Christmas Day in Chicago
 

I will be spending Christmas Day in downtown Chicago. I had this crazy thought that many restaurants would be open. In reality, very few are open and many are out of my budget. After a search, I have settled on Carmine's Rosebud. Now I am thinking about things that I have never had to think about. Are taxis available on Christmas Day? The restaurant is within walking distance of my hotel if it is not pouring rain or snowing. Going it will still be light out but after it will be getting dark. I guess I am thinking about safety since there might not be too many people around. Anybody have any insight? I may be overthinking because this is a new experience for me.

I'm hoping that you are not dining alone on Christmas Day gardendiva. I'm hoping that a Fodors expert that lives in Chicago will chime in but it seems like there should be taxi or Uber/Lyft available even on Christmas. Christmas Day on the CTA seems to run on a Sunday schedule every year but this year Christmas and New Years fall on Sunday anyway. After looking at the menu, I will for sure check out Carmine's on Rush on my next visit to Chicago. Are you at the Drake or the Waldorf Astoria? Check with the concierge about transport if the weather is nasty.
How are you arriving in Chicago? I did ride on the "El" for the first time this year from and back to O'Hare. It wasn't too bad even with my luggage.

Thank you TomFuller. I have been asked by friends to join them in my hometown but after a few crazy years I am looking forward to a quiet day. However, everyone has to eat. I have been to Chicago many times in the weeks leading up to Christmas but never over the holiday. I have friends that have lived in Chicago but they always come home for holidays so they weren't much help. I have arrived by air in the past and took the "El" from Midway and I have arrived by train on other trips. This trip will be the train. Being from the Motor City where we do not have good public transportation, I enjoy using the public transportation in Chicago. Again with few people around, I am not sure that I want to use public transportation on Christmas Day.

I am looking forward to my experience at Carmine's but my go to in Chicago is Volare on St Clair. Unfortunately, they are not open on Christmas Day. I will be going there for Christmas Ever dinner.

Have a wonderful Christmas.

You will have a beautiful Christmas!
Chicago is my home town but it is the first time we will spend Christmas here in awhile, our favorite small, charming restaurants are all closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

I think Ubers might be difficult to get and have premium pricing. I think cabs would be available and I would arrange with the restaurant when I arrive, to call right then for them to be available when you are finished. I would be concerned about walking alone at night in areas that won't be very crowded.

I have heard that the hotels usually have their dining open. Maybe pricy, but with a beautiful ambiance and an appetizer type order, it could be delightful. Also, a lovely, brunch on Christmas Day, instead, could work.

I hope you have time to see the decorations and holiday events. Christkindlmarket, flower exhibit at Lincoln Park conservatory, the tree at Millennium Park, Marshall Fields (sorry Macy's), all the store and hotel windows. Hop on the bus, a ride down Michigan Avenue, beautiful!

You say Carmine's is in walking distance of your hotel without saying which one it is. A few hotels are very close and yes, they're walkable (I'm thinking of the Thompson or the Viceroy, for example). For a few others, you might not want to walk after dark (ex: the Waldorf Astoria or Talbott) but they're close enough that you will need to give the cab driver a big tip for driving you such a short distance. If you're concerned about safety, would it be possible to change your hotel reservation to one of the two that are practically next door to Carmine's? Assuming you're sticking with that dinner reservation. Or go with coral22's option above: have a late brunch/lunch instead and be able to walk back to the hotel before dark. (Keep some snacks in your room for just-in-case evening munchies.)

Thank you for all of the great ideas. I am staying at The River Hotel which is at Michigan Ave and Wacker so it is a bit of a walk. I called the hotel yesterday and was told that cabs, Uber, etc should be available but he did not seem too sure. I think that I will change my reservation to an earlier time and hope for the best. I have planned a trip to Trader Joe's and Eataly before the holiday.

coral22, I will be in Chicago a few days before Christmas and my plan it to just enjoy all of the Christmas displays, the Christkindlmarket and some of the smaller restaurants. I still call it Marshall Fields also. Just a few days ago I caught myself referring to our Macy's as Hudson's. Here in the Detroit area we had J. L. Hudson's before Marshall Field's bought them out and now it is Macy's. Mr. Hudson is rolling over in his grave.

For breakfast or lunch when going to or leaving Union station, my new favorite is Lou Mitchell's (565 W. Jackson Blvd). They are often so busy that you have to wait a few minutes for a table. It has an old Rt. 66 sign out front and is about 5-6 minutes walk west of the station. Sadly Pierogi Heaven on N. Wells seems to be closed forever.

Thank you tomfuller. Almost every trip I have put Pierogi Heaven on my list to visit and have never gotten there. I guess I have missed out.

If you aren't set on Carmine's I found in a "TimeOut" magazine list two favorites in my neighborhood that are serving dinner on Christmas Day, Etta (the River North location) and Somerset. Both are pretty and have very good food and service.

You should check this even out; we go there almost every year:
Light Up The Lake | Navy Pier | Nov 25 to Jan 7 | Navy Pier

Since there are some recommendations above for others restaurants open on Christmas Day, I suggest you skip Carmine’s. We went once and that was enough even though we could walk there easily.

To the OP: are you still going? If so, stay safe and warm!!

I was just worrying about you, also. We are leaving today, so we should miss the bad weather moving in. I am loading up on food tomorrow first thing, but we are staying at a condo. I am worried about the hospitality staffs not being able to get to work to keep everything functioning. I hope you have a wonderful holiday no matter where you are!

I hope the OP comes back and gives us an update on her trip!! How she managed all the travel madness, where she decided to go for Christmas dinner, any travel tips she has for people traveling in these circumstances.

Paging gardendiva: Let us know that you are safe, warm and know where your luggage is.

Thank you everyone. I am sorry for the late update. I got busy with work as soon as I returned home.

My trip to Chicago on the train from Detroit was uneventful. I left on the morning of 12/21. There were not many people on the train even though the conductor said that we had a full train. I had my row to myself. It was pretty nice when I arrived in Chicago. The sun was out so it did not seem as cold as the thermometer said it was. I had lunch and walked over to the Christmas Market at Daley Plaza. Had a glass of mulled wine and wondered around. My plan was to go to the Zoo light display at the Lincoln Park Zoo but I could not purchase a ticket. You had to do it online and there just wasn't a place to do it. Could have been user error. So I took a walk up Michigan Avenue and stopped at Trader Joe's on the way back to pick up some snacks. Again, it did not seem that cold out to me but I was dressed warm.

On Thursday my plan was to take the train to Glen Ellyn. There is a nice knitting store there and it looked like a cute town. It started to snow as I was getting off the train but I did not have far to walk to the shop. By the time I was done shopping, it was really coming down. I walked about a block and had lunch at Santa Fe. A nice mexican place. I got back to the city about 4pm and it was getting cold and still snowing. So I just went back to my hotel for a bit. At this point they were starting to close things down due to the cold.

Friday was really cold but the sun was out. I am so amazed at how cities like Chicago handle snow. The sidewalks were clear and some were already dried off. I did not do much but I did take the bus up Michigan Ave to have an early dinner at Eataly. Unfortunately, the food there is now worse than Olive Garden and the service is even worse.

On Christmas Eve I had lunch at Miller's Pub. I have never seen the place so empty. Again it was cold but the sun was out so I walked down State Street to see the Macy's windows. Lots of people wondering about. I had an early dinner at Volare. Since I was dining alone I usually go early. I made a reservation week in advance. I was very disappointed. I don't expect the best table in the house but I also don't expect to be treated like I don't belong there. It was busy but they did have empty tables. My server and the support staff was very nice but management was about as rude as they could be. I have been there many times before and had good service, hence my disappointment. I went to the 4th Presbyterian Church on Michigan Avenue for Christmas Eve service. It was so beautiful. It was crowded but everyone was so friendly. The service was over at 9pm and the buses were not running as frequently so I walked back to my hotel. There was still a lot of people just wondering around. I did not feel the least bit unsafe.

For Christmas dinner I stuck with Carmine's. I had a really nice meal and great service. They were not really crowded but had a steady flow of diners. At various times during the afternoon there were cabs out in front of the hotel so I decided to take a cab to the restaurant. That day it was 45 degrees and sunny. After dinner I decided to walk back to the hotel. Again, there were a lot of people walking around on Michigan Ave even though nothing was open. Later in the evening I walked over to Millennial Park to see the Christmas tree and watch the skaters. It was really crowded there.

I came home on Monday. Several trains were canceled but mine was not. The train left Union Station about 2 hours late and we had to stop several times along the route. My 9pm arrival time turned into 2am. Other than the lady across the isle repeatedly telling me that I needed to find a man and get married, the trip home was nice and I had my luggage.

Overall, despite some of the things I have read, I always felt safe. Cold but safe. I did notice that there seemed to be fewer homeless people on the streets than I have observed on previous trips and I have been there when it was just as cold.

Thank you for coming back and telling us how it went. I have never been Chicago and it sounds like a nice solo trip. I am going to have to put this on my list of places to go.

This really is a great place to get your solo travel feet wet. So many things to do inside or outside. They have a great public transportation system that is easy to use and not expensive. There are several threads here on Fodor's about things to do. When you are ready, do not hesitate to reach out.

I forgot to add this in my post above. The cab ride to dinner on Christmas day was only $7. I did give him a huge tip because I was very appreciative that he was available. I prefer cabs in larger cities to uber. I was in 2 different ubers in DC and they drivers did not know where they were going. The first, we were near the White House and going to the Capitol. That big building at the other end of the mall. The second, we were in Dupont Circle and needed to go back to our hotel. We were staying at the "W" next to the White House. We told the driver where we needed to go. She had no idea how to get there. I made a guess and that is how we got back. She indicated that she was from NY and did not know the roads in DC.