My wife and I will be driving in to Chicago July 19 from a conference in Milwaukee and leaving O'Hare around noon on the 21st. We'll have a rental car from being at the conference. What's the best way to get a great deal on a 4 or 5 star hotel in the Magnificent Mile? Should we turn-in our car and take a hotel shuttle downtown? Also, what should we do with our two days? We love museums and cultural things; not much on sports. This is our first trip to Chicago; we're from Texas.

You could turn in your car at the Milwaukee airport and take the train into downtown Chicago, or you could return the car in the Chicago area and take the train or El downtown. If you drive all the way in, be prepared to pay $30 a day to park in the hotel, and about $20 for a public parking garage.

Since you are interested in museums and the attractions of the Mag Mile, you may want to stay in the in-between zone, wher Wacker Drive meets the river. The Renaissance would fit your request, and you could walk or hop a cab to the train to the airport.

On the day of your arrival, you may want to stroll the mag Mile and stop in the Hancock building's 95th floor restaurant for a drink. On the next day, visit the Art Institute and Millennium Park. You may be here during one of the Grant Park festivals, which are fun and the music is free. Another suggestion for a summer's afternoon is the architecture tour from the river.
www.architecture.org

I agree with the previous post about not needing a car if you'll only be doing things downtown.

If you take the train from Milwaukee, you'll be at Union Station just west of the loop. From there, it's a short cab ride to most hotels downtown.

If you opt to drop your car at O'Hare on the way, you can take the Blue Line subway from the airport to Clark/Lake for $2 and catch a cab. The trip from the airport is about 45 minutes. The Clark/Lake station is easiest because if has elevators.

As for activities, the King Tut exhibit will open at the Field Museum Memorial Day weekend. You can order tickets at www.fieldmuseum.org. The museum is at the southeast edge of downtown and is a short walk from most hotels or accessible via bus. If you're interested in theater, Wicked is playing at the Ford Center and Blue Man Group is at the Briar Street Theatre. www.metromix.com has a list of events, concerts and concerts.

For transit info, check www.transitchicago.com. It also has a trip planner and info on where to purchase multi-day visitor passes.

I'd recommend making a hotel decision quickly as rooms will likely fill fast. In addition to the 7,000 people scheduled to attend meetings during that period, you'll be in the middle of the gay games which will have another 10,000-15,000 participants and spectators.

Great advice so far on things to do in Chicago. On the rental car, I'd suggest returning it in Milwaukee if that's where you flew into. You might want to pick up and return your rental at your hotel, as it will be easier. Then you can take the train down to Chicago. To get a reasonable 4* hotel I'd go with priceline after you read up at biddingfortravel.com. You'll almost certainly save 50% or more on your room rate and you can invest those savings at some of Chicago's great restaurants.

Have a great trip. You'll love Chicago.

Kevin

Thanks for your great info; it's just what I needed. I really appreciate it.