Chicago is a warm and welcoming city that brings together the best of many metropolises in the US.

We’ve ridden the rattling L train around Chicago in search of our favourite hotels, from luxury lodgings in the Loop to a family-run find in a former publishing house across the river. We’ve taste-tested restaurants serving dazzling dishes from around the world, as well as the odd joint offering cheesy slices of deepdish pizza. Join us as we explore the museums and galleries shaking up the art world, and the improv clubs making us laugh until we cry. Plus, more than a handful of intimate bars at which to end – or extend – the night.

The magazine, Monocle, covers the world with its network of bureaus in New York, Toronto, Zurich, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Tokyo, and Singapore. It also employs more than 30 dedicated correspondents - in cities from Bangkok to Bogota, Sao Paolo to Stockholm - as well as a team of on-the-road reporters based out of its headquarters in London. This team's deep understanding of cities and all they have to offer has now been compiled in The Monocle Travel Guide Series.

Milan has a reputation for being industrious but look in the right places and you’ll discover that it also knows how to let its hair down. Don’t take our word for it: don your snappiest gear and see for yourself.

Few things will be handed to you on a plate in Milan – except, perhaps, a generous portion of rich and creamy risotto con ossobuco. The Lombard capital has an enviable wealth of restaurants, shops and galleries but the best are often hard to find. This is a city that rewards those who take the time to tap on a closed door and look beyond an unassuming stone façade. 

Naturally, as a mecca for fashion fans and design aficionados, Milan can also be a fast-paced and dizzying affair. That’s where we come in. We’ll steer you towards the top bars for a negroni and reveal our favourite spots in which to savour both innovative fare and authentic cucina Milanese. We’ve sifted through the city’s labyrinthine retail offering for the tailors making the sharpest suits and the homeware shops packed with rare finds. Plus the hotels that we long to hunker down in, from polished renaissance palazzos to cosy family-run boutiques.

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Monocle reports from around the globe in print, on radio, and online. As its editors and correspondents dart from city to city, they get to know the best places to rest their heads, stretch their limbs, and kick back with a contact in a hard-to-find cocktail bar. 

That information is now available in Monocle’s Travel Guide Series: a line-up of titles that speaks to you in an informed but informal way about everything from architecture to art, late-night bars to early-morning markets. These are books that go beyond the traditional tourist beats to make sure you get the best out of a city — no matter how short your stay. Designed to be compact and collectable, they are also discerning; Monocle’s team won’t list a hundred places to eat but they will tell you where’s best for everything from some tasty fast food to something truly celebratory. Cities are fun. Let’s explore.

Monocle’s latest book unpacks what makes a perfect shopping experience and offers tips on how to launch, design and run your own store.

Revealing Monocle’s 100 favorite shops worldwide, from the independent fashion boutique to the department store that takes up a city block, this is a new practical guide complete with case studies, a collection of sharp essays, snappy interviews, contacts and tips – a toolbox for the retail-minded and those with their own shop in prospect. The Monocle Guide to Shops, Kiosks and Markets is a handbook for the shopper and any aspiring shopkeeper, stocking a wealth of insight and inspiration. Now, may we show you around?

Monocle was launched by Tyler Brûlé in 2007 as a monthly magazine briefing on global affairs, business, culture, design, and much more. Today, Monocle is a complete, media brand with a suite of travel guides under its belt, a 24-hour radio station, a film-rich website, retail ventures around the globe, and cafés in Tokyo and London. Besides their London HQ, they have seven international bureaux in New York, Toronto, Istanbul, Singapore, Tokyo, Zurich, and Hong Kong. At their core is the simple belief that there will always be a place for a print brand that is committed to telling fresh stories and sending photographers on assignments.

In this joyful new book, Monocle unpacks what makes a great city, whether you’re looking for a new place to call home or need help fixing your own

How do we make better cities – places that work for people of all ages and backgrounds? How do we make cities that provide the obvious essentials – great transport, good places to work – as well as the softer elements that truly deliver quality of life, from urban swimming pools to rooftop clubs?

Since its launch in 2007, Monocle has been passionate about making better places to live. Every year it publishes a Quality of Life Survey, which names the top 25 cities to call home. In addition, across the issues, it has interviewed the best mayors, looked at the metropolises putting pedestrians first and met the people creating the best parks, both pocket and grand.

Discover how you too can have a High Line, create the most covetable housing or turn a dirty river into a summer asset.

Packed with great images and intriguing reports, this is a book that takes the urbanism debate away from city hall and explains what’s needed in ways that will inspire us all.

A manual for everyone from holidaymakers to hoteliers. We sidestep the humdrum haunts in favour of stays with substance

Monocle’s latest book will tell you where to find a top hotel — and also how to design or run your own. Both inspirational and packed with insight, it will be a must-have guide for the globally minded. Over the past decade, Monocle editors have been writing about — and staying in — plenty of hotels. They’ve put to the test everything from cosy inns in the backstreets of Beirut to cutting-edge offerings from international brands in New York, Tokyo and beyond. At the heart of everything has been one guiding principle: to find stop-ins that get the simple things right and understand the value of thoughtful hospitality.

In this brand-new book, Monocle reveals not only its 100 favourite hotels but also how you could start number 101 on its list with a wealth of advice and insight into what owning and running a perfect establishment involves. From stunning photography and illustration to snappy essays and sharp observations, The MONOCLE Guide to Hotels, Inns and Hideaways delivers a complete review of everything from escapists' boltholes to third spaces for entrepreneurs.

An insightful look at the work, mindset, and methodology of the global branding and design agency headed by Monocle founder Tyler Brûlé. 

Winkreative is the global design, brand identity, and consulting agency of Tyler Brûlé, the founder of Wallpaper* magazine and Monocle. 

Winkreative Design Stories is a journey through the history of this agency, which in only a short time has established itself as one of the most sought-after addresses for corporate design and branding in the world. Highlighting a selection of projects from relaunching national carrier Swiss International Air Lines to rebranding Thailand as a magnet for international business, the book spans several continents and an impressive roster of premium clients. 

Divided into the core themes of Charm, Craft, Intelligence, Clarity, and Storytelling, each chapter of the book showcases a set of projects sharing that characteristic, alongside short, conversational pieces, which offer insight into the thinking and skill behind Winkreative s huge diversity of work, revealing the culture of the agency itself. Still, life photography displays Winkreative s unique perspective and distinctive aesthetic sensibility, while comic illustrations and reportage shoots inject a sense of playfulness and bring Winkreative s history and people to life. 

Winkreative Design Stories is a warm, understated reference book produced with outstanding production quality. Because there have been few published documentations of the agency s work in the past, this design treatise provides a unique perspective at the intersection of craft and commerce for design influencers and creatives, and business figures and policymakers alike. Winkreative is distinguished by its international focus, editorial authority, and unique, interdisciplinary approach to branding. 

With 50 multilingual staff, it serves more than 40 clients in 15-plus countries, all of which are united by premium positions in their respective markets. Founded by Tyler Brûlé in 1998, Winkreative continues to evolve as a unique, multidisciplinary global agency, focused on translating real-world business plans into creative brand expressions. Clients: BlackBerry, The Calvert Foundation, Case da Abitare, Lexus, Louis Vuitton, Mackintosh, Mini, Porter Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Taiwan Tourism Bureau, The Government of Thailand, Wimbledon, and many more.

Make the most of your food – and discover the best places to shop, drink and dine – with this brand new guide from Monocle.

This is a handbook for anybody who enjoys simple, honest food but can do without the foam, fuss and trickery it’s often served with. It’s also about the other elements that make a great meal: honed hosting skills, sourcing the best produce and using the sharpest kitchen kit. Plus, Monocle offer a global hit-list of must-visit restaurants from Adelaide to Zürich and the freshest markets, shops and producers. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to turn their love of food into a livelihood. Expect advice on everything from starting a bar to rolling out a restaurant chain or penning a cookbook. There are also recipes from Monocle’s favourite restaurants, plus a selection of timetested dishes developed by the team in Monocle’s London kitchen.

Food for thought takes the form of zesty essays and dinner-time discussions with admired names from the worlds of architecture, hospitality, art and more.

On the menu: — The world’s finest restaurants, cafés and bars — Advice on starting a food firm — My Last Meal – the imagined final feasts of some high-profile personalities — How to host your own intimate dinner party — A batch of recipes from esteemed chefs, plus lip-smacking dishes from Monocle’s own repertoire — Tools of the trade for your kitchen.

Monocle was launched by Tyler Brûlé in 2007 as a monthly magazine briefing on global affairs, business, culture, design, and much more. Today, Monocle is a complete, media brand with a suite of travel guides under its belt, a 24-hour radio station, a film-rich website, retail ventures around the globe, and cafés in Tokyo and London. Besides their London HQ they have seven international bureaux in New York, Toronto, Istanbul, Singapore, Tokyo, Zurich, and Hong Kong. At their core is the simple belief that there will always be a place for a print brand that is committed to telling fresh stories and sending photographers on assignments.