Whether you prefer to explore a city on your own or with others, this year’s schedule of APA-sponsored tours of Chicago and nearby sites will persuade you that the group approach is literally the only way to go.

APA has planned 30 tours this year, each focusing on an interesting, entertaining, or fun way to spend time and get to know Chicago better. Here are some tour highlights:

Chicago Highlights Sightseeing and Architecture Tour will introduce visitors to many of Chicago’s best-known sites, with an emphasis on the city’s stunning architecture. Millionaire mansions on the Gold Coast, ethnic neighborhoods that reflect the cultures of their early inhabitants, towering office buildings, and more will give visitors an understanding and appreciation of Chicago’s aesthetic and urban development.

Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park will take visitors 10 miles from downtown Chicago to Oak Park, where architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s brilliant career got started. The first stop is the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, where the earliest Prairie homes were designed. The home has been returned to its 1889 condition. Visitors will then take a walking tour of Forest Avenue, many of whose homes were designed by the master. The tour also includes the boyhood homes of Ernest Hemingway and the Ernest Hemingway Museum.

Ethnic Chicago will reveal the cultural diversity of Chicago. From 1850 to the present, each wave of immigrants laid its own mark on a particular neighborhood before moving on to more spacious and comfortable environs. The day begins with a visit to the Hull House museum. A slide presentation explains the many needs of the immigrants who swelled the tenement houses of the near west side. The next stops are the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, which contains the Midwest’s most comprehensive collection of Judaic art and artifacts, and Chinatown. Visitors will stop for lunch at a restaurant in the heart of Little Italy before traveling on to Greek, Polish, and Bavarian neighborhoods.

Lake Michigan Luncheon Cruise will give visitors a beautiful lakeside view of the city as they lunch in elegance on dishes created under the direction of three-star chef David Koelling. There will be live entertainment on two decks—soft and romantic on one, and lively contemporary on the other. All of this take places on the Odyssey, Chicago’s most elegant cruise ship.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game will complete any sports lover’s stay in Chicago. Because the city has two baseball teams—the White Sox and the Cubs—one team is always at home. The package includes guided tours of each team’s respective home field: the White Sox play at Comisky Park, one of the nation’s newest baseball facilities, while the Cubs play at historic Wrigley Field.

Jazz and Blues Chicago Style will take visitors on the town for a taste of Chicago’s nightlife. Dinner will be served at "Buddy Guy’s Legends," a beautiful Chicago restaurant favored by those attending evening theater and social events. Visitors will then be taken to Andy’s Jazz Club and B.L.U.E.S ETC for live music.

Cycling Along the Lakefront will put visitors in the driver’s seat. They’ll be fitted with bicycles at the Navy Pier and then follow guides along the spectacular Lake Michigan shoreline. There will be a stop at Café Brauer in Lincoln Park Zoo for a soup-and-sandwich lunch.

Marshall Field’s on State Street lets visitors get down to the important business of shopping. An expert from the store’s Fashion Office will conduct a seminar on the newest and trendiest fashions, and visitors will get tips on career dressing, travel wardrobes, and accessorizing. Lunch will be served in the Walnut Room, where many Chicago families brought their children to practice their party manners in a lovely dining room.

The Chicago Financial Community lets visitors see some of the city’s great financial institutions in action. The first stop is at the Chicago Board of Trade, the world’s largest commodity market. At 9:30 a.m., hundreds of traders, placed in the "pits," furiously begin to buy and sell future contracts in agricultural products and byproducts. The next stop is the Chicago Board of Options Exchange or the Mercantile Exchange, where issues of the Standard and Poor’s index are bought and sold. The tour ends with a special behind-the-scenes look at the Federal Reserve Bank.

Additional information on these and other tours, including a sign-up form, can be found in the "Leisure Time Activities" section of the Annual Meeting Advance Registration Information packet or on APA’s Web site at <www.psych.org/sched_events/ann_mtg_00/index.html>. Members who have not yet received their packet can obtain one by calling the APA Answer Center at (888) 35-PSYCH.