what is the best thing to do when visiting chicago for a weekend?

Answer 1

the navy pier
grant park
house of blues (21 and over)
museaum of art and history
sears tower
million dollar mile (the main drag where tiffany's and F A swartz is)
six flags
gurnee mall north chicago
rainforest cafe
club excalibur
rock bottom cafe

Answer 2

The best thing to do while in Chicago really depends on your interests, and whether or not you are traveling alone, with a spouse/partner, or with a whole family.

Visiting the Sears Tower is always a good option, but I actually find the views to be better and the John Hancock building. At the John Hancock, there is a Cheesecake Factory that is always worth visiting.

Taking a boat ride is very nice. There is an architectural tour that I found very informative and fun. (http://www.shorelinesightseeing.com/)

One of my favorite resturants is Reza's on Ontario. There is also one on Clark, but I like the environment at the one on Ontario better. Either way, the food at both is wonderful without breaking your pocket book. (http://www.rezasrestaurant.com/)

Another favorite resturant of mine is actually a Pakistani resturant in Rogers Park called Sabri Nihari. It is on Devon Avenue. Has the best Nihari in the US.

The Museum of Science and Industry is always interesting with or without children. Depending on what you want to do, you might look into getting a citypass. It will reduce your cost to most of the big attractions (http://www.citypass.com/city/chicago.html?id=fBWuLGQr)

Lincoln Park Zoo has free admission, you have to pay to park unless you are lucky enough to find parking on a nearby street or you take public transporation to get there. It is a wonderful little zoo. Just the right size for small kids. There are also pedal boats you can rent there.

There are several beaches to go swimming at along the lake front. If you have girls, make sure and visit the American Girl Place.

Answer 3

Since I know nothing about you (age, likes/dislikes, etc.), I would recommend that you go to yelp.com to find places and things that you like to do. It's a great resource because you get real life people that have tried these places and their opinions. Also, I would pick up Time Out Chicago to see what's going on in the city. It's a fabulous tool because so much is going on and it breaks down things by your interests.

I would suggest taking a sightseeing tour on your first day because it will give you a basic lay of the land and you won't feel cheated if you get back home and realize there was something in Chicago that you wanted to check out.

2 things most people want to try which is unique to Chicago is: Garrett's Popcorn (get the mix on Michigan Avenue) and seeing "Oprah" - they are on vacation right now but should be back after Labor Day. You can usually get in if you speak with your concierge about getting tickets; and

Answer 4

Here are some things to do.

1) The best and essential - For adults is the Chicago Architectural Festival, the only one of its kind in the US. The weekend of May 22 and May 23 is a totally free weekend. This includes the Boat rides, Walking tours, biking tours and trolley tours. There will be at least 100 different free things to do this weekend. Registration for any of the activities starts early each morning on a first come first serve basis. Not to be missed. Many of the tours are given once a year, and even the most popular tours, such as the boat ride, which may be the best thing to do in Chicago, next to Wrigley, are free. Remember the early bird gets there before other birds who get there later. My experience is that the first thing to go is the boat tour, so anyone who wants to do it should plan on being first in line. Chicago is the birthplace of modern architecture, and continues to excel. Do not miss the new Gehry band shell and especially the Gehry bridge, the first one he has ever designed. In addition, two new buildings on IIT campus, one designed by Helmet Johns and one by Koolhaus are not to be missed. It is best that anyone who wants to see all that is to be available should go to the website for the Foundation - www.architecture.org.

2) Museums are great - following are some suggestions -

a) Art Institute - "American Gothic", Nighthawk, Sunday in the Park,Chagall windows, great impressionists collection. Don't miss the miniature rooms in the museum basement.

Following museums and other places are great for adults and kids:

b) Field museum of natural history - In particular the current exhibit "Splendors of China's Forbidden City" Items which have never left China until this exhibit. Sue - The largest intact T-Rex skeleton is in the museum lobby.

c) Shedd aquarium - Lots of fish and some turtles. Great new shark exhibit. Indoor Dolphin show.

d) Adler Planetarium - Sky shows, interactive exhibits and the stars.

e) Museum of Science and Industry - Interactive exhibits, huge and the most fun for kids. About 1/2 hour ride from the hotels, so may be harder to get to.

f) Garfield Park Conservatory - Great Spring flower show. In addition to flowers and Fauna there is a current African Dinosaur exhibit throughout the conservatory, bones everywhere. A half hour ride from downtown on the green line "EL"

G) Lincoln Park Zoo. Free Zoo in the city. Lots of animals and beautiful on a nice day.

3) Navy Pier - What can you say about the most visited tourist attraction in Illinois, but that a lot of people visit it. A great place to rub shoulders with other people who go there.

Some things on Navy Pier that I think rise above the Pier itself:

a) The children's museum - a lot of fun for kids with hands on activities.
b) Shakespeare Theater has a 75 minute hip-hop version of Midsummer Night's Dream at 11:00AM on Saturday.
c) You will never see a better view of the great Chicago Skyline than from the Pier.
d) Bike Rentals - Rent a bike and ride North or South along the lake. (avoid the Family pedal carriages unless you are a gluten for punishment. They only look as if they are fun.) This is a great way to get away from the Pier.
e) The Stain Glass Museum which runs a large part of the length of the Pier.
f) Boat rides into the Lake. The Seadog is the fastest and the wettest.

4) Just go for a walk along the lake. If someone hasn't been to Chicago before, the 30 miles of beach and rock cliffs can not be beat. By May a lot of the boats will be back on the Lake. The official date that the boat slips open is Memorial Day, but there will many boats in the water by May 22. Hopefully it will nice enough to lay on the beach. I think the Volley ball nets will be up along North Avenue Beach

5) Go shopping along Michigan Avenue north of the river. Many ways to spend money. Also the observation deck on top of the John Hancock building is as good as Sears Tower.

6) Sears Tower - A great view on a clear day. Anyone staying at the W hotel in downtown is only 2 blocks away. The Fairmont and the other W are closer to the John Hancock. Both observation decks are similar experiences, but only Sears has semi bragging rights (Semi because it is no longer the world's tallest building, but it is the highest building observation deck in the world.) The Hancock is about 100 feet shorter.

Answer 5

Hmmm...lots to consider. I enjoy the architechual boat tour, go to the beach, the aquarium, go to a cubs game, the art institute, the sears tower, eat some pizza and drink some beer. There are often summer time street festivals in the chicago neighboorhoods which are neat to experience. Enjoy!

Answer 6

I like the ....
Art Institute
Buckingham Fountain
Shedd Aquarium
Adler Planetarium
The Lincoln Park Zoo

Answer 7

Stay in a hotel in the burbs then take a taxi or train into downtown and just walk around with a map of interesting sites. Take your time and just enjoy a very nice large American city. You'll need more than one weekend to see it all. Good luck and have fun.

Answer 8

If you are old enough, Just hit Rush Street. That's the party street.

You should also take the L, just to say you did. And drive up Lake Avenue into downtown.

Answer 9

One dining point: Make sure you have a Chicago hot dot at Portillo's (they're all around the city). You won't be disappointed!

Answer 10

sears tower navy pier a boat ride at navy pier