Chicago Travel Forum

Hi -
I will be bringing a few kids (16-19) to Chicago (northwest suburbs) this weekend for a soccer tournament (weather is not supposed to be great - yuk) and would like to take them downtown for the afternoon. I plan on driving right to the Field Museum around noon. After that they would like to do something else, but the boys are not interested in shopping. I was thinking I would take them to the Sears Tower then out for pizza before we head to the hotel. Are there any suggestions for a good (secure) place to park around the Field Museum or Sears Tower so that I only have to park at one lot and it would be convenient to everything we want to do? I just don't want to have to pay in 2 lots ($$$). Any suggestions for where to get pizza?
Thanks!

You will not have to park in two lots, but just understand that parking downtown is expensive. There is outdoor parking in large lots just south of the Museum. From there you could walk to the Sears Tower or you could take a taxi for a couple dollars.

Alternatively, there is parking 'under' Grant Park. If you park there, you would be about halfway between both the museum and the tower. If weather was bad, you could again take a taxi back and forth for a few dollars.

I've had pizza down in that area before, but unfortunately I do not recall the name or exact address.

If the weather is as they are predicting it this weekend, I think the Sears Tower might be a huge waste of money, when the skies are overcast and gray, the view isn't all that great. If you are set on going up to the top of a building, you might consider the Hancock over the Sears. There are several options of places to get pizza near the Hancock, Uno's, Due's, Gino's East or Giordano's, I can only think of one near the Sears Tower and that would be a different branch of Giordano's.

Welcome to Chicago. A few things to consider. You won't have any problem driving into Chicago to be at the museum at 12:00, but unless you like sitting in traffic on a bad weather Friday the drive back to the NW Suburbs will not be enjoyable at all. Traffic on a Friday starts as early as 2:00 p.m. Any of the pizza places that DABS mentioned are great, but they also have a number of locations in the suburbs as well. Just check their sites on the internet and you may find one close to where you are staying in the NW Suburbs. Another suggestion for boys 16 - 19 there is a place called Game Works which has many many video games, basketball shooting, etc. which caters to that age group. It is located in Schaumburg in a shopping center called The Streets of Woodfield right across the street from Woodfield Mall. You could drop the boys off there for a couple of hours and then get some shopping in at the Mall.

Gameworks is a great idea, I was going to mention ESPN Zone downtown as an alternative to the Sears Tower if the weather is bad but if you are staying out in the NW suburbs you might consider just going down to the Field Museum (parking at the Museum campus is a flat $15) and then heading back out to the burbs where you will find all of the major Chicago pizza chains and probably shorter waits. There are branches of Lou Malnati's (my personal favorite), Gino's East, Giordano's and Pizzeria Uno in the Rosemont/Schaumburg/Elk Grove Village area.

http://www.fieldmuseum.org/plan_visit/parking.htm

http://chicago.metromix.com/leisure/recreation_facilities/gameworks-schaumburg/143060/content