Chicago Travel Answers

For the car driving thing, the drive up to Milwaukee is nice provided you follow the lakeshore and not go on the interstate/tollway. I think Kenosha and Racine are cute towns, actually, and then the northern suburbs of Chicago are, of course, beautiful. But, of course, the lakeshore is probably not the best place to be in January. January is not an outdoorsy time, as you know, so it's tough to say. I normally like going out to Naperville, but I don't know about going there in the middle of winter. The Indiana Dunes might be pretty in a stark and unpopulated way, but probably also excessively cold. You could do some indoor stuff in the suburbs though. Something I found interesting was the Japanese supermarket (Mitsuwa) in Arlington Heights. It's got a food court, so it's a great to place to eat (if you like real Japanese food) but also it's fun to walk around and look at the different Japanese products. Then there's Oak Park. You could take the tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright house. Depends on your interests there though.

Your home page doesn't indicate where you're from so hopefully you are familiar with winter driving. If there is snow, be forewarned that driving can be quite dangerous if you are not used to it. There are a couple of VT regulars that live in the area and will probably add their thoughts. As stated winter in Chicago can be quite cold so outdoor activities are rather limited.

OK, here's one of those Chicago natives. 1) I'm a little bit beyond the drinking and clubbing scene, but my 2 oldest sons who live in the city would probably tell you that the Wrigleyville area (near Wrigley Field) is one of the better places in town. Years ago it used to be the Rush Street area, but again I'm not really up on the scene right now. 2) Driving in the Chicago/Milwaukee area during January could be iffy at best. Although we don't have any snow at present you never know when one will come roaring down the lake. On those days you DO NOT WANT TO BE ON CHICAGO ROADS. 3) It is really hard to recommend cities, town, villages for you to visit. A lot of that would really depend on your interests. Also do you want indoor or outdoor activities? 4) Driving 60 minutes to 90 minutes won't even get you out of the Chicago suburbs for the most part. Depending on where you are staying in the Chicago area, Milwaukee could be anywhere from 45 minutes to a 2 1/2 hour trip from Chicago. 5) Just be aware if you are from a warmer climate that when the winds from Canada come down off the lake you will swear you have never been so cold. With that in mind I would stick to indoor activities as much as possible.

As everyone else has mentioned, driving in Chicagoland in the winter months isn't always the best idea. And a lot of places I'd recommend to people to see in the area are really more summer places. You don't say where you are coming from nor can we see any of your interests, are you interested in winter activities like skiing, skating, snowmobiling? Are you interested in museums? What is it about Milwaukee that's luring you there? I like Milwaukee a lot, once again, it's much more alive in the summer but you can visit the art museum, have a fine German meal, visit the Pabst Mansion. Chicago has plenty to do in the winter months, lots of large and small museums, fine theater, shopping, lots of great restaurants in all budgets, movie houses that show independent and foreign films. I'm a little too old for the club scene but the area between Delaware and Chicago it's where the tourist go, I suppose that fine if that's who you want to hang out with. But if you are looking for the hip and trendy places both Chicago Magazine and Time Out have a monthly/weekly list of hot places both for drinking and for eating, you might be able to find that information on line. Metromix, Yelp and the Chicago Reader might also be useful resources.

Ok, it's true, my post is a little bit poor of information...let's do some explanation...:) first of all I'm from Italy, Florence exactly, so I'm quite ready for cold temperature, snow and wind. I suppose Chicago weather is a little bit harder than florence, anyway I have quite a lot of warm clothes in my wardrobe... about driving around: I love U.S., the cities and the countryside, it's not my first time there and like i did in my past experiences in your country, I would like to rent a car for 1-2 days and travel around to visit places around chicago, just trying to have an idea (i mean "an idea", not to visit everything :)) of illinois and Lake Michigan zone. That's the reason why I plan to go to milwaukee, because I think realistically that I am not going to have so much occasions to visit milwaukee again... About my interest, I can say I want to visit outside chicago places that explain and show how really is the "inland", so I am interested in small town as cities as everything can be called "tipical".

Are you coming before or after New Year's? The week leading up to New Year's will have a lot more Christmas related stuff still going, after New Year's, the decorations come down, we all go on diets and behave ourselves as we've all made New Year's resolutions that we will break the 2nd week of January :-) Here's my list of the things to do around the holidays, some of them extend out as far as January 8th like the Christmas around the World display at the Museum of Science & Industry "Holiday season" - Festivals Tip by Dabs And some ideas from the Tribune chicagotribune.com/features/... And some outside activities since you seem to be unafraid of the cold chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magaz... As far as the area around Chicago you might have a look at Lake Geneva, WI which is active in the winter as well as the summer, Spring Green WI which has the over the top House on the Rock and Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin (lots of history there). Galena might also have some things holiday related still going on. Don't forget that Chicago has a lot of unique neighborhoods to check out, Wicker Park/Bucktown, Lincoln Park, Devon Avenue (Little India), Hyde Park where the University of Chicago is along with several small museums and Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House, Lincoln Square, Chinatown. Oak Park and Evanston just outside the city are both interesting cities to check out. Don't be afraid to get on the el and visit outside the center of the city, just make sure you ask your hotel front desk before setting out to make sure you aren't heading somewhere you don't belong. You can see if a Chicago Greeter is available for one of the neighborhoods, you must reserve in advance. Once again, Chicago driving in the winter can be brutal, as of today we haven't had any snow but if the roads get icy and snowy and you aren't used to it, driving can be very challenging especially inside the city limits.

I don't know if you are a zoo person, but I believe Chicago has one of the best zoos in the suburb of Brookfield. It is open all year round, so you could enjoy part of a day there. I might also suggest a visit to my hometown of Naperville. We are not a small town (about 140,000 residents), but we have the feel of a very typical midwestern Great Lakes city with a really nice riverwalk, some nice shops, restaurants, etc. You could even take an hour train ride from Union Station in Chicago to Naperville. If you do decide to do that I would be more then happy to meet you and show you around. My wife and I may make it to Florence next year, so you could also give me some tips on your city. Take a look at my Naperville page for some of my pictures and comments about the town where I've lived since 1979.

How about a brewery tour in Milwaukee? Beer is what Milwaukee is known for, so a visit to the old brew-house could be interesting: http://bestplacemilwaukee.com/ Admittedly, I've been visiting Milwaukee for years, and I've never done a brewery tour, but's just me. Btw, if you are looking for an old-school German restaurant in Milwaukee, I can recommend Karl Ratzsch's.

On the question of Chicago nightlife, I wouldn't pretend to be "Mr Goodbar" myself, but it's true that the area you mention in your question is sometimes refered to by locals as "Viagra Triangle" because of the proliferation of pick-up joints and single bars. Most of the locals I know prefer to do their bar-hopping in the neighborhoods, instead of the Michigan Ave./Loop area. Bucktown/Wicker Park is no longer considered really trendy, but there are still some distinctly Chicago places there. Last year one of my Chicago friends took me to a place called "The Velvet Rope," which is a kind of modern speakeasy/cocktail bar close to the Wicker Park CTA stop. If you go there, make sure you know the address - there's no outside sign, just a door on a non-descript building! (Great cocktails, though.) http://theviolethour.com/

Let me expand on the Viagra Triangle, specifically it's called that because men who require the little blue pill, I'll call them older gentlemen with adequate net worth to be polite, troll the area for hot young blonds who are in search of a sugar daddy. In addition to the Viagra Triangle, the Rush/Division bars cater primarily to tourists and to suburbanites who drive in for the evening. I think the Bucktown/Wicker Park residents would be shocked to find they are no longer trendy Chet ;-)

ok, let me explain what I realize about "viagra triangle" reading in forum or lonely planet...It seems to be like a jungle of joint where single man go to catch up young girl, so a zone not so funny for a couple of 30's in holiday from italy who's going to looking for some nice club or bar where we can drink a good beer or a cocktail in pure relax...do you understand what I mean.... But I don't think it's really a place like that, I guess..because if it's true I really want to stay away from those streets. What I am looking for for our afterdinner it's some streets where we can walk and jump from a bar, to a club where we can find blues, to a nice restaurant, to a cool bar again...What I mean is like the Village in NYC or BOurbon street in NewOrleans or Adams Morgan in Washington (just to mention place I visited in U.S). Concluding, I am not sure if I can find a place like that in Chicago and that's what I am asking, I don't care if it could be in the center or in the neighborhoods... Anyway, thanks for all you answers...great!!!

If you need some NYE ideas, you might check Time Out, just be aware, like any big city, that prices are increased dramatically on most things for NYE, and a lot of places only have package deals http://timeoutchicago.com/ Here's their section on bars timeoutchicago.com/restauran... And this is specifically for cocktails, these are the critic picks (4 pages, this is the 1st page) timeoutchicago.com/search/ap... If you are looking for something like Bourbon Street in New Orleans then you probably are looking for Rush/Division Street. I don't think there are many locals who aren't looking for 1 night stands that are heading to Bourbon Street on a regular basis. However, if you are looking just to have cocktails, the link above has a whole list of cocktail bars. Be prepared to pay at least10-$12 for a cocktail in the central area, more if it's a really trendy spot. If, after looking through the link above, you have any questions about the general neighborhood of any spot, let me know. River North, Gold Coast, Streeterville,Magnificent Mile and the Loop are the most central neighborhoods, Lincoln Park, Wrigleyville, Lakeview, Bucktown/Wicker Park, Old Town are all just a short distance away by cab. If you are just looking for a interesting bar to have a drink, you might check out Hopleaf up in Andersonville (it's a bit of a hike from the center). It gets very crowded, if you also eat there, it's easier to get a table. Or the Map Room in Wicker Park, it's right up the street from one of my favorite restaurants, Cafe Laguardia, which serves Cuban food (and really good mojitos)

Compared to New Orleans, New York, or Washington, Chicago is a newer city and things are more spread out, even in the central areas. That said, I think you put together a nice list of places to go that wouldn't be too far apart in the River North neighborhood, which is north of the Chicago River and west of Michigan Avenue. These are places I like to meet with friends in or near River North: Pops for Champagne - a jazz club, 601 N. State Street; Watershed - a cozy basement bar next door to "Pops" Clark Street Ale House - a real local Chicago pub, popular and loud - 742. N. Clark; Le Bar at the Sofitel Hotel, 20 E. Chestnut - And a little further "up" on Michigan Ave., the Coq d'Or, which is the lounge at the Drake Hotel, "old school" Chicago. 140 E. Walton

As far as a place to go in the evening, being a Chicago native I really find the Near North scene exciting. I frequented the Rush /Division (Triangle) neighborhood when I was younger looking for the bar scene, but I feel the Near North area has some wonderful dining opportunities, libations, and music. One of my favorite places to dine and listen to music is the Rockit Bar at 22 West Hubbard. rockitbarandgrill.com/locati... I would get there early by 7pm approximately to avoid having to wait outside to get in, they have great food and music. Then I would suggest visiting Andy’s Jazz Club for some great music. Check out their website to see who’s playing: andysjazzclub.com/ It’s just east of the Rockit Bar. Another tip: If you get a chance during your stay partake in some true Chicago pizza at Due’s. Go early or there’s a long line. yelp.com/biz/pizzeria-due-ch... Hope this helps!