Chicago to San Francisco: the Great US Train Journey

Two days to take the pulse of the Windy City, a true architectural achievement, the birthplace of the blues and a safe green haven.
Things to do and experience – Stroll through the parks, especially the Millennium Park by Lake Michigan, which is dotted with sculptures and interactive fountains with giant screens. Take a walk along Lake Michigan. Visit one of the countless museums. In the evening, attend a stand up-show performed on Broadway or a sporting event. Chill out in a little blues or jazz bar.
In the Itinerary - An architectural cruise along the Chicago River to admire the city's most beautiful buildings from the water. Though a fire devastated it in 1871, Chicago was rebuilt by the greats of 20th-century architecture (Sullivan, Burnham and Frank Lloyd Wright), and it bursts with creative inspiration. It has an almost futuristic style that gives this city unprecedented architectural value. Embark on a cruise aboard the First Lady, among skyscrapers, to admire the city's fifty most beautiful buildings, including the Willis Tower, Navy Pier, Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower, Merchandise Mart and Lyric Opera. The guides are all volunteers for the Chicago Architecture Foundation. An evening at Andy's Jazz Club (dinner and show) is also pre-booked. This is one of the legendary clubs on the South Side and West Side where jazz greats have performed.

Board in the early afternoon at Chicago's Union Station for a unique, two-day, two-night journey from the Midwest Plains to the great outdoors of the American West, via the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada. There are nearly 2,500 miles, 52 hours, seven states and 32 stops between California and our final destination. Often, there isn't a road, only the railway line. Noses are pressed against the window (or looking up through the panoramic roof), marvelling at the landscapes as they go by. Perhaps the most spectacular part is between Grand Junction and Salt Lake City, where the train crosses arid deserts and gradually ascends into the Utah massifs.
To see on the way - Iowa Villages. Sunrise on Nebraska Grain Plains. Climbing through the Rocky Mountain. The Colorado River Rapids. The Utah Ochre Canyons. The Great Salt Lake. The California Lakes and Forests. San Francisco Bay...

The train crosses Suisan Bay, San Pablo, and finally San Francisco during the last hour of travel towards the Pacific. Terminus across the bay, in Emeryville. The railway company schedules the transfer to San Francisco and accommodation for three nights just a stone's throw from Union Square, in a quiet and welcoming atmosphere.

Between its hills and cable cars, colourful houses are visible from Union Square to Golden State Park. In San Francisco, the bridges surrounding Alcatraz, the winding Lombard Street and the little Victorian dolls house homes create a postcard image of a legendary place.
In the itinerary - Discover the city accompanied by a local. They will guide you as you discover the Ferry Building, its role in the city since the Gold Rush era, and then the wharves of Embarcadero, which offer panoramic views of the bay, and a mural in an old post office. Next, ascend in cable car, the famous funicular of the 1870s, to the summit of Nob Hill to see beautiful palace-hotels and the Grace Cathedral, reminiscent of Notre-Dame in Paris. The tour ends with a visit to the Cable Car Museum. The next day, there's a pre-booked catamaran cruise across the bay. From the sea, in fading daylight, the city presents itself in a whole new way: this is an opportunity to glide under the Golden Gate Bridge to reach Alcatraz.
Optional - A magical seaplane ride over San Francisco Bay and its surroundings.