Chicago Tourist Advice?

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Sad_Girl

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Coming up in three weeks, I'm going to be in Chicago with my boyfriend for a little vacation - neither of us have ever been to the windy city and although there is a ton of tourism paraphernalia out there, I was thinking maybe some of my fellow interferencers might have some good advice for things to do and/or see while we're playing tourist.

any advice from locals or other people who've visited Chicago and had good or bad experiences to share that will help us decide what to try would be very welcome!
 
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Chicago office of tourism


The walking tours are cool. There is alot of great architecture.

If you have a car you can go to Oak Park where Frank Lloyd Wright lived, lots of the buildings he designed are there.

I like the Navy Pier, Aquarium, Museum of Natural History and Science and Industry

My favorite is Wrigley Field!!!

Hope this helps!
 
I suppose I should have mentioned that we'll be spending two days in Dearborn (Detroit) at the Henry Ford Museum later that week, so I don't think we'll be doing any of the Chicago museums (being a Michigan Native, I'm a bit prejudiced about this subject :wink: )
Gav, being British isn't much interested in Baseball, but I'd love to see Wrigley field :yes: and one reason Gav wants to see Chicago is becasue he's into the roaring 20's and Al Capone and all of that.

definitely will be checking into the other stuff you've mentioned, thanks and keep it coming :happy:
 
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OOh I want to go to Chicago so bad. My friend just moved to Evanston, so he is super-close and I am going to visit him the next chance I get. He lives right on the lake, so there's always that. I don't know what all that entails, but I'm sure there are some fun things alongside the Lake that you can do ... like shopping and restaurants. There's always Michigan Avenue if you're a big spender. :D
 
You chose the right place to take a vacation:wink:

If you like museums, theres a lot of em..Science and Industry, Shed Aquarium, Planeteriam, etc..

Def check out Michigan ave because even if you ain't gonna buy, theres a lot of stuff to just even check out..

And take a walk down the beach, very nice :up:
 
Hmmm, there's really not much in the way of Capone/gangster stuff for tourists. The Chicago History Museum has a few displays on it, and there's a company called 'Untouchable Tours' that does cheesy, bus-around-in-period-dress-pointing-at-buildings-type tours, and a cheesy dinner theatre/musical revue thing called Tommy Gun's Garage meant to simulate the atmosphere of a speakeasy, but that's about it I think. The tourism scene is really more geared towards architecture, shopping and museums.

There's a lot of good comedy shows and theater in Chicago for very reasonable prices if you're into that kind of thing; TimeOut Chicago usually has good up-to-date listings.

IMO, unless you really loathe museums it's a shame to miss the Art Institute, it really is one of the country's great art museums.
 
yolland said:


IMO, unless you really loathe museums it's a shame to miss the Art Institute, it really is one of the country's great art museums.


Like Clarityat3am, I'm still trying to figure out the city, too...been here 3 months or so.....but, the above comment is definitely true, it's a great great museum.....

I think places like Navy Pier are overrated.

Heading out to Oak Park is a good idea, if you like architecture/Wright. You can get there via mass transit, if you have no car. As a few have said, can't go wrong strolling up and down Michigan Ave.

Tons of theater, comedy clubs, LOTS of live music, restaurants, etc. You'll love it.
 
It looks like we'll be staying in the Michigan Ave are near Navy Pier - sounds like just the right place to be for the vacation we're looking for :up:
 
yolland said:
Hmmm, there's really not much in the way of Capone/gangster stuff for tourists. The Chicago History Museum has a few displays on it, and there's a company called 'Untouchable Tours' that does cheesy, bus-around-in-period-dress-pointing-at-buildings-type tours, and a cheesy dinner theatre/musical revue thing called Tommy Gun's Garage meant to simulate the atmosphere of a speakeasy, but that's about it I think. The tourism scene is really more geared towards architecture, shopping and museums.

There's a lot of good comedy shows and theater in Chicago for very reasonable prices if you're into that kind of thing; TimeOut Chicago usually has good up-to-date listings.

IMO, unless you really loathe museums it's a shame to miss the Art Institute, it really is one of the country's great art museums.

Gav's visited the Louvre more than once, so I suppose he's interested in Art enough that he might enjoy that - but we're both already anxious to see the 'Rock Stars' Cars & Guitars Exhibit' at the Henry Ford museum in Detroit - I'll have to see how he feels about hitting multiple museums on his vacation

we're actually planning on going to tommy guns garage :up:

and we're not big shoppers but I'm sure we can have fun being judged by the salespeople :giggle:
 
clarityat3am said:
Lately I've been figuring out the L and where all the music venues are. I finally found good music here. :love:

:)

I've got the mass transit down cold, that was the easy part. Now, yeah, trying to find all the great little music venues. Have been to a few big shows, but not enough smaller ones. Fun, though, exploring a new area.
 
I've been to several nice smaller venues that are attached to bars. Depends on when you're here and what you like, but I could probably find a show for you. I'm not all too good at it yet, and it would probably be more of a concert than some casual listening. Let me know.

Sad_Girl or No spoken words, drop me a line if you want at clarityat3am at gmail dot com. :)
 
Cool :cool: thanks :)

I'm going to talk to Gav more about our plans tomorrow; I'll definitely be in touch - if there's one thing I know both of us love, it's live music :up:
 
Sad_Girl said:
Is the House of Blues worth visiting?

or is there a particularly good place for live music we should check out?
IMO Buddy Guy's Legends is better, as far as higher-profile blues clubs go. But it's always a good idea to check current listings as they become available--you never know who might pop up where. Green Mill Cocktail Lounge is a good jazz club.
 
I loooove Chicago! I do live like an hour away. :lol:

I just went to this place called the Beat Kitchen on Belmont last night to see a band. I don't know who's playing tonight, but they have a great setup. I'm under 21 so they marked my hands and told me I could only stay in the back room since the front has a bar. They did a great job with security, and the room with the stage wasn't chaotic or anything. It was great. Most of the bands are local, but great. Tickets are only about $10 at the door, and the food is excellent. I had the pizza, and it was amazing. This is probably not the scene you're looking for, but I thought I'd put it out there for anyone looking for a good place to see bands in Chicago. :D

Of course, I love the Sears Tower, Oriental Theatre (Wicked is probably still playing there. I highly recommend it.), the museums, the Shedd Aquarium...oh and definitely Navy Pier. Looove it.

The nice thing about the place is that there are so many little hidden things that are just as amazing as the bigger ones. :wink:
 
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I haven't been to Beat Kitchen yet. Driven by it a lot to get to Schubas though. I'll have to keep my eye on it in case someone that sounds interesting books a date there. :)
 
clarityat3am said:
I haven't been to Beat Kitchen yet. Driven by it a lot to get to Schubas though. I'll have to keep my eye on it in case someone that sounds interesting books a date there. :)


Check the website. One of the bands I like, The Ataris are coming, but it's an 18+ show. :rant:
 
Dusty Bottoms said:
Chicago in the summer may be the best city in the United States. It's a shame it's only summer for about 3 weeks there :wink:

I'd agree if it were not so humid. I forgot what it was like to live in a humid area after 10 years in LA, and it bitch slaps me around a lot.
 
I love Chicago :love: Wrigley is a great place to visit as is the Shedd Aquarium. Navy Pier is definitely worth going to also. Gives a great view of the lake with the skyline right there.

Believe with this city that it's so easy to come upon something great unexpectedly. It's like there are little jewels spread throughout.
 
Dusty Bottoms said:
Chicago in the summer may be the best city in the United States. It's a shame it's only summer for about 3 weeks there :wink:

Hey. It's been hot here since May. :angry: (and I've got the tan to prove it!)

I'd also suggest visiting the Art Institute. You can enjoy Millennium Park before/after as well.

Most of the gangster sites no longer exist. The site of the St Valentine's Day massacre is now just a lot, for example. You can still visit the place were Dillinger was shot though.

Navy Pier has free shuttles to take you to touristy places around the city. Free is good. :D
 
I did two things in Chicago when I was there three days last year: Wrigley Field and Navy Pier.

There was plenty to do too. It's my favorite city that's not Philadelphia.
 
I've been here for over 3 years now and there's still so much I have left to see and do! it's been awfully hot and humid here for several months, so I haven't done a ton this summer. But I have been to a bunch of White Sox games, and a Cubs game as well. But Millenium Park/Grant Park is a good place to walk around. the museums are worth checking out, really like the Aquarium and the Art Institute. Navy Pier is really touristy, only really like it for the views outside of it. the Sears tower is awesome on a clear day. Lou Mitchell's is a good place for breakfast too, think it's on Jackson, not too far away from Union Station. Lincoln Park Zoo is another good option, it's free! State Street and Michigan Ave are good if you're looking to do some shopping from the cheap to the super expensive.

definitely recommend public transportation if you don't plan on renting a car. much much easier IMO.
 
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Actually you should hop on the Brown Line train going south, wrapping around the loop... it's an elevated train and it takes you through all the buildings and across the river , good view of the city!
 
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