Côté Sud (South Side)

>> Hyde Park.
Hyde Park and Kenwood are some of the safest neighborhoods in the mid-south side of Chicago, with relatively low violent crime rates. Nevertheless, the two neighborhoods are surrounded by tough neighborhoods with reputations for crime and poverty. It's not recommended to go west of Hyde Park/Woodlawn on foot into the Washington Park/Englewood neighborhoods, which is where most of the danger lies. Gang activity has decreased substantially in the early 2000s, however. Robberies and theft are more common. Criminals know that where there's a university, there's a student walking around with a fancy smartphone and an expensive laptop in their backpack. As of October 2013, the University of Chicago Police recommend that people in the area "avoid using cell phones or other electronics while on the street." The University of Chicago publishes violent crime statistics on its website.
The University has taken pains to protect the area in recent years by installing plenty of lights along the Midway and increasing its police presence. The University famously fields the second largest private police force in the world (the first being the Pope's), with full police powers. That means there are twice as many police in Hyde Park than any other neighborhood around.
Hyde Park is one of Chicago's most famous neighborhoods, most certainly so on the South Side, located along the south lakefront. Having played host to the White City, the University of Chicago, President Obama, the setting for Richard Wright's Native Son, and a host of eccentric residents from Saul Bellow to Clarence Darrow to Muhammad Ali, this part of town has more than its fair share of Chicago history.
There is more than enough for a visitor to see here, and devoting a full day to exploring Hyde Park can make for a fine itinerary. Architecture buffs will have their hands occupied by the many Victorian mansions and Prairie School houses; anyone with an intellectual bent should be delighted by Hyde Park's independent bookstores, overawed by the University of Chicago's terrifying intensity, and intrigued by the Oriental Institute; and just about everyone will enjoy a trip to the stimulating Museum of Science and Industry or taking a stroll and a swim along the Point and the beach.
:: Kenwood Historic District
These impressive structures are all privately owned and unfortunately closed to the public. The only exception is the Nation of Islam mosque, but you should be sensitive to the fact it is a place of worship and is not accustomed to tourists.
:: University of Chicago
The University of Chicago hosts some truly world class performing arts. The U of C Presents' classical music performances are particularly excellent. If you are looking to relax, head to the huge area parks for 18 holes of golf, a sunset at Promontory Point, or ice skating on the Midway. Or if you are into film, the University's nightly Doc Films screenings and regular director visits are a treasure
:: Hyde Park Art Center
:: Jackson Park Beach
There are better beaches further north and further south, but if you're here and want to get a swim in, Jackson Park's two beaches are fine — 57th St Beach is less than a ten minute walk from the Museum of Science and Industry.


>>Bronzeville.
Bronzeville, the Black Metropolis, is a mecca of African-American History on Chicago's South Side, just miles south of downtown. Gwendolyn Brooks published poetry in the Chicago Defender, Andrew Rube Foster created Negro League Baseball, and Louis Armstrong kept his trumpet singing at the Sunset Cafe to keep Al Capone off his back. Long in disrepair, the neighborhood is coming back, with new residents refurbishing historic homes, and with new dining and nightlife scenes beginning to take root.
:: Chicago Bee Library
The following libraries offer free public internet access.

>> Bridgeport-Chinatown.
Bridgeport-Chinatown is the South Side at its most dynamic, as the old South Side Irish neighborhood of the Daleys increasingly blends with the old Chinese immigrant community to the north. Enormous cathedrals now stand next to Buddhist temples, and Old Style washes down lo mein. If you are a visitor, though, you only need to keep in mind two things: Chinese food and baseball.
:: Chinatown
You can cover Chinatown's sites easily in an hour or two on foot, but if you are interested in art, set aside some real time to explore the new Bridgeport galleries that fly under the popular radar, but are quite important to the contemporary art world in Chicago.
:: Bridgeport



>> Chatham-South Shore.
Chatham-South Shore is a district at the heart of Chicago's South Side, home to the real Chicago blues, some mind-blowing BBQ, and the best soul food in town.
:: Greater Chatham
(Chatham, Avalon Park, Calumet Heights, Burnside) is a residential stronghold of middle and upper class African-American Chicagoans. No sightseeing to be done, but Chatham boasts some of the best food on the South Side (including the ultimate Harold's), as well as one of the city's best blues clubs.
:: Greater Grand
GG rivals Chatham for soul food, BBQ, and blues club supremacy. It also has the Oak Woods Cemetery, which is beautifully laid out, and a resting place to some of the most famous residents of the South Side's past.
:: South Shore
SS is home to a lively arts scene, largely thanks to the ETA Creative Arts Foundation and the magnificent South Shore Cultural Center. It is also home to one of the city's best and least known beaches, Rainbow Beach. Incidentally, many of Chicago's most prominent black politicians call this community home. Its main commercial strip runs alongside Metra's Electric Line on 71st St and is literally lined with kids hanging out when school's not in session.