48 hours in Chicago-must do?

[pcgirl54]

We are empty nesters. Late May 2008 we are deciding whether to do a about a 2 day stop to Chicago before we fly home. I have never been there.


What are the must do's ,need hotel recommendations and casual places to eat?

We like sightseeing, boat tours,visting most museums except for pure art museums, prefer casual dining,bakeries and walking around places with eateries and shops or like The North End in Boston or Fanueil Hall. We are not sports oriented so Wrigley Field is not on our list of to do's.

I thought with a short stay we should take a city tour. From browsing briefly online it seems that there are many zones in Chicago and tours from 2-5 hrs but I do not know what would be best to get a real flavor of Chicago. Some have a trolley where you can hop on and off option and others have brief stops.

Hotels downtown or near the airport? We may or may not rent a car depending on what we do and where we stay. We will fly in/out of ORD.

Thanks so much!

 

[lscott]

Chicago

We usually stay at the Palmer House Hilton in the Loop, for its location, but there are many other well situated hotels. You do need reservations anywhere, sometimes hard to get for some dates. Palmer Hse is currently under renovation but minor inconvenience.
Walk to Mich Ave and cross the bridge and pick up river/lake boat tours. Many other tours, architectural, town trolley tours. Millers Pub is in same block as Palmer House, very popular, reasonably priced, extensive menus. We like the Italian Village (upstairs of 3 restaurants) on Monroe St a couple of blocks from hotel. No problem finding a LOT to do in Chgo. We go for long weekend every year.

 

[JLB]

Planning on staying 2 days everywhere?

 

[Holysmoke]

cubs cardinals game!

 

[pcgirl54]

2 days everywhere

JLB-Yes and Yes! Actually we do this on a few trips we have taken! Want to prolong going back to work as long as possible. Always on vacation in my mind.

But this time it's on a return trip from Maui and the best flights land in LAX, Chicago or San Francisco before we come back to Boston. Want to avoid LAX altogether. It's our first Hawaii trip and we need to recoup from jetlag.

We are not sports fans but thanks for the input!

 

[IreneLF]

Walk out on Oak St to Lake Michigan and see the beach right in the middle of downtown Chicago. Your chance to take a dip (toes?) in a Gt Lake.

 

[noson7982]

Museums in Chicago

These are my favorite museum in Chicago will take more than two days to visit them.
John G Shedd Aquarium
- www.sheddaquarium.org

Museum of Science & Industry
- www.msichicago.org


Adler Planetarium
- www.adlerplanetarium.org

The Field Museum
www.fieldmuseum.org

The Art Institute of Chicago Museum
www.artic.edu/aic/

Bob

 

[wauhob3]

If you only have time to do one museum I'd do the Museum of Science and Industry second choice would be Field museum. Definitely stay downtown near Michigan Ave. I use Priceline for Chicago hotels. There's a lot to see just walking up and down Michigan Ave. For casual food there's a fantastic food court in Water Tower Place not at all like other food courts. There's an architectural Chicago river boat tour. Then there's Navy Pier and Millennium Park. Use public transportation and taxi's to get around.

 

[MULTIZ321]

PCGirl,

Also consider the Art Institute of Chicago Museum - http://www.artic.edu/

and Navy Pier - http://www.navypier.com/things2do/things_home.html

and Chicago City Pass which gives you 5 Chicago attractions for $49.50
http://www.citypass.com/city/chicago.html

What's playing at Chicago Theaters - http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/stage/

and Half-price Chicago Theatre Ticket info - http://gochicago.about.com/od/chicagotheaterscene/a/discount_ticket.htm


Have fun -

Richard

 

[veenstra56]

The Chicago River boat tour is a great way to see the wonderful architecture of the city. The tour we took started at Michigan Ave. at the river, went through the locks into Lake Michigan for a bit, and then proceded to re-enter the river and went all the way to the Sears Tower before returning back to Mich. Ave. Not expensive (maybe 15-20 bucks each) and very enjoyable.

A walk up Michigan Ave. itself is a must for new visitors. Some of the best shopping in the world. Also consider Navy Pier, the museum of Science and Industry, and Millenium Park.

I would advise staying either in the Loop or north of the river on or close to Michigan Ave.