If you use public transportation during your visit to Chicago, you’re bound to spend some time in Union Station. Even if you’re not there to wait for a train, it’s well worth a stop. Spend some time in the Great Hall, where you’ll need to take a breather on one of the classic wood benches after gazing at the grand vaulted ceiling and vast, echoing spaces above. The buzz and fervor of travel is muted in such an enormous open area, and the station’s marble floor, Corinthian columns, and serene atmosphere are sure to soothe your nerves after a close-quarters Metra ride. Union Station offers shops for travelers’ convenience and it is, of course, a fully functional transportation hub, but it’s easy to forget all of that in the Great Hall. Look around and you’ll see commuters in suits, college students using their backpacks as pillows, camera-toting tourists, and suburb dwellers in town for an afternoon. They all have places to be, but one thing you’re sure to notice in the serenity of Union Station’s main waiting room is that nobody really seems to be in a hurry to get there.