Fodor's Expert Review Chicago Theatre
When it opened in 1921, the grand and glitzy Chicago Theatre was tagged "the Wonder Theatre of the World." Its exterior features a shrunken version of the Arc de Triomphe, and its lobby is patterned after the Royal Chapel at Versailles with a staircase copied from the Paris Opera House. Murals decorate the auditorium walls and ceiling. The seven-story, 3,600-seat space has served as a venue for films and famed entertainers ranging from John Philip Sousa and Duke Ellington to Ellen DeGeneres and Beyoncé. Tours let you stand on the stage where they performed, go backstage, and peruse its autographed walls.