A tall tale of one very cool destination...

The Chicago we usually think of is very different to the one MICHAEL HAM visited, a city with two sides, a good old dose of traditional Americana and tasty food too

- MICHAEL HAM

THEY say there are two sides to every story, and never have I felt that more deeply than during my time in Chicago.

You've probably already seen the city’s different faces, even if you never realised it.

Long before I touched down in the Windy City, I'd seen it up close and personal, looming large on the big screen as the brooding, architectural masterpiece that is Gotham City in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Batman series.

There, Christian Bale scales skyscrapers, while Heath Ledger’s famous portrayal of The Joker brings you down to street level as the two protagonists battle.

The duality and contrast of those movies stuck with me as I toured this Midwestern trailblazer of a city.

The old and the new. The order and the chaos. The grit and the gloss.

Getting around

There are two fantastic ways to experience both the towering skyscrapers and some of the 77 different neighbourhoods that are the links between the metropolitan masterpieces.

On my first morning in Chicago, I boarded the CAC River Cruise aboard First Lady, a 90-minute sailing up and down the Chicago River. It shows off the best the city has to offer.

From the water, it feels cinematic - rising like a carefully curated exhibition from winding banks.

Art-Deco giants battle with post-modern powerhouses as tower after tower pass by, one era next to another in a cacophony of steel, stone and glass. Reflections from one building bounce off another as the boat glides through the water in the heart of downtown.

This is the Chicago of headlines and postcards, confident and unapologetic, a city that knew it could double as Gotham without needing to fake it.

But if you peek behind the curtain and look a little closer, you realise this version of Chicago is only half the story.