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Day Trip To Chicago: Suggestions? (1 Viewer)

B

Bruce Dickinson

Footballguy
My 13-year-old and I have a day trip to Chicago coming up: fly into Midway first thing in the morning, no rental car, train into the city for open play all day, concert on north side in the evening, train(s) back to hotel afterwards, fly out the next morning.  

Fortunately for me, the kid has outgrown American Girl and the like, so can skip that.  Kid isn't really into "girlie" stuff.  Spends her free time on art, music, science, shown some interest in architecture.    

Suggestions on things to do during the day that don't require a lot of advance notice or planning are welcome.    

Suggestions on places to eat are more than welcome.   Kid digs Italian (both red and white sauce), most Asian and Southeast Asian flavors, and will venture out.  When I travel I like to hit local flavors and/or stuff hard to find at home.  Where I live, it's easy to find great BBQ and steaks, so I usually seek out other cuisines when out of town.  

 
First visit? If so, I'd recommend Millennium & Maggie Daley Park and Art Institute. You really could just spend the entire day exploring downtown. It's nearly impossible to get lost and there's great stuff around every corner. Amazing architecture everywhere. Italian Village is old school and a touch touristy, but the food and atmosphere and service are always on point. If you want to get into some contemporary Chicago stuff, hit either West Randolph or Fulton. Where is the concert? You want a restaurant near venue?

 
What used to be the Sears Tower is fun. They have clear class cubes sticking out of the building up on a near-the-top floor. Kids love it.

 
I've been to Chicago several times, but rarely with a "free day" in the city like this.  Kid has been to Chicago once before, but for a family wedding in the suburbs and we didn't make it downtown.  She's up for just exploring - yesterday she showed me how to do walking directions on a maps app, so I think she's up for some walking around.

Concert is in Lincoln Park.  We have a meet-and-greet and Q&A with the artists, so we will need to be at the venue no later than 7:00.

 
Go to Shedd Aquarium for the dolphin, seal and whatnot show. It's pretty well done and right in the heart of the Loop really.  From there, head to the Willis (nee Sears) Tower for the cube mentioned above. You could easily go from there to Wrigley for an afternoon game maybe. Even if you aren't a baseball fan, it's a fun experience to take in. Early dinner, I assume, but what are you guys likely considering cuisine-wise?

 
saintfool said:
Go to Shedd Aquarium for the dolphin, seal and whatnot show. It's pretty well done and right in the heart of the Loop really.  From there, head to the Willis (nee Sears) Tower for the cube mentioned above. You could easily go from there to Wrigley for an afternoon game maybe. Even if you aren't a baseball fan, it's a fun experience to take in. Early dinner, I assume, but what are you guys likely considering cuisine-wise?
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Yes, Wrigley 

;)

 
Hmmm.  There's a combo ticket good for the Art Institute and the formerly-Sears-Tower Skydeck.  This is interesting.  That glass bottom view down the side of the building looks awesome.  

No afternoon game at Wrigley on our visit day.  

 
We just did a day with our kids (slightly younger) going to LP Zoo and then walking around Old Town (near Wells and North).  Like other neighborhoods, tons of restuarants there.

I also second Maggie Daley park, though if you go there on a weekend or anytime in the summer, it will be crazy busy.  But there is something for all ages there.

 
Annyong said:
What's the Shedd cost these days?
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There's a basic general admission of $8 for adults $6 for kids that gives you access to a few exhibits.  There's also a $31/$22 admission for six exhibits, and a $37/$29 that's good for everything including some sort of priority entry.  This is getting too complicated for a day trip.  Plus, we have the Monterey Aquarium on the docket later this summer.  Looks really cool, but not a good fit for this trip.

 
pantagrapher said:
First visit? If so, I'd recommend Millennium & Maggie Daley Park and Art Institute. You really could just spend the entire day exploring downtown. It's nearly impossible to get lost and there's great stuff around every corner. Amazing architecture everywhere. Italian Village is old school and a touch touristy, but the food and atmosphere and service are always on point. 
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So far I'm leaning towards those parks, Willis Tower Skydeck, and general downtown exploration.  The kid and I would have a ton of fun just goofing around at the city sights, take hundreds of photos, then after we get back turn the kid loose in post-production and see what see comes up with.  

Thanks again to everyone who chimed in.  And continue to make make suggestions - my take on this so far is we need to carve out time for a return visit to Chicago before too long because there's so much to do.  

 
Brony said:
We just did a day with our kids (slightly younger) going to LP Zoo and then walking around Old Town (near Wells and North).  Like other neighborhoods, tons of restuarants there.

I also second Maggie Daley park, though if you go there on a weekend or anytime in the summer, it will be crazy busy.  But there is something for all ages there.
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Fortunately for crowd control purposes, it's a weekday visit before all the schools are out.  Which seems to be even more incentive to visit Maggie Daley Park this time through.

 
Gustavo Fring said:
If your concert is in Lincoln Park, the Lincoln Park Zoo is free entry and a pretty good amount of exhibits. 
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If it's nice out, I'd also recommend renting Divvy bikes and going up along the Lakefront path.  $7-9 dollars for the day (can't remember exactly) but you just need to make sure to dock and get a new bike every 30 minutes.

 
It's touristy but a quick top at Eataly would fill the Italian cuisine box. Grab some gelato and just walk around to explore.

 
There's no "Official" Chicago thread.  So, I'm bumping this.

I've been to Chicago several times for work, and I've been to a game at Wrigley and worked downtown, but never did much touristy stuff.  

Wife and I are heading up there on a Friday in September.  I have a class the next week that starts Monday at 1pm and she's leaving that Monday morning.  So we'll have Friday afternoon/evening and all day Saturday and Sunday.  Already booked a room for the weekend at the Renaissance Downtown.

Would like recommendations on what to do.  We're staying in the theater district so a show is not out of the question, but not a must.  I'm thinking the Art museum and the museum of modern industry are possibilities, also probably at least a stop at Navy pier but I hear its a bit of a tourist trap.  Maybe the Shedd aquarium, not sure.  A coworker mentioned a river cruise to see architecture.  Is there still a bar above the observation deck of the Sears Willis tower? Used to be free to get up there and then get an overpriced beverage.

The times I've been to Chicago I've enjoyed the city, just walking around and finding places to eat and things to see.  I'm not wanted a packed itinerary but just some thoughts from the locals.   

 
Poke_4_Life said:
There's no "Official" Chicago thread.  So, I'm bumping this.

I've been to Chicago several times for work, and I've been to a game at Wrigley and worked downtown, but never did much touristy stuff.  

Wife and I are heading up there on a Friday in September.  I have a class the next week that starts Monday at 1pm and she's leaving that Monday morning.  So we'll have Friday afternoon/evening and all day Saturday and Sunday.  Already booked a room for the weekend at the Renaissance Downtown.

Would like recommendations on what to do.  We're staying in the theater district so a show is not out of the question, but not a must.  I'm thinking the Art museum and the museum of modern industry are possibilities, also probably at least a stop at Navy pier but I hear its a bit of a tourist trap.  Maybe the Shedd aquarium, not sure.  A coworker mentioned a river cruise to see architecture.  Is there still a bar above the observation deck of the Sears Willis tower? Used to be free to get up there and then get an overpriced beverage.

The times I've been to Chicago I've enjoyed the city, just walking around and finding places to eat and things to see.  I'm not wanted a packed itinerary but just some thoughts from the locals.   
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Art Institute is a must. It's a great museum. Skip the Museum of Science and Industry. It's farther out from downtown and mostly geared toward kids. Field Museum of Natural History is better for adults. Shedd Aquarium is great. You can see a lot just with the base entry fee, but the extras are also pretty good (the shark stuff in particular is pretty sweet). Navy Pier is actually not the tourist hell it used to be, but still not a must-see IMO. Instead, rent a couple bikes at the lakeshore and ride up the lakefront path. Hancock is the one that has the Signature Room for drinks and a great view. Sears just has the observation deck with the glass cubes you can stand in. If you do Sears, make sure to get the package deal with one of the museums (discount if you buy your observation ticket at one of the museums). I'm a big fan of the river cruises. The Chicago Architectural Tour is the gold standard. It's pricier but worth it. Be sure to get your tickets in advance. The other river tours are fine, but you won't get as much information. Other stuff to check out: the MCA is great, the Cultural Center, Millennium Park and neighboring Maggie Daley Park (you can wrap these into an Art Institute visit).

 
That park that runs along the shore and the Navy something or other...oh it was lovely. Then that place around the corner downtown had the best hot dogs n spaghetti ever. 

We liked the pizza here and enjoyed the surrounding area of Wicker Park/West Town where we found Emporium Arcade where you can take your pizza from Piece as there is no food at the arcade, just really good beer and pinball. 

 
The river architectural tours are great.

The Field Museum is featuring the Terracotta Warriors, which are an absolute must see IMO.

 
Make sure to check out the underground garbage collection areas.  They're used in tons of movies like Batman and Batman and Robin.

 
Agree with the above -- build your weekend around the Art Institute and the Chicago Architectural Tour. Field Museum > Science & Industry unless you have young kids. Millenium Park / Grant Park / lakefront. Walk the the mag mile.

 
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Just the wife and I no kids.  

Suggestions are great.  In case the wife is interested, I'd also take a nice ($100/plate) dinner suggestion downtown.  Also, is there a way to get show tickets the day of on the street like in NYC?  We may want to see a show but I doubt we plan it in advance.

 
Andy Dufresne said:
The river architectural tours are great.

The Field Museum is featuring the Terracotta Warriors, which are an absolute must see IMO.
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A lot of people see them and think tourist trap but once we got down in the tour boat it was a blast. You get to see POV of the city you couldn't access from shore. We loved it and was the highlight of downtown for me...that and Art Institute were things I'll never forget.  I have nothing but nice things to say about the city, locals were more than fair to us. 

 
I'm going to Green Bay and Chicago on Labor Day weekend with my 15 yr old son. We are seeing LSU/Wisconsin on Sat. at Lambeau and driving to Chicago Sunday a.m. to go see the Cubs/Giants at Wrigley. We are flying into Milwaukee afternoon on Friday and out of Midway Monday afternoon.

I was hoping for suggestions for hotels in the downtown area and was wondering what the traffic situation is like in Chicago on a Sunday and the following Monday (Labor Day)? Am I better off just dropping off my rent a car early at Midway and taking cabs to the hotel/Wrigley and back to the airport or is the city not too hectic for someone relying strictly on GPS with no clue where the hell they are going (also hoping the GPS doesn't bring me on some shortcut thru the South/West side to get shot)? 

Also any suggestions from mid-westerners for a hotel somewhere in WI between Milwaukee and Green Bay as GB seems to be gouging people $300 for a Super Eight because of the game. Is WI nothing but farms as I don't see much for hotels or civilization between GB/Milwaukee?

 
Any number of hotels in the Loop/Near North. Can't recommend any specifically since I've never stayed at any. But dump the car and take the Red Line to Wrigley and Orange Line to Midway.

 
If anyone is visiting the weekend of September 9th - 11th, there is the Shock Top Oyster Fest in Roscoe Village (Northside).  It's always a good festival and gets you away from the tourist traps for a little while.  

Almost every weekend during the summer there is a neighborhood street festival going on somewhere, so if you can handle sweaty groups of people day drinking, it's a good place to hang for a while.  

 
Gustavo Fring said:
If anyone is visiting the weekend of September 9th - 11th, there is the Shock Top Oyster Fest in Roscoe Village (Northside).  It's always a good festival and gets you away from the tourist traps for a little while.  

Almost every weekend during the summer there is a neighborhood street festival going on somewhere, so if you can handle sweaty groups of people day drinking, it's a good place to hang for a while.  
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In.  Thanks.

 
mr. furley said:
what in the mother#### is going on in Chicago the weekend of October 22? Bears home game?

hotel prices are bananas
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Hotel prices in Chicago are always bananas.  I was looking for a week in Chicago in June 2017 and rates were over $400.  9 months away!!!

 
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