Help with Chicago itinerary
 

My wife and I are traveling to Chicago from August 7th to August 11th. The main goal of the trip is to attend the Fest for Beatles Fans at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare (where we're staying) but since neither of us have been to the Windy City before, we're planning on checking out the sights while we're there. We're arriving on the morning (arriving at O'Hare around 11AM) of the 7th (Thursday). The convention runs from the 8th to the 10th. We're leaving the afternoon (4PM flight out of O'Hare) of the 11th (Monday).

I've put together a list of things I'd like to see but have no idea if it's even feasible to do all of this in what is effectively two half days. What kinds of time should be spent at these places to get a good experience? We like museums but don't want to get "museumed out", i.e. we like seeing the city, not just artifacts :). I like technology-related things and she likes music-related things. We both have an appreciation for art but just can't understand modern art (e.g. plain white canvas with a blue stripe, etc.).

We've been to Musee d'Orsay, and the Philadelphia Art Museum. What different things does the Art Institute have?

Similarly, we've been to the Smithsonian museums, the British Museum, and the Franklin Institute in Philly; does the Field Museum offer anything new?

Finally, we've been to Camden Aquarium and Baltimore Aquarium. Is it worth going to the Shedd Aquarium?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

Here's the list of places:
1. Field Museum
2. Adler Planetarium
3. Shedd Aquarium
4. Art Institute
5. Millennium Park
6. Architecture Boat Tour
7. Magnificent Mile
8. Hancock Lounge
9. Chicago Historical Society
10. Lincoln Park Zoo
11. Wrigley Field (how much do tix usually cost?)

My first advice would be to stay at a hotel on North Michigan, but you are at that hotel for the convention. What kind of time do you have to see the city while you are NOT occupied with the convention? You will be on the road a lot from and to your airport hotel to see the sights of Chicago.

That said, my recommendations for your activities since you will not be with children are, in the following order:

1. Architecture Boat Tour -- not to be missed.

2. Millennium Park -- the Bean, the fountains, the concert venue if there is a concert or rehearsal, etc.

3. Art Institute is near the Park and can be combined in the same visit. It is definitely worth the time. There are lot of Impressionist works. If you want the highlights you can see a lot of great works in a short amount of time.

4. Hancock Lounge -- Signature Room -- you can do this anytime, including at night (get a seat by a window -- great views). This would be easy to fit in with your convention schedule. If you go during the day you can combine it with a stroll up and down North Michigan Avenue (Magnificient Mile).

5. Wrigley Field -- if there is a Cubs game. It will occupy most of the day, and I don't know if that will work with your convention schedule.

Those would be the areas I strongly recommend with limited time fit in around the convention.

If you had children with you I would recommend the Museum of Science and Industry, the zoo, the Field, the Planetarium, the aquarium and a diner called Ed Debevic's.

Have a great trip!

The Art Institute is a great museum. Lots of important stuff there, including "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat and "American Gothic" by Grant Wood. In my opinion, if you're interested in art, the Art Institute is a must.

The Field Museum is also excellent and totally worth visiting. It holds Sue, the largest known complete Tyrannosaur skeleton.

Cubs ticket prices vary greatly. I've scored tickets for under 30, but it depends on various factors.

A little more detail...the convention is during the following hours:

Fri: 5PM-10PM
Sat: 10AM-10PM
Sun: 10AM-10PM

We are not planning on staying at the hotel the entire weekend, so something that we could do for an extended lunch hour (for example) is fine.

I will be in Chicago at the same time. its Cubs - Cardinals so tickets will be tough. Red Sox are playing at the White Sox. Check for a thread under my user name for a long thread with advice of what to do, restaurants, etc.

I'm not sure how you're envisioning traveling from your hotel, which is out near the airport, to any of the things you have mentioned, but trabsportation could easily eat up 2 hours of time. Frankly, I think you will have a hard time if you expect to spend the major portion of your time in convention-related activities.

Most people would agree that the Art Institute is a world-class institution and well worth the time, and Millenium Park, right next door, is one of Chicago's newest embellishments. The Chicago Architecture boat trips are also a highlight of any Chicago visit.

Go to Wrigley if you are interested in baseball as it is certainly a fine experience. Single tickets are rarely avaiable close to the dates, and prices can vary widely depending upon the opponent, how the Cubs are doing, etc.

The Magnificant Mile is primarily a shopping district. It's a nice place to stroll, but unless you're specifically going shopping, you can do that almost any time. During the summer months, most of the stores are open until around 8:00 Mon-Sat and 6:00 Sundays.

Since you have a limited time, I'd also recommend skipping the zoo, aquarium and planetarium. I lived in Baltimore and while the Shedd is nice, it doesn't compare.

The trip from the Hyatt to the Loop will take about an hour each way via the CTA Blue Line. I'd also recommend getting visitor passes. A 5-day pass would allow unlimited rides on all CTA trains and buses for only $18. The regular fare is $2. You can buy passes at the O'Hare station.

Also, the Art Institute is open until 8 pm on Thursdays so will help your schedule a bit.

Shedd is different from the other aquariums (aquaria?) in that it's got more marine mammals than you'd expect in some interesting settings -- AND you've got a great view back toward the skyline that you wouldn't get anywhere else. Agree you should skip the planetarium, even though it has an even better view from the grounds (the two are close-ish together).

The Art Institute compares favorably with other world-class museums, even if it's not quite as big and not quite as broad in spectrum as some. But you shouldn't miss the 19t-20th century European art (Grand Jatte is there!), the Matisse "window" is lovely, and the Crown Miniature rooms are unique. There's more than that, but/and I wouldn't miss it. You can limit your visit there to a half day and maybe catch lunch, if you want to budget time.

I'm less of a fan of the Field Museum, especially the diaramas, but depends on what you want -- dinosaurs aren't my thing, but .... Science and Industry can fascinate some, but some might be bothered by the blatant corporate linkages.

Agree the zoo isn't what it could be.

Emphatically second the architectural boat tour, would put it 2nd on my MUST list after the Art Institute.

And agree that the Hancock Lounge is a better way to be atop the city than the Sears tower.

The Windy City, however, is also all about dining, restaurants, etc. so don't fail to get recommendations for Greek town, pizza, fine dining, ethnic specialties.

Just a reminder to everyone - Beginning in June of 2008 The Art Institute of Chicago is loaning 92 impressionist paintings to the Kimball Art Museum in Dallas -Ft Worth. Some of the paintings include "Paris Street:Rainy Day" by Caillabotte, Renoir's "Two Sisters", van Gogh's "The Bedroom" and Lautrec's "At the Moulin Rouge".

http://tinyurl.com/2hfqtg

If you plan on spending all that time at your convention, out by O'Hare, you basically only have (limited) time on Monday, before you have to be back at the airport for your flight back out.

Realistically, you can't get to downtown Chicago, see ANYTHING, and get back on an extended lunch hour.

That being said, in addition to the other great advice, here's my response to your list of possibilities:

1. Field Museum - Worth visiting, depending on the exhibits; "Sue" the dinosaur is here, so if you're into dinosaurs, she's unique (largest, most intact T-Rex, as I recall).
2. Adler Planetarium - Good planetarium, informative and interesting exhibits, but skip it given your limited time.
3. Shedd Aquarium - Ok, I guess, if you like Aquariums. Skip it.
4. Art Institute *** The Art Institute has the world's second-largest Impressionist collection (obviously, this is impacted by the pieces that will be out on loan). If you like museums, put this at the top of your list. Whenever we visit the Art Institute, we spend so much time in the Impressionist section that I'm on art overload, and don't spend much time in the rest of the museum.
5. Millennium Park - A fun and interesting park with fun and interesting artwork. Worth it if you want to spend some time outdoors, and it's close to the Art Institute.
6. Architecture Boat Tour - Also informative and interesting, put it at the top of your list as well, especially if you like architecture.
7. Magnificent Mile - shopping, 'nuff said.
8. Hancock Lounge - Great views of the city and Lake Michigan, but skip it given your time. If you end up spending an evening in Chicago, definitely go here for drinks.
9. Chicago Historical Society - I haven't been in ages, but I was a member when I lived in Chicago. Good museum of local/regional history. Skip it given your time.
10. Lincoln Park Zoo - Very nice stroll on a nice weekend afternoon, but given your time, skip it. It's nothing unusual in terms of zoos, except that it's free.
11. Wrigley Field (how much do tix usually cost?) - You don't have time.

Personally, I'd skip some of your convention time and spend it IN Chicago.

Spivonious, I agree that you wouldn't be able to do an extended lunch hour trip.

IMHO:

1. Make sure you take the Chicago Architecture Foundation's River Cruise.

2. Do go to the Art Institute, despite some of their best-known works being on loan this summer.

3. Due to your limited time here, I'd not go to either the Adler Planetarium or the Chicago History Musueum. Although both are fine institutions, they just aren't of the same stature as the Art Institute.

4. If you go to Wrigley Field (and I recommend it), go to the Lincoln Park Zoo for a couple of hours in the morning before the ballgame. You can see most of the Zoo in that length of time, the gardens outside the Zoo are lovely then and it's just a nice thing to spend a couple of hours in the park before heading north to Wrigley.

5. I'd go to Millennium Park on Saturday evening, if they are having a free concert by the Grant Park Symphony at the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

6. Field Musuem - lower tier than the Art Institute; higher than the Adler and Chicago History Museum. I guess I'd put it in the "if I have the time" category. Same with the Shedd.

7. Yes to the Signature Lounge.

8. One thing not on your list but one I would put high on mine is to take a bike tour of Chicago. Maybe a guided bike tour (like Bobby's Bike Hike - and they do have them in the evenings, too) - or even going solo. Great, great thing to do in the summer. If you don't want to bike, at the very, very least, take a walk along the lakefront.

Have fun!

Thanks to everyone for their comments! They have finally announced details of the convention, and my hours were off.

Fri: 5PM-12A
Sat: 12P-12A
Sun: 12P-12A

So it looks like we'll have the full morning of each day we're there to go exploring. When do shops usually open on the weekend? Are things open on Sundays?

We were planning on getting the visitor pass and heavily utilizing the Blue Line to get to the city. Is it really an hour each way? It doesn't look that far on the map, so I guess there are a lot of stops?

When I said lunch hour, I meant just lunch, so if we leave the convention at 11, get to the city by 12, and perhaps spend an hour or so somewhere.

Just to summarize what I've heard from all of you:

1. Field Museum - if we have time
2. Adler Planetarium - if we have time
3. Shedd Aquarium - not worth it
4. Art Institute - definitely
5. Millennium Park - definitely
6. Architecture Boat Tour - definitely
7. Magnificent Mile - if we have time
8. Hancock Lounge - definitely
9. Chicago Historical Society - if we have time
10. Lincoln Park Zoo - if we have time
11. Wrigley Field - if we have time and can get tickets

So you have a little more time in downtown.

Re timing and the blue line, I don't remember exactly how long it takes, but about an hour is probably a good estimate. Keep in mind that you have to get TO the El stop (will you take a shuttle from the hotel to the O'Hare station, or is there another station you'll leave from), and then, once downtown, you'll have to get from the El to your destination. From the closest downtown blue line stop to the Art Institute, Millenium Park, the Architecture Boat dock or the southern edge of the Magnificent Mile, it will be a 3- to 6-block walk. To get to the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium or the Shedd, you'll take the El to State street, then walk east to Michigan and catch a bus (#146); that will take you longer than an hour. Taking a cab from downtown to the Field Museum would save you some time. To get to the Hancock lounge, you can walk up Michigan Ave., or take a bus that runs north on Michigan (the #151 or possibly also the #146, I can't remember for sure). To get to the Chicago Historical Society or the Lincoln Park Zoo, you'd take a bus from downtown north, either the #151, or there are a couple of other bus routes that would get you there. You could take the El (not the blue line, though; you'd switch from the blue line to the red or brown, I can't remember which).

Those are your logistics. Of coures, you could take a cab to any of those places as well.

Our hotel is nearest to the Rosemont station. The hotel reviews on tripadvisor claim it's about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. Plus we're both in our mid 20s, so walking isn't a problem, especially if it's a nice area to walk around in. :)

Thanks for the route suggestions Lex!

Yes, you hotel is close to the River Road (Rosemont) stop on the Blue Line, which will save you a few minutes going downtown.

Since you will be here on both weekdays and weekend days, you may want to plan your schedule with the idea of avoiding the weekend crowds at the more popular tourist stops, i.e., try for Cubs tickets and/or take the Architecture cruise during the week. If your time is more limited on the weekend, take the Blue Line to Wicker Park, a 30-40 minute trip from your hotel, and visit that neighborhood, which has a lot of offbeat galleries, shops and restaurants - think of John Cusack's place in "High Fidelity."

Is the Signature Room in the Hancock Center worth having lunch or dinner at? It's a bit pricey but if the food is good, I think the view would make for an enjoyable meal.

The food at The 95th is just ok and very overpriced. You can do much better for less money at any number of places. Go have drinks in the lounge, then head elsewhere for dinner. Check www.metromix.com and you can search for a restaurant by price, cuisine or neighborhood.

Another question:

Southwest just released their fares for that time period and I can get from BWI to MDW for $187 a person.

Similar flight but to ORD instead from United is $250 and from AA is $277.

Is the lower cost worth the hassle of getting from Midway to O'Hare? We'll just have two smallish suitcases and maybe a backpack. Should we do the train, taxi, or shuttle?

Normally I'd just fly into O'Hare to avoid extra travel, but saving $120 is very tempting.

There is a shuttle between ORD and MDW operated by Coach USA (www.coachusa.com/wisconsincoach). It leaves at 15-minutes after the hour and the trip takes about an hour. The one-way fare is $15.

Option two is the CTA train. You'd take the Orange Line from Midway to Clark/Lake and transfer to the Blue Line to O'Hare. It would take about two hours but only cost $2 each.

There are also cabs or limos. I think a cab should be in the $40 neighborhood and a limo would be around $50-60.

Thanks for the reply Citylghts.

Since we'd be arriving on a Thursday morning a little after 9AM, are the trains going to be packed with commuters? We lugged suitcases around on the Underground on the first train of the day and there was barely enough room to not to get squashed by the doors closing. We don't really want to repeat this :)

Would the taxi be the same time length as the bus?

And of course, are all of these extra steps worth saving $80-$90?