Christmas holiday shopping in Chicago

Chicago, America's third biggest city, is packed exciting shops, from department stores to traditional shops and boutiques.

With exchange rates giving holidaymakers lot of dollar for their pound, the city's many stores make it ideal for Christmas shopping.

One of Chicago's best known shopping streets is North Michigan Avenue, a mile-long stretch that has contains four different malls, and nearly 500 shops, including the jewellers Tiffany & Co., and the popular brand Abercrombie & Fitch and the Apple computer store.

The street is also home to the excellent department store Bloomingdale's, interiors specialist Crate & Barrel, as well as up-market brands such as Cartier, Chanel and Louis Vuitton.

A unique shop just off North Michigan Avenue, American Girl Place, is a three-storey emporium devoted to all things girly - which includes being able to create your own doll with matching outfits available to go with it, find hundreds of doll accessories as well as the option of taking etiquette lessons for any would-be princesses.

Some of the oldest shops in Chicago's downtown area, which locals call The Loop, are on State Street, including the department store that inspired London's Selfridges.

Marshall Field's (now a Macy's) is the second largest department store in the world and like its British counterpart offers personal and express shopping services and custom-made solutions for holidaymakers with big budgets.

However, the store also has a supermarket-style guide to special savings on food and shopping as well as complimentary guided tours and free delivery within a five-mile radius for the more budget conscious.

For designer boutiques Oak Street is a top spot, with names including Prada, Kate Spade and Sonia Rykiel, and many small other boutiques can be found on North Milwaukee Avenue, with Language, Silver Room, Scoop NYC, Hejfina, Jade and Saint Alfred worth noting.

A traditional Chicago shopping experience can be had at the Garrett Popcorn Shop, selling gourmet popcorn complete with festive packaging.

Less traditional is Christkindlmarket - a European-style Christmas market selling German gifts and local specialities from November 25th to December 22nd.

Ebookers, Virgin Holidays, Thomson Holidays and Major Travel are among the operators offering special shopping-based package holidays to Chicago.

For more information on Chicago and Illinois see www.gochicago.com XXX