Chicago streets are laid-out in a very straight forward grid-like fashion, making it easy to navigate. The intersection of State Street and Madison Street in the Loop is "ground zero", with street addresses progressively increasing as you move north or south of Madison and east or west of State. Additionally, there are eight (8) city blocks to a mile. For example, Chicago Avenue, which is 800 North, is 8 blocks (or 1 mile) north of Madison Street. Similarly, Halsted Street, which is 800 West, is 8 Blocks (or 1 mile) west of State Street. Given this system, it's fairly easy to determine the distance to your destination from the heart of the downtown Loop area (i.e., the intersection of State Street and Madison Street).

One last navigation tip: When in Chicago, Lake Michigan is always to the east!