We are flying into O'hare at 9am on a wed and staying at the Marriott on Magnificent Mile. Can we take the L there? If so, how would we do it? Would it be better to take a taxi?

Have you checked with the hotel concierge for price/time/logistics. They will have good information.

Catch the Blue Line from the baggage level. Follow the signs. If you'll be relying on public transit while you're in town, consider a visitor pass. They're available at the ORD station and allow unlimited rides on all CTA buses and trains. A 1-day pass is $5, a 2-day pass is $9 and a 3-day pass is $12.

Take the Blue Line to Jackson and transfer to the Red Line toward Howard. Take the Red Line to Grand Avenue and walk 2 blocks east (past the Hilton Garden Inn) to the Marriott.

The trip will take about an hour. A cab would be in the $45-$50 range.

Take the El. I made the mistake and took a cab. It was $50 plus tip. Would have been more but the cabbie took side roads to Chicago to avoid the rush hour traffic.

Definitely get visitors pass for CTA

Note that the entrance to the hotel is on Rush Street, which will actually be easier to access than going up the stairs to the entrance on Michigan.

Can I hop on this thread? Need to get from O'Hare to the corner of State and Superior. I have two hours to do it, since I can't get in our apartment till then, so would be fine with public transportation. Do I need to go to the Loop and then change and head back up State to Superior?

By the way, I've taken the L before from O'Hare, and thought it was fine. Since it's empty when you get on, there's no problem with luggage either.

Patrick, you can take the Blue Line to Jackson and transfer or you can exit the Blue Line at Chicago Avenue and catch the Number 66 bus eastbound to State Street.

The Jackson station and Chicago Ave Red Line station both have elevators. The Chicago station on the Blue Line doesn't, so it may be easier to stay on the train if you'll have lots of luggage.

Thanks. Yes, I just looked it up and the Jackson transfer is the one I was thinking of for simplicity. Better than the bus for us, I think.

For the transfer at Jackson, I don't think there's an elevator for the underground walkway between the 2 stations, so you'll have to carry luggage up and down the steps.

Racy, that's weird as the map shows a wheelchair image there, so I assumed there are elevators. And it seems that's how we returned to O'Hare on our last trip -- don't remember having to do steps with luggage.

Patrick!!!

Are you in Chicago?

I want trip report!! PLEEEEASE.

I think the wheelchair image is from the stop to ground level. There is a half-block long underground passageway that connects the stops for a free transfer, as the Blue Line runs under Dearborn and the Red Line runs under State.

You could take the elevator up to the surface from the Blue Line and then walk over to State to get the Red Line and take the elevator down BUT I think you'd have to pay again.

mary, not going until Sept. 30 -- for a week.

Racy, I emailed Chicago Transit. They replied already and assured me that there are no stairs -- but elevator access to transfer from Red to Blue lines at Jackson stations.

We'll get a week's pass, so not too worried if we have to "pay again".

PJM10S, sorry. I didn't mean to hijack your thread -- but I guess you got your information too -- particularly from Citylights.

When the Jackson station was renovated a couple years ago, they added elevators to all levels. If the Washington station ever gets finished, it will also be fully accessible.

I was also glad to find out when I emailed that we will also have an elevator at State and Chicago, just one block from our apartment at State and Superior! This is one time that the transit system seems perfect for us.

How funny what creatures of habit we become--I'm so used to taking the stairs it never even occurred to me to look for an elevator--now I'm trying to picture where it might be. I feel compelled to leave my office and hop on the subway.

We took the El to O'Hare a couple weeks ago and were glad we left some extra time. It was the Sunday of the half marathon. They were working on a stretch of the track. We had to get off the El, take a bus to the next station and then reboard. I don't know if this work is continuing.