All right I'm looking to take a trip to Chicago for a few days. Now if you were going to recommend stuff that is a must see in your city what would it be for Chicago? Also what do I need to know about public transit? Is it possible to stay outside the city proper, visit the city during the day and get back to the hotel at a later hour?
Hi Bill. I think Chicago's museums and theaters are some of the very best it has to offer.
On theaters, it has a number of top for-profit theaters that put on shows like Witches - the Chicago Theater and the Orient are two that come to mind. We also have two of the country's leading regional theater companies, producing their own shows - the Steppenwolf Theater and the Goodman Theater. I would also highly recommend the Chicago Shakespeare Theater (on Navy Pier) - its a smaller theater but reallly outstanding.
Finally, Chicago has a vibrant small theater scene - there are dozens of shows any night of the week.
For museums, I like the Art Institute of Chicago and the Field Museum of Natural History. Nearby, as part of the 'museum campus' are the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium.
So, if I were visiting here from Minnesota, I'd make sure I saw a show or two and visited a museum.
As for the transit system - It is pretty good and yes you could get a hotel outside the city and take the metra in/out On the weekend it is $5 for a pass for the whole weekend, during the week it is something like $6 per trip depending on how far you go.
I normally walk once I get down to the city, but you can use the bus or the El. I find that I'd rather walk if I don't have a tight schedule, otherwise I take a cab.
As for the transit system - It is pretty good and yes you could get a hotel outside the city and take the metra in/out On the weekend it is $5 for a pass for the whole weekend, during the week it is something like $6 per trip depending on how far you go.
I normally walk once I get down to the city, but you can use the bus or the El. I find that I'd rather walk if I don't have a tight schedule, otherwise I take a cab.
Hi Conpewter, nice seeing you around here
Two words of caution regarding the Metra for tourists - 1) it doesn't run that often and you really must double check the schedule or else you may find yourself stranded (also the line that serves my burb doesn't run on Sunday at all) and 2) you have to figure out how to get from the Metra station to your hotel.
If you stay out by O'Hare or Midway airports, some hotels will run shuttles to the airports where you can pick up either the Blue Line or Orange Line trains (sometimes called the elevated or el trains).
Personally, I think its a good idea to search for reasonably priced hotels in the city, if you're visiting.
Stay in the city. Chicago is arguably the best city experience you can have in the US. New York is probably better, but Chicago is a lot more accessible and much less intimidating. There's a great B&B in Bucktown... the Bucktown B&B where you can stay and your just steps away from great restaurants... The Bristol, Toast, Le Bouchon... to name a few. Also great bars like the Map Room. If you're in the city take some time to see Millenium Park also, but then get into the neighborhoods and stay away from the touristy garbage. It's the neighborhoods that make Chicago great.
Yes, you can get into and out of the city every day on public transit. The CTA runs only in the city, but the Metra train system goes out to the suburbs. Take a look at a few maps, and you can see where the systems over lap a bit, so you can switch train systems.
In my experience, it is easiest to stay in Chicago. However, it is more expensive. I think the biggest problem with taking the metro as a tourist is that if you travel off of peak hours the train only comes once an hour, or every other hour on a sunday.
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