conducts a program of music inspired by Shakespeare on Nov. 8 and 11, and Sir Simon Rattle brings the Berlin Philharmonic to town on Nov. 19.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, is marking it with a show that runs till Jan. 17, including portraits, maps and a manuscript revised in the queen's hand with her reply to Parliament's suggestion that she marry. Free of charge, closed Sunday; information: (312) 255-3700 or www.newberry.org/elizabeth.

The famous Second City troupe at 1616 North Wells Street, where many fine comic actors, from Alan Arkin to John Belushi to Mike Myers, have launched their careers, has a hot new show called ''Pants on Fire,'' which imagines a world in which everyone tells the truth. In the opening skit, a White House spokesman is asked why the United States invaded Iraq, and replies, ''We're taking over the world.'' Information: www.second city.com or (312) 337-3992. Performances Thursday to Sunday; tickets $17 and $19.

Hyde Park, where the University of Chicago has its main campus, is home to the Court Theater, 5535 South Ellis Avenue, which through Nov. 2 is staging a new opera by Philip Glass and David Henry Hwang, based on the fantasies of a Japanese writer and an aging warrior. Tickets, $35 to $50, are available at (773) 753-4472 or www.courttheatre.org.

Hyde park also boasts two rich but often overlooked museums. The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, 5550 South Greenwood Avenue, (773) 702-0200 or at www.smartmuseum.uchicago.edu, is presenting a show of drawings, collages and other works on paper by Abstract Expressionists including Willem de Kooning and Hans Hofmann; it runs through Dec. 7. The nearby Oriental Institute, at 1155 East 58th Street, (773) 702-9514, www.oi.uchicago.edu, has a spectacular collection of Persian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian artifacts. Admission to both museums is free; both are closed Mondays.

Theater is one of Chicago's glories, and this autumn the two most recent Pulitzer-winning plays are among stage offerings. Suzan-Lori Parks's ''Topdog/Underdog,'' which won in 2002, is at Steppenwolf, 1650 North Halsted Street, (312) 335-1650, www .steppenwolf.org, till Nov. 2. Tickets $42 to $52. The 2003 winner, ''Anna in the Tropics,'' by Nilo Cruz and directed by Henry Godinez, is at Victory Gardens, 2257 North Lincoln Avenue, (773) 871-3000 or www.victory gardens.org, till Oct. 26; $30 to $35.

The Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman, who entranced Broadway audiences with her dreamlike ''Metamorphoses,'' looks at the dark side of children's fairy tales in her new work, ''The Secret in the Wings,'' playing till Nov. 23 at the new Lookingglass Theater, 821 North Michigan Avenue, (312) 337-0665, www.lookingglasstheatre.org. Tickets, $15 to $55.

Revivals on the autumn schedule include ''The Lion in Winter,'' through Nov. 30 at TimeLine Theater, 615 West Wellington Avenue, (773) 281-8463, www.timelinetheatre.com (tickets $22), and ''Guys and Dolls,'' Oct. 18 to Nov. 16 at Rising Stars, 6850 West Addison Street, (773) 736-2490, www.rising starstc.org ($12).

Sightseeing

Downtown Chicago used to mean just the historic central core, known as the Loop, but it has expanded in several directions, one of them the chic gallery-and-shopping district called River North. Michigan Avenue runs past many of the city's most popular attractions.

For a long stroll along Michigan Avenue, start at the Art Institute, an encyclopedic museum. Walk north through Grant Park, where a wild-looking band shell designed by Frank Gehry is taking shape. Cross the Chicago River into River North, pausing at the bridge to contemplate the magnificent urban landscape that surrounds you.

The next dozen blocks take you along the ''Magnificent Mile'' of clothing stores, high-end boutiques and luxury hotels. There are also two quirky museums. At the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 East Chicago Avenue, (312) 280-2660, www.mca chicago.org, a show called ''Strange Days'' shows how contemporary artists portray daily life ($10). Nearby, at 664 North Michigan Avenue (next to a popular gourmet popcorn store), is the Terra Museum of American Art, www.terramuseum.org or (312) 664-3939, where admission is free. Both museums are closed Mondays.

For a more informed view of the cityscape, take a walking tour (or one on a boat through Nov. 2) sponsored by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Costs range from $10 to $25; for details call (312) 922-3432.

Where to Stay

The 122-room boutique-style Burnham at 1 West Washington Street, (866) 690-1986, fax (312) 782-0899 or www.burnhamhotel.com, is in a historic Loop building across from Marshall Field's department store. It is named for the architect Daniel Burnham, who helped plan Chicago and proclaimed the famous dictum, ''Make no small plans.'' The 1895 building, painstakingly restored, has mahogany writing desks and suites with bay windows and canopied beds. Doubles, $159 to $329.

Budget: The 357-room Best Western Inn of Chicago, 162 East Ohio Street, (800) 557-2378, fax (312) 573-3136 or at www.bestwestern.com/prop--14101, is close to Michigan Avenue shops. Rooms are small but comfortable, and there is a roof garden from which to enjoy both the skyline and the lake. Doubles start at $99.

It's a healthy walk from the shopping strip to the 254-room Essex Inn, 800 South Michigan Avenue, (800) 621-6909, fax (312) 922-6153, www .essexinn.com, but the Essex is closer to the Art Institute, the Field Museum of Natural History and Soldier Field, where the Chicago Bears play. There is a newly renovated enclosed rooftop pool, and some weekend packages include Bears tickets. Doubles, $89 to $199.

Luxury: For old-fashioned elegance, try the Drake, 140 East Walton Place, (800) 553-7253, fax (312) 787-1431, www.thedrakehotel.com, attracting celebrities, heads of state and other demanding guests since 1920. There are 537 rooms, including some with spectacular views of Lake Michigan. Modern amenities like on-demand video complement an Old World feel. Doubles, $139 to $369.

Among the city's half-dozen top hotels is the 435-room Ritz-Carlton, 160 East Pearson Street, (312) 266-1000, fax (312) 266-1194, www.fourseasons .com/chicagorc, which offers indoor access to the Water Tower shopping mall. Rooms have high ceilings, picture windows, overstuffed chairs and cherry-wood armoires. Doubles run from $315 to $585.

Where to Eat

A visit to Chicago is not complete without a steak, and a favorite local steak house is the venerable Gene and Georgetti at 500 North Franklin Street, (312) 527-3718. It has the feel of a club in which an emotional tie to Chicago is the only criterion for membership. There is also seafood and pasta, but why bother? Lunch and dinner daily except Sunday. Dinner for two with wine is $130.

The Chicago area has a huge Mexican population, reflected in countless taquer? and several sophisticated Mexican restaurants. Among the best of the latter is Chilpancingo, 358 West Ontario Street, (312) 266-9525, where subtle mole sauces, served on several dishes including ostrich, are a specialty. The walls are hung with Mexican art. Lunch and dinner daily. Dinner for two with tequila, $120.

A popular spot in funky Bucktown is Jane's at 1655 West Cortland Street, (773) 862-5263, in a lovely brick building outside the city center. The menu includes steak and pasta but also imaginative dishes like black grouper seared with sake and ginger; closed for lunch but there is a popular brunch on weekends. Dinner for two with wine is about $60.

The Chicago hot dog, topped with condiments that provide an array of tastes, textures and colors, is a deeply rooted tradition, and among many joints that honor it is Hot Doug's, 2314 West Roscoe Street, in the Roscoe Village neighborhood; (773) 348-0326. What pulls this place above the competition is the proprietor's dedication to high-end sausages like one made from lamb, garlic and mint. This is a true temple to the glory of encased meats. Lunch only, Monday to Saturday. A family of four can eat heartily for $25.

Night Life

Few clubs anywhere offer a wider range of first-rate world music, from wildly vibrant Afro-pop to avant-garde jazz, than Hot House, 31 East Balbo Street, (312) 362-9708, www .hothouse.net. Coming highlights include Burhan Ocal and the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble Oct. 17 and the Brazilian singer Virginia Rodrigues Oct. 31. Cover charge, from zero to $25.

There is still a vibrant blues scene in Chicago, but it's not as easy to find as it once was. Perhaps the best blues club in town is Rosa's Lounge, 3420 West Armitage Avenue, run by an Italian blues drummer who couldn't resist Chicago's pull (and whose mother, Rosa, tends bar all night long). Fans sit in front under a large portrait of Vaclav Havel, or play pool in back. Schedules are at (773) 342-0452 or www.rosaslounge.com. Cover charge, $5 to $15.

Photos: Burnham Hotel lobby. An architecture tour on the Chicago River. A scene from ''Topdog/Underdog'' at the Steppenwolf Downstairs. (Photo by Michael Brosilow); (Photographs by Steve Kagan for The New York Times)

Chart: ''Vital Statistics'' lists travel information and statistics on Chicago, Illinois. (Sources: Runzheimer International, U.S. Census Bureau, Fodor's World Weather Guide, local businesses)

Map of Chicago highlighting points of interest.