Travel Answers

what is the ticket fee

I will visit Chicago with my family in the next July , I´ll stay in my huncle´s house, he lives in 26th street and kedzie (La Villita) ¿What recomendations of securty could you give us?

Hey Guys,

My girl friend and I are visiting Chicago on the 4th of July to watch the fireworks from Navy Pier, we will be staying about 20 min outa downtown. I have included a rental car in our trip, my question is should I leave the rental car at our hotel and ride the train downtown or is it a possibility to park down there? We are staying at The Champagne lodge if that helps any.

As a VT Travel Ambassador for Chicago I'm personally inviting each and every one of you to Chicago this summer. Our festival season is beginning and there is a wide range of activities for everyone of all ages. And if you are going to be in the area and can't make the big Euro Meet on the weekend of June 21 to June 23 you can come to my hometown in the suburbs as we will have a mini VT meeting on Saturday, June 22. And if you can't come this year, start planning that trip for next year! See You Soon

We are flying into O'hare July 16 and driving to Saugatuck, MI for three days then back to Penninsula Hotel downtown Chicago. We want to take train from airport to downtown car rental location and drop off when back in Chicago so we don't have to park or drive downtown. Then train back to O'Hare. What route for train and where is closest rental company to train station downtown?

Hello. I will visit Chicago this summer and i really want to see/visit The Oprah Winfrey store. When I checked on the Internet found that it´s closed!!!!!!!!!! :(
Do somebpdy know if the site it´s closed for shopping online or the store is closed also ?
I´m travelling from Sweden and I don´t know how to find out.
Please help me.

Thx, have a great day!

Hi again,

You already helped me greatly to choose some books about Chicago and now I'm coming for dessert.

At this point of my planning I'm leaving here those itineraries from my list which are a bit more "off the beaten path", just in case any of them awake a suggestion, advice or alert to you. I'll try to update how it turned out to be at my return (somewhere in June)

Some of them are already filled with previous suggestions of yours, but just in case.

- Chicago History Museum on the southwest corner of Lincoln Park. On the way I'll look for the Charnley-Persky House Museum (house by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright) and the Archbishop's Residence which was used as the fictional Jadwin's residence in "The Pit", the 1903 novel by Frank Norris. Would Old town be worth a visit after the museum?

- Visit the magnificent hall of the Chicago Auditorium at Michigan Av and try later the bookstore at the nearby Fine Arts building.

- Take the Green line or the Metra and spend some time around the Oak Park streets crowded with Frank Lloyd Wright houses, including his own early home and studio. I'll do this trip during broad daylight, but I have to say that reading the news one gets the probably wrong idea that the Green line to Oak Park may become sort of a ightmare (I'll should stop reading the news and chill about it)

- Take the Metra south to Hyde Park and visit the University of Chicago, the Robie House and maybe take a general look of the former site of the 1893 Columbian Exposition from the Museum of Science surroundings. Daytime, of course

- Walk around the Loop and look for the legendary Chicago early skyscrapers; the Rookery, the Reliance Bld (now the Burnham hotel), the Monadnock Bld, Carson, Pirie & Scott department store, etc. (there are many self guided
tour maps on the internet if needed; also plenty of guided tours at CAF).

- One thing I'd love to do but I don't think is going to be possible is to visit the Chicago Board of Trade trading floor. There are CAF tours but not at the time I'm gonna be there.

That's it...so far

Hey everyone... visiting Chicago for the first time next month for a conference. I'll be staying at the Marriott on the Magnificent Mile so my location is fairly central. What should I do/see in that 36 hours to get a good taste of the city? I'm already planning on hitting Navy Pier and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Thanks!

I'm coming for the first time and have got 2 full days in Chicago. Can anyone tell me what they think about the itinerary I want to follow, like if it's realistically possible? Staying at Essex Inn. Day 1: bus to Lou Mitchell's for breakfast; walk to Willis tower; entrance to Skydeck; walk to Tribune tower, Michigan Ave Bridge, Route 66 Begin signpost. PM: Millenium Park (The Bean, Crown Fountain, Nichols bridgeway) Buckingham Fountain at sunset; dinner near hotel at Lou Malnati's. Day 2: River Architecture boat tour; Chicago Cultural Center; Magnificent Mile; Navy Pier.
Any ideas for lunch in town, both days? Most interested in something quick like hot dog or deli sandwich. Thanks guys!

What is a good, small, centrally located hotel that has some character?

which one would it be? Looking for amenities and location? Also please recommend a way to get there from the airport? I am comming for the food festival and the caribbean african festival. How far are these hotels from these events?

Hi,

We are out of town visitors staying near the Miracle Mile. My wife is a lawyer and would like to do some shopping for professional clothing while here.

The catch is that she needs petites. Where are the best places to shop for petites? We could hop in a cab for suggestions not along the Miracle Mile.

Thanks!

I will be in Milwaukee from 7th to 19th, April,in a training course at GE Education Center , so I would like spend a week end day, at least , probabilly 13th or 14th, visiting Chicago. My questions are:
-where the best place to park ? preferably not expensive.
- where can I listen a good and authentic blues ?

Which Chicago based book would you recommend to someone from abroadt? for example, I would recommend "Man's fate/ La condition humaine" for someone visiting Shanghai.

Hi, I will travel to Chicago this May, I'm gonna be there for 4-6 days, I need some recommendations on where to go and what to eat at there Thank you very much :)

How do I transfer from the Southline Metra (Michigan City) to the Northline to go to Ravinia?

How do I get from the South Metra (Michigan City) to the North Line to Ravinia?

Please, can you tell me, if there is a good possibility to go from Loop area in Chicago to the Venue at Horseshoe Casino by train, bus or metro? And how long will it take? Thanks for your help! :-)

which hotel is closes to the downtown area. whitehall, congress or inn of chicago

I have a 6 hour layover at Union Station arriving in the late afternoon. what can I visit during that time that is in walking distance from the train station. I enjoy muesums, art, history. Thank you

I am spending one day in Chicago and would like to see the best places. I guess that 1 day is not enough , but would be good to have some recommendations as well as an advice on the transport to use (rent a car, bus?) in order not to waste time and to be comfortable.

Thank you so much.

Diane

My brotherI will be coming in from Norway to spend 10 days in Chicago area. He is here for a wedding, but would love some suggestions as to what to do and see. Plus will have a car, so going to another interesting place will be no problem. Hope you can be kind enough to give him some suggestions.

Thanks

They need to get a hotel in March close to or with easy access to via the subway to this center that is not in a dangerous place. Thanks

Looking for hotels for a weekend in Chicago, found one called "Inn at Lincoln Park" which is the cheapest we've seen outside of airport hotels, but was just wondering if there is anything to do in Lincoln Park in the first place. Another option is the Travelodge, which is a little more expensive, but seems to be right in the downtown area. So basically I'm just wondering, if we stayed in Lincoln Park, would we then have to spend a lot of money on public transportation? Or is there a lot of stuff to walk to in that area as well? (google maps says it's about an hour and a half walk from the Lincoln Park hotel to the Travelodge FWIW) *Side note: about Travelodge - if we stayed there, how much would it cost to park? I found the price for parking at the Lincoln Park place, but nothing seems to mention parking at Travelodge...

I love coming to Chicago! We have always stayed either at the Westin across from the Cheesecake Factory (on Michigan) or in that area (Whitehall).. I'm coming to town by myself for a conference next September (yes planning advance).. My conference is at the Chicago O'hare Marriott. I'm trying to decide if I want to stay there (and whether or not it has easy access to Blue line) or somewhere else! I will be traveling to Michigan Ave of course for shopping and dining. I will also be traveling to Wrigley (one night game and one afternoon game..step son will be playing against Cubbies that week). If I stay close to the conference, I would want to make sure I had easy access to the blueline. I'm thinking of staying on Michigan so I will be in between the conference and the games. Does anyone know a good place close to O'hare that has easy access to Blue line if I do decide to stay there?

I'm not sure many locals would ever have had to make the transfer between the two airports, but I'm hoping someone can offer advice. I land at Midway and my connecting flight is at O'Hare a few hours later. I imagine a taxi is the preferred way to get from one to the other?? Any insight on reasonable or customary fare cost? Thanks in advance.

Before I realised there was a forum section on this site I posted a "Comment" on the Chicago travel guide page about a trip to Chicago we were planning. I have some reservations on using the Metra to travel to Chicago with luggage. Below was what I commented on: We are planning a trip to Chicago from central Illinois. We are planning on taking the Metra from University Park to Millennium Station. I have a question if I can ask. It says you can take luggage on the train but is there room for 1 large roller unit and a smaller roller unit? Is there room in the seating area with you. Any thoughts or help. Thanks.

Going into Chicago for my birthday this weekend...trying to book a hotel but need to know what location is best for easiest commute to chicago nightlife! HELP!

I'm scheduled to be in Chicago for a meeting on January 4th. I will arrive in the evening on the 3rd at O'Hare about 6, and my departure is in the evening on the 4th, about 5 in the evening from Midway. I'm quite certain Chicago has changed a bit, since it has been many years since I visited there. So, depending on how long the meeting lasts (it will be near E 47th Street and Interstate 90) I will probably have some time to explore the city a little bit. I was thinking about heading over to the Lakefront Trail and exploring that a little. I will be staying near the Grand Avenue Red Line station, and was wondering about places to eat near there. It appears that there is virtually nothing in terms of places to eat near where the meeting will be, so I will likely head back north after this meeting is over for lunch. If any of the Chicago VT members are available I'm willing to meet.

For all VT Chicago members or anybody else looking for an excuse to get to Chicago for a weekend in February I have just posted a meeting for a lunch and any other activity in my home town of Naperville. The link to the meeting is listed below: members.virtualtourist.com/m... I know it might be crazy to hope for good weather, but I'm going to make a prediction and say that we will get a nice snowfall the week before and the day of the meeting it will be in the upper 20's or lower 30's so that you can get some absolutely fantastic pictures of our Riverwalk in all its winter glory. Or if walking in the cold doesn't excite you we do have lots of little shops and an Apple Store where you could entertain yourself for the entire day. More about this meeting in the weeks to come.