Chicago in early March 2015 - a dilemma...

Old Apr 24th, 2014, 06:10 PM
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Chicago in early March 2015 - a dilemma...

This will be the first time wife and I will be in Chicago/Chicago area. We intend staying for about one week starting on the 4th March 2015 (can be a few days more, a couple of days less).

I was originally planning staying downtown, and not renting a car.

It has now occurred to me that the weather will probably be quite unpleasant for walking, going to parks, strolling in neighborhoods, or any other outdoor activity.

So here is my dilemma:

a) Do we stay downtown without a car and rely on walking and public transportation; or
b) Do we stay in a nearby town (maybe Joliet, but we are wide open to suggestions) with a car and an occasional train/metro ride to downtown Chicago, or even the occasional ride to downtown / lake neighborhood?

It would be nice to have suggestions of any small town nearby Chicago which could function a base for us.

Thanks in advance for any inputs.
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Old Apr 24th, 2014, 06:53 PM
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What would you do all the days in Joliet ( or any town, for that matter) when you dont go into the city??

If you are going to Chicago to see and enjoy the city, stay IN the city and dress appropriately. There is public transit that help get you around; you don't have to walk everywhere. Bus, the election; taxi.

We went in early April last year and we had a grand time. Stayed at The Allegro.
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Old Apr 24th, 2014, 07:56 PM
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Might I recommend a hostel? I stay at the Getaway Hostel all the time.... its in a suburb right near downtown in a safer part of the city, and there are bars and entertainment within a block or twos walking distance...
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Old Apr 24th, 2014, 08:32 PM
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If you decide to stay outside the city I would recommend Aurora over Joliet.
About the same distance, train into the city, much nicer IMHO, etc.
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Old Apr 24th, 2014, 10:23 PM
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The answer is A.

Why would you even want to have a rental vehicle if the weather is snowing or sleeting? Not my idea of fun, at all.

Seriously, though, there is no telling what the weather may be in March 2015. If it is unpleasant outside, you have many indoor activities to consider - museums (and Chicago has a great MANY), shopping, concert venues, theatre, opera, ballet/dance, etc.

The Chicago Cultural Center has a full array of free exhibits, concerts, seminars, tours of the building, and the like.

You can tour the interiors of some of the most famous structures: The Auditorium Building; some of the theatres (Oriental, Chicago Theatre; etc.). The Lyric Opera of Chicago usually has their backstage tours in early March.

I'm not sure what allure Joliet has for you.
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Old Apr 25th, 2014, 04:23 AM
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There are so many wonderful special places to visit in Chicago indoors. Joliet? Why would you consider Joliet? Stay downtown without a car and enjoy much of what Chicago has to offer. There a great St. patrick's Day parade if you are in tje city at that time.
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Old Apr 25th, 2014, 05:07 AM
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Staying outside the city would be such a hassle. Driving into the city in all that traffic, finding a place to park, not fun at all.
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Old Apr 25th, 2014, 05:14 AM
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Stay inside the city. Your best option for cheap downtown is the HI Hostel on Congress IMO. https://www.hihostels.com/?linkid=98...FatxQgod9TEA1g
My DW and I have stayed there between trains. There are plenty of suggestions for what to see and do if you do a search (upper right) in these forums.
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Old Apr 25th, 2014, 05:39 AM
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I'm not exactly certain why there is such a lot of discussion about hostels in Chicago when the OP doesn't even mention a budget. IMHO, a hostel should be your LAST choice for lodging at that time of year.

If you don't come during a major convention - check the convention calendar at a website such as Choose Chicago, you shouldn't have too much trouble getting very good rates (for Chicago, that is) at that time of year. In addition, since you are going to stay for at least 7 days, you should be able to negotiate a fairly good discount with many hotels - again, IF there is not a major convention to be considered.

You can always go through one of the third-party bidding sites, such as Hotwire or Priceline, or utilize one such as Travelzoo, Trivago or Kayak.
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Old Apr 25th, 2014, 05:40 AM
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I realized just after I posted this that I should mention you won't find information regarding discounted rates this year. They won't be posted for many months from now - perhaps in December or January 2015.
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Old Apr 25th, 2014, 07:50 AM
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I went the first weekend of March one year and it was pretty miserably cold - but staying in the suburbs would not have made that any better! The things you want to do are in the city, not in the suburbs. Just check the weather before you leave and pack appropriately (or be ready to buy coats, long underwear, whatever you need when you get there - how many layers you need will depend on the weather there compared to what you're used to!).

We still had a great time. Plenty of things to do indoors. Theater, museums, Second City, shopping, eating...
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Old Apr 25th, 2014, 10:39 AM
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I was just in Chicago over New Years. When I got off the train it was zero outside and the sun was still shining. By the time we walked to dinner it was below zero. It snowed from about noon the next day until the day we left. Great time.

We stayed at The River Hotel near the corner of Michigan Ave and Wacker. About half way between everything. Pretty much anywhere you stay there is a bus stop or train stop within a block or two. Dress warm and in layers. Bring a good umbrella.

If the weather is not so nice you most likely will not want to walk around the neighborhoods so staying there does not make sense. If you have a nice day you can take a train or bus to that area. I would plan for the worst weather but know that there are still options for nice days.
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Old Apr 25th, 2014, 10:41 AM
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Other than museums for the not so nice days, check out the underground pedway system. I took a tour on one of the snowy days.
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Old Apr 25th, 2014, 03:45 PM
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Stay in the city. Use public transit.
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Old Apr 25th, 2014, 03:54 PM
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Thank you very much for all your inputs.

As far as lodging is concerned, I always bid through priceline and I virtually always am pretty happy with the results, so I do not expect to be different with Chicago this time.

Last year we were in Atlanta and stayed at the Renaissance at the airport. We had the car for 4 days, when we visited Madison, Athens, Marietta and the suburbs of Atlanta, we went to a few malls, visited some strictly residential areas (Druid Hills) and a couple of other attractions. Three other days we used the subway to go downtown, to visit the Martin Luther King memorial and Decatur.

The arrangement came out perfect, but the weather was quite pleasant, it was mid April and it was Georgia.

I think that we will probably end up staying downtown anyway, but wonder if there are pretty towns within a 100 miles from Chicago.

Is the landscape around Chicago pleasant on its own?

If the landscape is pleasant, and if there are some pretty towns around Chicago, we might be inclided to spend more time driving and visiting small towns and maybe only going downtown Chicago two or three days.

We have been three times to Holland. Altogether 21 days. The three occasions we booked hotels either near the airport or in a small city (Purmerend) and drove all around Holland, visiting the pretty little towns. We enjoyed so much the little towns that out of the 21 days in Holland we were in Amsterdam for only two days.

If it were not for the weather, I would not blink and would bid for downtown Chicago. I am only considering staying either in the Chicago suburbs or north Chicago or South Chicago because of the anticipated weather.

On the other hand, only if driving a car enables us to visit beautiful places other than Chicago itself.

I guess the gist of the issue is: are there nice places to be visited by car either in the Chicago suburbs or within 100 miles radius?
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Old Apr 25th, 2014, 04:17 PM
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IMO, the landscape around Chicago is not interesting. You would spend a LOT of time getting from downtown to the outside of town only to be in a vast, flat plain that includes farmland, business parks, and strip-malls. Kenosha is the only place within a few hours that I would even consider visiting -- others may have different ideas. (I'm not counting the North Shore, which is contiguous with Chicago and, at least in parts, connected via the same public transportation system. There are some nice areas along the North Shore, but I personally would not make them a priority.) And if the weather is bad enough that you are concerned about getting around in downtown Chicago, then the weather will be bad enough that you probably won't want to be driving great distances just to go to a comparatively MUCH less interesting place where you will face the same weather conditions. The area around Chicago is NOT like Holland!
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Old Apr 26th, 2014, 11:55 AM
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Early March you will probably have temperatures in the lower 40s for a high and upper 20s for a low. There will probably still be snow on the ground - if not, the landscape will be pretty brown as it's too cold and not enough sunlight for anything to be growing yet.

Given those conditions, I don't think you'll find beautiful landscapes or towns that warrant visiting for several days instead of spending your time in Chicago.

If you wish to visit some residential neighborhoods in the city, the El will certainly get you to many of them. You aren't going to be limited to strictly downtown Chicago if you don't have a car.
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Old Apr 26th, 2014, 01:19 PM
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If you want to visit pretty little towns, don't come to Chicago. Chicago is wonderful architecture, museums, plays, great food, interesting ethnic areas. If that doesn't interest you, think again about visiting Chicago. Joliet, Aurora and the vast suburbs are not like small scenic Dutch towns. For the most part, they are convenient places to live, not to tour.
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Old Apr 27th, 2014, 08:56 AM
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Galena, Il. is about a 150 miles drive. Beautiful little, historic town.

http://www.cityofgalena.org/

Aurora, Il.

Another wonderful little town.

http://www.enjoyaurora.com/

Milwaukee, Wi. Big city, but very lively, friendly and interesting.

http://www.visitmilwaukee.org/

and finally, Harbor Country in MI. Antique shops, wineries, wonderful restaurants.

http://www.harborcountry.org/

There are MANY options within 2 hour drive. Some of the posters above? Don't know what to say, but they are totally wrong.

Chicago is a beautiful, vibrant, full of life city, and then you have the option of taking a short car ride, a train or a bus to the towns I listed or do some more research on some other towns.
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Old Apr 27th, 2014, 11:10 AM
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A winery in March? Yes, that's a great idea lol.
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