Visiting Chicago. Can you please help a girl out?

[Familia]

I will be in Chicago over a weekend, but it will not be warm there yet. Very interested in the river and its bridges, I looked into an enclosed boat tour…yikes, that would run me $350/2 people!!  

Any other architectural/river interest activities you can share?

I’d also like to mill around and hit a few ‘not to be missed’ things. Throw your ideas at me - I like everything from food, popping into museums and historical homes…and simply fun/unusual shopping. 

Thanks!!

[MrsMommy]

I don't know what boat tour you looked at, but I really enjoy the Wendella tour...I took my children on it a few years ago, and we all learned a lot! I don't think it's too spendy?

You should check out the Chicago Cultural Center if you get a chance...I'm assuming it's open to visitors...the Tiffany domes are gorgeous!

[Familia]

Just now, MrsMommy said:

I don't know what boat tour you looked at, but I really enjoy the Wendella tour...I took my children on it a few years ago, and we all learned a lot! I don't think it's too spendy?

You should check out the Chicago Cultural Center if you get a chance...I'm assuming it's open to visitors...the Tiffany domes are gorgeous!

It was a brunch tour, as I think all the other boat tours are suspended for the season (until late April). I’ll look into the Cultural Center…thanks!

[whitestavern]

We did the big 3 museums—all wonderful!! The Willis Tower is pretty cool to go up. 

[Miss Tick]

There is a foot path along the river. I'm not sure if it includes all the bridges you are interested in.

There is also the Robie House tour if you are a Frank Lloyd Wright fan. I did that when I was in Chicago last summer. 

[happi duck]

The Art Institute is one of my favorite places ever!

[*****]

I would make sure the weather is decent for spending that kind of $$.

Chicago Field Museum is a must!  We saw Tut's Exhibit the year we went.

[Harriet Vane]

There are definitely boat tours this weekend in the $40 range. I googled Wendella boat tours, plugged in Saturday’s date, and got several hits.

Walking tours are really cool, too. My favorite museum is the Art Institute, and I adore both Shedd Aquarium and Lincoln Park Zoo. The Zoo has easy access to both the beach and the greenhouse—it makes a lovely day.

Free and off the beaten path (nowhere near downtown, unfortunately) is Garfield Park Conservatory.

[Lucy the Valiant]

It may be worth your $ to become a member of ASTC reciprocating museums if you aren't already; our membership saved us HUNDREDS when we went together as a family a few years back (pre-pandemic). Our $200 / year local family pass got our whole family into several of the Chicago museums (Science and Industry, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium). The Chicago museums even gave us extra passes to the special exhibits and stuff (that weren't official on the reciprocity list, but - whew! we loved it! Saw a Viking ship right when Certain Kid was super into the Vikings. 😉 )

[shawthorne44]

How does that ASTC work?   Do you pay $200 to buy one of these passports and then you can use it 90+ miles away from home.   
Or you get a membership to one of them on the list, and you automatically get this passport for 90+ miles away from home?  

[Lucy the Valiant]

7 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

How does that ASTC work?   Do you pay $200 to buy one of these passports and then you can use it 90+ miles away from home.   
Or you get a membership to one of them on the list, and you automatically get this passport for 90+ miles away from home?  

We buy a pass to our local ASTC museum and then present THAT pass at any reciprocal membership museum 90+ miles from the original museum / our home. (We have asked politely and been pleasantly surprised at generous agreements less than 90 miles, but of course YMMV.)

We've had the best success when we show the "highest level" of pass ("premier" / full family / etc.). And each museum has a different arrangement with the whole list, so read carefully. It's not always "free entrance", for example; sometimes it's 50% off, or limited to # of people, etc. But if you're going across the country with a family that loves science & technology museums, it's a HUGE $-saver! (We've even planned some ASTC museums as "road stops" when doing a cross country drive; we would not do that if we had to pay full admission.)

*Also, I have not done this since covid, so - that may be a factor these days.

 

Edit: Also, I can't stress enough to read the fine print. We learned (over the years) that if we go OUT OF OUR WAY to buy the family pass at the MORE EXPENSIVE museum near us, it actually SAVES us a ton of money in the long run because the more expensive pass also includes 2 hours of free parking. And an 8-member pass doesn't always get you 8 free admissions to the "reciprocal" museum, but - it's definitely worth asking; we have never argued with any admission desk, but we have been graciously given IMAX passes, special exhibit passes, etc. when we showed the premier level pass from the home museum. 

Edited March 21, 2022 by Lucy the Valiant

[saraha]

We got a city pass thing where you could pick three attractions etc and we did the double decker bus tour, the planetarium and a museum. All were great, the bus tour was fantastic.

[Shoeless]

It's going to be cold and windy down by the lake. I don't know how enjoyable a boat or bus tour would be. That wind is biting!

I would definitely spend time at the Art Institute and/or the Field Museum. Amazing exhibits and it's nice and warm 🙂

[saraha]

I think the bus is enclosed on the bottom level, it was pouring the rain the weekend we were there and the tour was a nice way to see the city without getting wet 

[Mom_to3]

Oh, so much to do, so little time! I am not sure where you are from, but it looks like it will be sunny - so bring a warm coat, scarf and hat and walk along the river right off of Michigan Avenue, go to the Bean and Millenium Park. Shedd Aquarium, Art Institute, Field Museum, Science Museum (a bit out of the way on the South Side). I wouldn't try to do all of this in one weekend - pick your favorites and focus. It's such a wonderful city.

[mom2scouts]

Oh, Chicago has great museums, amazing architecture, the lake, the zoo, shopping! Pick a museum or two, take an architecture tour, eat a Chicago style pizza from Giordanos.

[zimom]

9 hours ago, mom2scouts said:

Oh, Chicago has great museums, amazing architecture, the lake, the zoo, shopping! Pick a museum or two, take an architecture tour, eat a Chicago style pizza from Giordanos.

I regularly have Giordano's pizza shipped to me!  Love love love!!!

[Kassia]

39 minutes ago, zimom said:

I regularly have Giordano's pizza shipped to me!  Love love love!!!

what does that cost?

 

ETA - just looked it up - that's expensive (although I understand why).

Edited March 22, 2022 by Kassia

[Familia]

These are great ideas! Thanks @Susan C., I would love to walk along the river….even with the cold, I think we might try that. And, @mom2scouts @zimom & @Kassia gotta look into Giordano’s!

 

[MercyA]

I love Chicago! My grandparents grew up there.

The Art Institute is home to some of the world's most famous paintings, as well as Chagall's gorgeous windows. Definitely worth a stop.

If you are into ancient history, you might check out the Oriental Institute. Smaller than the other museums but full of really neat stuff.

The Museum of Science and Industry is most enjoyable for kids who like hands on activities, IMO.

The Field Museum is incredible, but a sizeable portion is devoted to taxidermied animals, which is a little sad. 

We avoid Shedd Aquarium because they have captive beluga whales and dolphins who are forced to live in tanks and do tricks. It's really unconscionable given what is known about the intelligence, family structures, and natural behaviors of these mammals.. 

Water Tower Place was rather empty last time we went, but the American Girl Store and Lego Store are still there and are lots of fun.

Hope you love it!

[cabercro]

On 3/21/2022 at 6:47 PM, Lucy the Valiant said:

We buy a pass to our local ASTC museum and then present THAT pass at any reciprocal membership museum 90+ miles from the original museum / our home. (We have asked politely and been pleasantly surprised at generous agreements less than 90 miles, but of course YMMV.)

We've had the best success when we show the "highest level" of pass ("premier" / full family / etc.). And each museum has a different arrangement with the whole list, so read carefully. It's not always "free entrance", for example; sometimes it's 50% off, or limited to # of people, etc. But if you're going across the country with a family that loves science & technology museums, it's a HUGE $-saver! (We've even planned some ASTC museums as "road stops" when doing a cross country drive; we would not do that if we had to pay full admission.)

*Also, I have not done this since covid, so - that may be a factor these days.

 

Edit: Also, I can't stress enough to read the fine print. We learned (over the years) that if we go OUT OF OUR WAY to buy the family pass at the MORE EXPENSIVE museum near us, it actually SAVES us a ton of money in the long run because the more expensive pass also includes 2 hours of free parking. And an 8-member pass doesn't always get you 8 free admissions to the "reciprocal" museum, but - it's definitely worth asking; we have never argued with any admission desk, but we have been graciously given IMAX passes, special exhibit passes, etc. when we showed the premier level pass from the home museum. 

To add on to this, some museums have multiple reciprocities. We’re members at the western North Carolina nature center, which is not local for us, but gets us reciprocity at science centers (Astc) and zoos (aza). There are a few other museums around with multiple affiliations, but that one was the cheapest we found. 

[Karen A]

Since you say it won't be warm yet, you might be going earlier than May, but the Chicago Architecture Foundation offers a  special bridge tour with dates starting in May: 

https://www.architecture.org/tours/detail/chicago-s-moveable-bridges/

It's been years, but I've been on the CAF boat tour and a skyscraper walking tour, both of which were excellent if you are actually interested in architecture. The Wendella cruises as above are cheaper, and great for the typical person or if kids are along, but for architecture buffs the CAF tours can't be beat. 

What else I love in the city--Millenium Park, which is right next the the Art Institute and the Cultural Center. It has the iconic Bean (Cloudgate), an interesting fountain/pool area (not sure when the water gets turned on), and a fantastic playground. 

I do love the Field Museum, the Shedd, and Museum of Science and Industry. The latter has a great exhibit with a German U-boat if you are interested in WW2 history. 

If you're only in town for a weekend you'll really have to pick and choose what you do!

[katilac]

Just you, or you and family? Ages? 

For just a weekend, I'd be pretty tempted to stick to free things plus eating out. Lots of things with paid admission are amazing - like the Field Museum is incredible, but we spent the day there. If you only have a couple of days, you might get a better overall feel for the city with the incredible list of free things you can do! Museums of all kinds, conservatories, Millenium Park and 'the Bean', walking the Miracle Mile - free things plus food fills a weekend quickly! 

It's been so long that I can't recommend specific food places, but we obviously ate pizza 😃🍕

Here's one list of free activities 

They have an American Girl Doll store if you have anyone in that demographic, and I do remember enjoying the Ghirardelli shop 😋

[Lisa]

Giordano's pizza is amazing. Expect a long wait as they are very popular. Shedd Aquarium is my favorite, but the science and field museums are excellent as well. If its not raining, go see The Bean.

[klmama]

For those looking at ASTC museum reciprocity, think about what museums you want to visit, read the rules very carefully, and check distances and reciprocity eligibility.  If the closest one is too close to the big city museums you want to visit, you may not get the discount you are hoping for, even if your actual home is far enough away.  You could instead consider buying a cheaper membership from a farther museum, even one in another state, as long as the museums you want to visit will honor it.  

 

[katilac]

10 minutes ago, klmama said:

For those looking at ASTC museum reciprocity, think about what museums you want to visit, read the rules very carefully, and check distances and reciprocity eligibility.  If the closest one is too close to the big city museums you want to visit, you may not get the discount you are hoping for, even if your actual home is far enough away.  You could instead consider buying a cheaper membership from a farther museum, even one in another state, as long as the museums you want to visit will honor it.  

 

We did this, but it was quite a few years ago. 

[J-rap]

If you don't mind walking outside when it's a little chilly, we like to walk from one end of Michigan Ave to the other.  We like to start at the south end where Grant Park is.  You'll pass Buckingham Fountain on the right and the old Congress Hotel on the left, which was built for the 1983 World Fair.  The Art Institute is in that area too.  The miniature exhibit is one of our favorite permanent exhibits there.  If you continue walking along Michigan Avenue, there are some smaller, free museums along that route you can pop into -- like The Museum of Contemporary Photography and The Design Museum of Chicago.  You'll see the Bean, Millennium Park, and eventually cross the river and end up in the Magnificent Mile area.  (Keep an eye out for the beautiful Wrigley Building as you cross the river.)  The free Museum of Contemporary Art is near the Magnificent Mile area.

The Eataly is a fun spot to visit at the north end.  It's an Italian Market with little shops and restaurants.  (Just a block or two off Michigan Ave.)