American Express--Travel-service offices are located at the following locations: across from the Art Institute, at 122 S. Michigan (tel. 312/435-2595); across from Crate & Barrel, at 625 N. Michigan (tel. 312/435-2570); and in Lincoln Park, at 2338 N. Clark (tel. 773/477-4000).

Area Codes--Like many other urban areas, Chicago has added several new area codes in the past year. The 312 area code long held by the entire city proper now applies to the Loop and the neighborhoods closest to it, including River North, North Michigan Avenue, and the Gold Coast. The rest of the city now has 773 for an area code. Suburban area codes are 847 (northern), 708 (west and southwest), and 630 (far west). Prefixes that have been assigned the new area code are listed in the front of the telephone book.

Baby-sitters--Check with the concierge or desk staff at your hotel, who are likely to maintain a list of reliable sitters with whom they have worked in the past. Many of the hotels work with American Registry for Nurses & Sitters Inc. (tel. 800/240-1820 or 773/248-8100; fax 773/248-8104), a state-licensed baby-sitting service that can match you with a sitter. The sitters are required to pass background checks, provide multiple child-care references, and be trained in infant and child CPR. It's best to make a reservation 24 hours in advance; the office is open from 9am to 5pm. Rates are about $12 per hour, with a 4-hour minimum.

Business Hours--Shops generally keep normal business hours, opening around 10am and closing by 6pm Monday through Saturday. These days, however, most stores generally stay open late at least 1 evening a week. And certain businesses, such as bookstores, are almost always open during the evening hours all week. Most shops (other than in the Loop) are now open on Sunday as well, usually from noon to 5pm. Malls, including Water Tower Place at 835 N. Michigan Ave., are generally open until 7pm (Marshall Field's and Lord & Taylor in Water Tower Place stay open until 9pm) and are open Sunday as well. Banking hours in Chicago are normally from 9am (8am in some cases) to 3pm Monday through Friday, with select banks remaining open later on specified afternoons and evenings.

Dentists--The 24-hour Dental Referral Service (tel. 630/978-5745) can refer you to an area dentist. You also might try your hotel concierge or desk staff, who often keep a list of dentists.

Doctors--In the event of a medical emergency, your best bet--unless you have friends who can recommend a doctor--is to rely on your hotel physician or go to the nearest hospital emergency room. Northwestern Memorial Hospital also has a Physician Referral Service at tel. 312/908-8400. See also "Hospitals," below.

Emergencies--For fire or police emergencies, call tel. 911. The nonemergency phone number for the Chicago Police Department is tel. 312/747-6000. The city of Chicago proclaims the following policy: "In emergency dial 911 and a city ambulance will respond free of charge to the patient. The ambulance will take the patient to the nearest emergency room according to geographic location." If you desire a specific, nonpublic ambulance, call Tower Ambulance (tel. 773/561-2308).

Hospitals--The best hospital emergency room in Chicago is, by consensus, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 251 E. Huron St. (tel. 312/908-2000), which opened its new state-of-the-art medical center right off North Michigan Avenue in spring of 1999. The emergency department (tel. 312/926-5188 or 312/944-2358 for TDD access) is located at 250 E. Erie St. near Fairbanks Court. For an ambulance, dial tel. 911.

Hot Lines--For help with drugs and alcoholism, call tel. 800/395-3400. The drug-abuse hot line in Chicago is tel. 773/278-5015. There are also two crisis hot lines in Chicago: Ravenswood Hospital at tel. 773/769-6200 or the Institute of Psychiatry at tel. 312/908-8100.

Liquor Laws--Most bars and taverns have a 2am license, allowing them to stay open until 3am on Sunday ("Saturday night"); some have a 4am license and may remain open until 5am on Sunday.

Lost Property--There is a lost-and-found service at O'Hare International Airport (tel. 773/686-2385).

Newspapers & Magazines--The Chicago Tribune (tel. 312/222-3232) and the Chicago Sun-Times (tel. 312/321-3000) are the two major dailies. The Chicago Reader (tel. 312/828-0350) is a free weekly that appears each Thursday, with all the current entertainment and cultural listings. Chicago Magazine is a monthly that is widely read for its restaurant reviews. The Chicago Defender covers local and national news of interest to the African-American community. The Spanish-language La Raza reports on stories from a Latino point of view. Windy City Times publishes both news and feature articles about gay and lesbian issues.

Pharmacies--Walgreens, 757 N. Michigan (tel. 312/664-8686), is open 24 hours. Osco Drugs has a toll-free number (tel. 800/654-6726) you can call to locate the 24-hour pharmacy nearest you.

Police--For emergencies, call tel. 911. For nonemergencies, call tel. 312/747-6000.

Post Office--The new main post office is at 433 W. Harrison (tel. 312/654-3895), with free parking; there are also convenient branches in the Sears Tower, the Federal Center Plaza at 211 S. Clark (designed by Mies van der Rohe, no less), the James R. Thompson Center at 100 W. Randolph, and a couple of blocks off the Magnificent Mile at 227 E. Ontario.

Radio--WBEZ (91.5 FM) is the local National Public Radio station, which plays jazz in the evenings. WFMT (98.7 FM) specializes in fine arts and classical music, and for years was the home of Studs Terkel's syndicated interview show. One of the more special stations anywhere just celebrated its 25th anniversary, WXRT (93.1 FM), a progressive rock station whose deejays don't stick to corporate-sanctioned play lists but mix things up with shots of blues, jazz, and local music. On the AM side of the dial, you'll find talk radio on WGN (720) and WLS (890)--two longtime stations that got their names from their immodest owners (respectively, that would be the Chicago Tribune, the "World's Greatest Newspaper"; and Sears, the "World's Largest Store"). News junkies should tune to WBBM (780) for nonstop news, traffic, and weather reports, and sports fans will find company on the talk station WSCR (1160).

Safety--Chicago has all of the crime problems of any urban center, so use your common sense and stay cautious and alert. Everyone has a different sense for their own comfort level in unfamiliar terrain, so you'll have to decide for yourself where and when you want to venture. At night you may want to stick to well-lighted streets along the Magnificent Mile, River North, Gold Coast, and Lincoln Park (stay out of the park proper after dark, though), which are all high-traffic areas late into the night. Don't walk alone at night, and avoid wandering down dark residential streets, even those that seem perfectly safe. Muggings can happen anywhere, and do.

After dark you may want to avoid the Loop's interior, which gets pretty deserted after business hours, as well as neighborhoods such as Hyde Park, Wicker Park, and Pilsen, which border on areas with more troublesome reputations.

You can also ask the concierge at your hotel or an agent at the tourist visitor center what they would recommend about visiting a particular area of the city.

If you're traveling alone, avoid riding the El after the rush-hour crowds thin out. Of course, it's always smarter to ride with a group. Many of the El stations can be eerily deserted at night--when you'll have to wait around for 15 minutes or longer for the next train. In that case, it's a good idea to spring for a taxi. Buses are a safe option, too, especially nos. 146 and 151, which pick up along North Michigan Avenue and State Street and connect to the North Side via Lincoln Park.

Blue-and-white police cars are a common sight, and officers also patrol by bicycle downtown and along the lakefront and by horseback at special events and parades. There are police stations in busy nightlife areas, such as the 18th District station at Chicago Avenue and LaSalle Street in the hopping restaurant and entertainment mecca of River North, and the 24th District station (known as Town Hall) at Addison and Halsted streets, located in the heart of the gay district and blocks from the busy strip of sports bars and nightclubs in Wrigleyville.

Taxes--The local sales tax is 8.75tel.. Restaurants in the central part of the city, roughly the 312 area code, are taxed an additional 1tel., for a total of 9.75tel.. The hotel room tax is 3tel..

Time Zone--All of Illinois, including Chicago, is located in the central time zone, so clocks are set 1 hour earlier than those on the East Coast and 2 hours later than those on the West Coast. Chicago switches to daylight saving time on the first Sunday in April, and back to standard time on the last Sunday in October.

Transit Info--The CTA has a useful number to find out which bus or El train will get you to your destination: tel. 836-7000 (from any area code in the city or suburbs) or TTY 836-4949.

Traveler's Aid--Travelers in distress can turn to Traveler's Aid (tel. 773/894-2427), which operates an office in Terminal 3 of O'Hare Airport. The office provides food and shelter for stranded travelers, reunites family members who have become separated, locates lost luggage, and even furnishes crisis counseling. The office is staffed from 8:30am to 9pm weekdays and 9am to 9pm weekends.

Weather--For the National Weather Service's current conditions and forecast, dial tel. 312/976-1212 (for a fee), or check the weather on the Web at www.ci.chi.il.us/Tourism/Weather/.