THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

The Art Institute is the second largest art museum in the United States. Like all museums of international stature, the Art Institute cannot be visited in one go. However, it's not the labyrinthine size of the Louvre or the Hermitage, so you can get a good overview on your first approach. Originally, it was located in the Fine Arts Building, a few blocks to the south. Fourteen years after its opening, the need for a larger structure became apparent, especially as the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition was about to take place. After lengthy negotiations with the city's various departments, the new Art Institute opened its doors on December 8, 1893. Since then, it has undergone numerous extensions and renovations, and today houses a wide range of collections spanning five thousand years of history. A new extension was completed in 2009, under the direction of architect Renzo Piano, who also designed the Centre George Pompidou in Paris. This is the wing overlooking Millennium Park, from which the museum can even be accessed directly via a bridge.

Here's a one-hour itinerary of the museum's finest exhibits. Once you've passed ticket control, head straight up to the second floor. This is where you'll find the museum's most beautiful rooms. Start with the rooms devoted to European art before 1900, and Impressionism in particular (rooms 225, 226, 201, 240-243). This is the heart of the museum's collection: Renoir, Monet, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Pissarro, Bonnard, Toulouse-Lautrec and many others compete to sublimate color and light. A must-see is George Seurat's Sunday at La Grande Jatte . Stay on the second floor to admire some very fine pieces of modern American art from 1900 to 1950 (rooms 261-265, 271-273). Edward Hopper's mysterious Nighthawks , a New York bar scene, takes pride of place here, as does Grant Wood's astonishing and world-famous American Gothic, depicting a farmer and his daughter in 1930s Iowa.

To continue, we invite you to head for the rooms of modern European art from 1900 to 1950 (rooms 389-399) on the third floor. Picasso, Dalí and Magritte await you. You'll also see Mondrian's non-directional compositions. His canvases, which have inspired so many architects, find a particular echo in this city of builders. And don't miss Giacometti's sculptures. You'll have to go back down one floor to discover the works of contemporary art after 1960. Of particular note is the moving work of Carrie Mae Weems, with her series of black-and-white photos featuring a woman in her kitchen. The contemporary art gallery also houses works by Andy Warhol, including a beautiful portrait of Elizabeth Taylor, Pollock's process canvases, Judd's minimalist installations and Rauschenberg's assemblages.

You can now return to the second floor to admire Whistler's works, especially Nocturne: Blue and Gold-Southampton Water, where the density of the air becomes visible. If you still have some energy left, you can visit the interesting rooms devoted to American decorative arts (158-159, R+1) and those devoted to photography (1-4, first floor).

In the south wing of the museum, you should also see The Fountain of the Great Lakes. It depicts five women, each holding a shell. The water passes through each shell in the same way as it passes from lake to lake: Lake Superior and Lake Michigan empty their waters into the Lake Huron basin, which then flows into Lake Erie, ending up in Lake Ontario.

The most unusual collection. The Thorne Miniature Rooms collection is truly fascinating. It consists of 68 miniatures depicting the interiors of European, American and Asian houses dating from the late ^19th century to the early 1930s. The boxes containing these interiors are produced as three-dimensional paintings on a scale of 1/12. The perspective and detail are so precise that you'll be blown away. The artist behind these works is American Narcissa Niblack Thorne (1882-1966).

Somethingnew for children. The Art Institute has created a fun, interactive room for toddlers. On a digital screen, they choose a theme from among those on offer (superheroes, strange creatures, etc.), then select a work from each collection according to their tastes. And after a few minutes, a little booklet is printed with their name on it. It's all very cute, and the child leaves delighted with a lovely souvenir, enough to turn him or her into a budding artist!

A new, practical and free app. The Art Institute of Chicago mobile app offers an interactive, Googlemap-style map of the museum's interior, so you know exactly where you are in this huge museum and can easily navigate to the rooms of your choice. It's much more practical than a simple paper map. The app also offers free audio tours, but only in English.

The historic Route 66 begins in Chicago, on Adams Street and Grant Park, in front of the Art Institute.