Ofelia

Hi,
Next March in our way to Russia we have a 71/2 hrs.layover in Chicago.
Any suggestions on what to do during this time? I have never been in Chicago and would like to take advantage of this precious time.
Any advise would be much appreciated.

Michel_Paris

You might get better (more) answers posting this on the US forum

Grinisa

Take the "L" (subway) from O'Hare to Washington Street in downtown. Walk three blocks south to Adams St. and turn left toward Michigan Avenue. At Adams and Michigan Avenue you will find the world famous Art Institute of Chicago. You can spend a few hours there. If it's a clear, sunny day, you can go up to the top of the Sears Tower (Adams and Wacker a few blocks west of the Art Institue). It's the tallest building in the United States. Have a deep dish Chicago style pizza at Lou Malnati's at Wells and Illinois Streets then head back to the airport.

mztery

I know this is slightly OT but what is the obsession with leaving airports during layovers - if the OP is traveling into Chicago, there are often delays, then going back thru security on the way back into the airport? I just don't get it...

mrsgilly

We had a layover in Chicago on United coming back from Frankfort last November. It was a nightmare. Coming from Europe they made us go through customs which took a long long time as there were so many people waiting in lines. I felt sorry for the Non-Americans as they really had to wait in long long lines.

First the bags couldn't be transferred onto our connecting flight to Minneapolis. Instead we waited for almost an hour for them to come down the baggage ramp. Before getting our bags we had to take our carry-on bags and go through security. The people in security were rude and not very friendly. The man in front of me just took off his shoes and looked scared to death. Not a great experience. Then after waiting in the security lines for way too long we had to figure out where customs was, get our bags from the plane, which I said earlier took forever. We hoped along with others on our flight who endured all of this confusion and mayhem that our connecting flights would be there. When we finally got to the last leg of our nightmare at Chicago O'Hare someone from United was waiting for us to give them our bags so they could go through customs and get them on our connecting flight. That was the only time I felt secure when I saw the United People there waiting for us. Little did I know that the customs people would open my bag of souvenirs, break a few, take my Herbs of Provence (guess they thought they would spread fungus diseases to the crops of the US) and leave us a note saying that they had opened our bag.

Would I ever go through Chicago Again...never, never, never. No wonder Europeans tell me that our security people and customs are rude --they sure were that day.

Good luck and hope your trip is better then ours.

FainaAgain

Go to Navy Pier and buy russian souvenirs

just kidding of course, but yes, there is a small shop in the pier selling all russian trinkets

LAwoman

I second the Art Institute, they have a world-class collection if you're into art.

If you're there on a weekday you're probably better off taking the train because traffic can be awful.

grapes

O'Hare Airport is a "rat race" and best avoided when possible. The recommendation for O'Hare Airport is to be there 3 hours before an international flight add 45 minutes to retrieve your luggage plus 45 minutes to get downtown plus 45 minutes to get back to the airport. This adds up to to 5.5 hours (if all goes according to plan). This will leave you 2 hours down town (if all goes according to plan). What ever you decide to do, have a great trip!

Grinisa

While O'Hare is very busy, I assumed you are flying into O'Hare from somewhere else and your luggage is already checked through to your final destination and you already have boarding passes on the connecting flight. Are you flying into O'Hare from another international flight? If not, no need to go through customs. I would be back at O'Hare about 90 minutes before departure, not three hours, which is ample time to get through security and to your gate. At the international terminal, you probably don't need even that much time.

dutyfree

Chicago is too great of a city to be enjoyed for a couple hectic hours-I would stay and leisurely eat,shop and people watch at ORD instead.
BUT..............if not-
Where are you flying from? Are you on a nonstop out of ORD or what time of the day are you talking about? Throw in weather,traffic and other "little problems" and it really could be a big problem making your flight?

jeremygil

I was in Chicago (international terminal) for a layover last March and I was miserable, there are a couple restaurants and magazine shops but you'll go crazy w/in an hour. Follow your insticts and get out of that place, head to Michigan Avenue, maybe you'll get lucky and show up around St. Patrick's Day weekend.

CAPH52

I live in the Chicago suburbs and my advice would be to stay at O'Hare. You never know what kind of weather you might have here in March. Last March when I flew from O'Hare to Ireland it was so warm that my flight way delayed by thunderstorms. But you could just as easily meet with a snowstorm that time of year.

You're going to have to be back at the airport two hours before your flight. So that really only gives you five and a half hours. You might be able to get by with an hour each way on the el to get downtown. But you'd have to allow for delays. Realistically, you're talking not much more than a couple of hours.

Yes, seven and a half hours is going to seem like a long time in the airport. But it's not long enough to comfortably go into the city.

I'd advise you to bring a good book. And check out some of the restaurants at the airport. I believe the Berghoff, which used to be a Chicago institution, still has one at the airport.

SicilianSailor

Chicago is a great city with so much to see and do, way more than you could do justice to in that short of time. My favorite museum is the Shedd Aquarium and I can't imagine trying to get there from O'Hare, actually spend quality time seeing the museum and make it back to O'Hare in 7.5 hours. I would say the same about nearly every single attraction in Chicago, the lines alone to get into the Art Institute, Sears Tower, etc. can be extremely long on certain days.

Since O'Hare is located a decent way out of the city, it seems to me a logistical nightmare to try to leave, go downtown, and make it back for your flight. CAPH52 is right in saying you just never know what the weather will be in March, recently it was near 50 degrees during the day and dropped to subzero by early evening. You could get thunderstorms, a blizzard, or sunshine. All of these things could delay your travel to/from the city and jeopardize your flight.

Spend the 7.5 hour layover in the airport or if you are desperate to leave take a cab to a restaurant or mall nearby but save downtown Chicago for a long weekend at the very least.

AAFrequentFlyer

I love all the naysayers, but I would not listen to any of them.

7 hours, connecting from domestic to international, and assuming your flight is on time.

Your luggage will be checked through and you should have your boarding passes for all the segments.

(the only problem I see is if you have a lot of carry ons as there is nowhere at any US airport to leave it, but if you don't, here is the plan....)

You arrive at 0 hour.

It will take you abour 30 minutes (at most) to get to the CTA train station.

Everything considered you will arrive in downtown Chicago at 1:30 hour.

You have about 3-4 hours of free time to walk around, do whatever you want.

At 5th hour you board the train to ORD.

At little less then 6 hour you go through security and walk to you gate.

You board and you're on your way to Russia.

Just don't forget to take your BPs and IDs when leaving the airport for the security check when you come back.

Have a great trip!