Visiting Chicago?

[Joker]

We're going to be visiting Chicago in March for four days. We will be doing college tours three of those days but that won't take the whole day(at least I don't think - these are our first). Dh is the only one that has been but it's always for buisness so he's no help.

 

 

Where would we want to stay? What would we want to see/do/eat? We're taking Amtrak in so we don't have to worry about parking and all that so anything we do would need to be easily accessible by public transportation. Any tips on that would also be helpful as we don't live in a city with great public transit.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Joker

[Acorn]

I love the museums. Do you have a membership somewhere with reprocity? We were able to get into Field Museum of Natural History and The Science and Industry with our local membership pass.

If it were me, I'd definitely sign up for the Hamilton lottery, to try to win $10 tickets.

[Carol in Cal.]

Whereabouts will you be?  The art museum is in the South Loop area, and it's absolutely fantastic.  If you go there, you will recognize things, iconic art like 'American Gothic' or works by the best tapestry weavers in the modern world, or or or...It's ginormous, too. 

[JFSinIL]

Which schools?  A lot of time can be eaten up by transportation if you need to get up to Evanston for NU or down to south side for UofC.    Although if down by UofC you are close to Museum of Science and Industry, and the very cool Oriental institute at UofC.   

[Joker]

This trip we are doing University of Chicago, DePaul, and University of Illinois - Chicago. 

[Forget-Me-Not]

Both times I've gone I've stayed at the Hilton on Michigan Ave, which is in a nice safe part of town and very accessible to things, but I have no idea where it is in relation to the schools you're touring.

 

The Google Maps app has a public transit option that was pretty helpful. The riverboat tour that talks about the city architecture was well worth the money and so was the deep dish pizza at Giordanos ;)

 

Have fun! It's a great city to visit!

[Annie G]

Both times I've gone I've stayed at the Hilton on Michigan Ave, which is in a nice safe part of town and very accessible to things, but I have no idea where it is in relation to the schools you're touring.

 

The Google Maps app has a public transit option that was pretty helpful. The riverboat tour that talks about the city architecture was well worth the money and so was the deep dish pizza at Giordanos ;)

 

Have fun! It's a great city to visit!

 

That's where we've always stayed and it's pretty good location. Walking distance to lots of things but also pretty easy access to public transport. But honestly, they have a doorman and cabs lined up out front and it's just easier to do that if we're in a hurry. 

 

Yum...Giordano's pizza!

[Ottakee]

I am no expert on Chicago travel but do know you want to be prepared for all types of weather...And wind.

 

I loved the bits of UIC campus when I walked it with a friend. Her son was at UIC hospital and a few times I drove down there to visit her and we walked the campus and some neighborhoods around there. Seemed like a nice safe area.

 

We actually walked from there the 4 1/2 miles to Navy Pier and back. Likely not what you will want to do in March but we loved that 9 miles walk. We walked along the Lakeshore from Shedds aquarium to Navy Pier and got Giordano's pizza and walked back.

 

Hope you have a great time. I am a rural girl but love to visit Chicago...At least for a day or 2.

 

Oh, helpful hint. Union station is older and has very few bathrooms and often a line for the women's bathroom so make sure to plan extra time for that :-)

[Harriet Vane]

Chicago native here.

 

Lincoln Park Zoo is nice. It's right by the lake, and the conservatory, all easy walking distance. Makes a nice day to do all three. 

 

Looooove the Art Institute. Not far from there to the Cultural Center to admire the mosaics. Also easy access to Grant Park and Millenium Park and Buckingham Fountain.

 

Garrett's Popcorn downtown

 

Love the river tours. We prefer the ones that swing out into the harbor, but we enjoy the ones that go into the city as well. 

 

Of the museums, we like Shedd Aquarium best. Next favorite would be the Field Museum. Both are massive, so don't plan anything else for that day. Buckingham Fountain is not far from these as well.

 

If you want to go to the Willis Tower, get tickets ahead of time. The lines there take HOURS to get through, so advance tickets are a must.

 

Cheaper and easier than the Willis Tower is to go to the Cheesecake Factory in the Hancock building. Easy cab ride from the zoo?? (I am not sure if I am remembering location correctly.) Gorgeous views, plus cheesecake. Another option is the ferris wheel at Navy Pier.

 

March weather is unpredictable, and it's always cooler by the lake. Layers are your friend.

 

Blue Man Group 

 

If you want to watch a play, Royal George usually has comedies and lighter fare, and Steppenwolf is usually arty, intense stuff. 

 

ComedySportz is a great option as well.

 

Check out what's playing downtown. You can often get discount day-of tickets at Hot Tix, though that's a gamble.

 

Get an Italian beef sandwhich or a Chicago hot dog for lunch. Portillo's is a good option, but there's lots of non-brand-name places that offer these options.

 

[EmilyGF]

I recommend you use Google Maps on the mass transit setting (it looks like a street car) to figure out public transportation in Chicago. Just map where you need to go using it and it comes up with various ways. 

With U of Chicago, one way to get there is with the Metra which is a different ticket than the bus. So watch out for that. There are some nearly direct buses from downtown, though. 

 

Lyft and Uber are apparently pretty good and reasonably priced if you don't have too many people. Many people use them all the time. You should look into them and download the apps for when you need to go somewhere that would take too long with public transportation. Our music teacher actually uses them to get from lesson to lesson when the weather is nasty.

 

Emily

[happi duck]

I am no expert on Chicago travel but do know you want to be prepared for all types of weather...And wind.

 

I loved the bits of UIC campus when I walked it with a friend. Her son was at UIC hospital and a few times I drove down there to visit her and we walked the campus and some neighborhoods around there. Seemed like a nice safe area.

 

We actually walked from there the 4 1/2 miles to Navy Pier and back. Likely not what you will want to do in March but we loved that 9 miles walk. We walked along the Lakeshore from Shedds aquarium to Navy Pier and got Giordano's pizza and walked back.

 

Hope you have a great time. I am a rural girl but love to visit Chicago...At least for a day or 2.

 

Oh, helpful hint. Union station is older and has very few bathrooms and often a line for the women's bathroom so make sure to plan extra time for that :-)

Do you mean University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) or University of Chicago?

[Ottakee]

Do you mean University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) or University of Chicago?

UIC....University of Illinois Chicago.  My friend's son got a stem cell transplant for his sickle cell there last spring.  We walked from the hospital through some cute little neighborhoods and around the UIC campus a few times.  

 

I thought it was so neat to see banks, small grocery stores, the dentist, places to eat, libraries, etc. all on the same block.  I come from rural ville where until last year we did not have even 1 stop light in our 36 square mile township.

 

And, if you look at the maps, yes we did walk from the UIC hospital all the way down to Millennium Park, Shedd's Aquarium, down along the waterfront to Navy Pier (where we enjoyed Giordono's pizza) and then walked back.  It was about 9 miles or so but such a nice break for her to get away from the hospital for a few hours and for me to enjoy time with her.