Things to do in Chicago?

[bigjase]

The soon to be wife and I are planning on going down to Chicago on August 30-31. I know she wants to see the city a bit and do some shopping. Any suggestions on where to go?

[craigharmann]

When in Chicago, laugh at Cubs fans. That's always a favorite pastime. As for shopping, Michigan Ave is always a great area to go.

[thebruce44]

Are you driving down or taking the train? Parking is always going to be an issue. Where are you staying?

 

I would suggest checking out Michigan Ave for shopping, and all the stuff on the lake front in the NW loop. The museums are there and Navy Pier is nearby. If you want to go to the top of a tall building, the Hancock is there too and I think more enjoyable than the Sears, though I haven't been there since they put in the new glass boxes. You guys could also find a rooftop for a couple of drinks. Nothing like enjoying the city that way. The river architecture cruises are also supposed to be interesting too and fairly inexpensive. You can get on those from Navy Pier, Mich Ave, or Wacker and Adams where the Sears Tower and Union Station are.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions or are looking for more specifics.

[NeedMoreFans]

We are headed down tomorrow for a couple of days. Staying downtown and planning on doing a lot of walking. My wife wants to hit up the Art Institute and I want to go to the Museum of Science and Industry. The Field Museum, Alder Planetarium and Shedd Aquarium are all right together, and they are all really neat places to go.

[bigjase]

Thanks for the info guys.

 

Thebruce44, I was planning on driving down from Appleton, but don't have a hotel booked yet. I wasn't sure what part of town we would be by, so I didn't want to book anything until I was sure.

 

Are there any good pizza places in that area? I'd like to try out a Chicago style while in the city!

[homer]

If you want deep dish pizza, one of my favorite places is Pequod's on Webster and Clybourn. If you're staying downtown there's a bunch of "Chicago style" places to choose from. Lou Malnati's or Gino's East are good. If you want thin crust, then head to Bricks on Wisconsin and Lincoln in Old Town. It's a neat hole in the wall with fantastic pizza. My favorite pie in the city.

 

I recommend checking out some Improv or sketch comedy while you're down there. IO (formerly Improv Olympic) on Clark about half block from Wrigley has shows 7 days a week and the quality is consistently good. And it's affordable. I think the mainstage is like $14 per person. Second City is on North and Wells in Old Town is also consistently good but it's a bit more money and you have to get your tickets well in advance especially for a weekend show.

 

One tour I've always wanted to do is the Gangster bus tour of Chicago. They take you around and show you all the famous hangouts of guys like Capone and Frank Nitti and I believe you also see sites of famous murders and shoot outs (e.g. spot where Dillinger was killed, site of St. Valentine's Day Massacre, etc.)

 

Getting around via mass transit is really easy. I'd buy a three day pass at one of the El stations. If you want to know the best route to take to get from A to B via bus/train head to this site:

 

http://www.transitchicago.com/

 

And use the Trip Planner. All buses have GPS linked to this web site: www.ctabustracker.com so you can check on your phone how long it will be for a bus to arrive at your stop. Very useful.

[TheEndless7]

I highly recommend the Art Institute, which has quite a few famous paintings you'd recognize, as well as a cool room in the basement with all sorts of minature house things from history, and even wall paintings from Pompeii (..I'm a classical civ major so..). The new Modern Wing is also pretty cool, although I'll confess that I don't quite 'get' all 'Modern Art'. The AIC is interesting because its huge, and you can kill 3-4 hours easy just walking through and looking at thigns for a couple of seconds. My favorite museum in the city. And ,the Architectural River tour is a pretty cool tour. I forgot how much it cost, but remember it being worth it (I am a sucker for architecture tho). For shopping, just walk up and down Michigan Ave from the river (south end) about eight-ten blocks to the Bloomingdales mall (north). For Pizza, there is a little place called Pizano's, I think it's much better than the Giordano's and Gino's East, at about State and Delaware that I think has the best pizza in the city.

[NeedMoreFans]

And ,the Architectural River tour is a pretty cool tour. I forgot how

much it cost, but remember it being worth it (I am a sucker for

architecture tho)

I checked, and there are a couple companies. Looks like it's $35-37/person. I remember doing this once and it was pretty cool.