Chicago Travel Answers

With luggage and 4 people, skip the bus and take a cab. It is not walking distance with luggage from Union Station. Food-pizza is one of my favorite foods and Giordano's is one of my favorites, try to avoid the really crowded one on Rush, there's another near the Sears (Willis) Tower if that's one of the things on the CityPass and there's one on Lake or Randolph Street that is less crowded. The stuffed pizza is REALLY heavy, have a look at the size of it before you order. Lou Malnati's is another good option for deep dish pizza which is different than stuffed. Do the kids eat any kind of ethnic food? When my nieces and nephews were that age, they loved going to Greektown, Greek Islands would be my choice. Chinatown might also be fun, it's a quick el ride or even more fun is taking a water taxi down there. Of course there are Chicago hotdogs, Portillo's on Ontario is a good choice The City Pass has a couple of choices, I would go for the Art Institute over the Adler unless one of you is really into astronomy and would choose the MSI over the Hancock since you have kids with you. The view isn't exactly the same as the Skydeck but it's the same general concept. Note that the MSI is a few miles south of the center so plan on a good part of a day if you go there. There's a fun show out at Navy Pier called Cirque Shanghai that the kids might enjoy, it's a Chinese acrobat show. I see 1/2 price tickets all the time on goldstar.com. Blue Man Group is another favorite with kids. Also from Navy Pier, the kids might enjoy going for a boat ride on the Lake, the Seadog is a fast boat, the commentary wasn't great but it's geared more towards younger passengers I think. I think I see those discounted on goldstar.com as well. If you are staying through Sunday, you might go to the Maxwell Street market which is not actually on Maxwell Street anymore if you enjoy Mexican food, it's cheap and tasty. If the weather is nice you can rent bikes and go along the lakefront, just a caution though, it gets really crowded and some of the bicyclists are very serious so be vigilant in crowded areas around the museum campus. You might check to see if the Sox or Cubs are playing while you are in town if there are baseball fans amongst you. Most visitors prefer the Cubs because of Wrigley Field, it's certainly not because they are the better team (that's for Riorich!)

thanks so much for your advice...we'll go with the cab and check out some of the other things you mentioned!!!

Hi, riorich55 here. I agree with all but one of Kristi's suggestions. Since you have kids in 10th and 7th grade I would opt for the Adler Planetarium over the Art Institute. There are more entertaining movies, 3D events, and interactive exhibits to interest teenagers. I was just at the Adler Planetarium 2 weeks ago for the first time in over 20 years and they have really done quite a bit to update things. Let me also add that you might also want to dip your toes into Lake Michigan at Oak Street Beach. The water should be warm enough for that now with all the 90 degree days we have been having lately. The Chicago Cubs are back in town on Monday. They play the New York Mets in a 3 game series. Monday and Tuesday they start at 7:05 p.m. and Wednesday they have a day game at 1:20. If either one is a baseball fan this is the place to see an historic ballpark. As Kristi said our team (the Cubs) is not very good this year compared to her team (the Sox). But may I remind Kristi who won games on Monday and Tuesday night this week!!

It's been a lot of years since I was at the Adler but I remember when I was a kid that I enjoyed visiting the AI but not so much the Adler. And I loved the MSI. You don't say if you are bringing girls or boys or both, but both museums are good if you enjoy the subject matter. There has been a lot going on in the skies in recent months so they should have some pretty good exhibits at the Adler. If you are bringing girls, they might enjoy the Thorne minature rooms at the AI, kind of like mini doll houses.

Lou Malnati's is my favorite pizza. It uses a fermented yeast that gives the crust a signature flavor. It is hard to find god food downtown. One idea is if you want a Chicago style hot dog you can visit the Halsted St. Deli. There are like ten of them downtown. I used to get the dogs for lunch sometimes but don't really care for the rest of their menu. Portillo's is a Chicago style fast food restaurant that has great food (Italian Beef is the real Chicago sandwich) but can have very long lines. Prices are not bad though. Also, there is a local dish called chicken vesuvio that you should try. It was invented by Italian immigrants. In Union Station they have 3 day CTA passes for sale at a kiosk. If not, you can buy them at Walgreens. That is your quickest and easiest method of getting around the downtown area. You can just wander on and off trains and busses at your leisure. There is also a free trolley that operates a few different loops that encompass the major sightseeing destinations. One block from union station is a water taxi station. That might interest you at some time during your trip.

Sadly, the free trolley routes were all discontinued back in 2009 except for the Navy Pier route navypier.com/visit_us/pdf/Tr... If you plan on using the CTA, buy the passes at Union Station as suggested, oddly many of the el stations don't sell them, you can get them in 1, 3 or 7 day increments transitchicago.com/travel_in... Saganaki, the flaming cheese dish served at Greek restaurants, was also supposedly invented here