greetings from the big apple!! i am visiting chicago for the first time in a month and i would like to stay at a hotel that's highly recommended by you folks. i'm gay so i prefer a b&b or a hotel in the gar area, which i understand is the Halsted (?). Does anyone else have suggestions? Perhaps a nice hotel in the middle of it all? Thanks!!!!

Message: Trevor: The gay area is in the Lakeview neighborhood - approximately Halsted Street & Belmont Avenue. Log onto www.chicago-bed-breakfast.com or call 773-394-2000 for any B&B's in the Lakeview area. Have fun - hopefully, you are planning on being here for the Gay Pride Parade on June 30th.

Thanks Pat. Would the lakeview/wrigley are be what you were talking about? I am on the web right now looking for hotels. Would this area be walking distance to michigan avenue? I'm from NY so I don't mind walking. Is it walkable? Thanks!!

It is not walkable to Michigan Avenue (assuming you mean the Mag Mile area) but extremely easy to access via the red line el. See www.yourcta.com for information. Get on at Belmont and off at Grand or Chicago and then walk east. Very very easy to do and $1.50 each way. You can also continue on down on the red line to Roosevelt Road stop and easily access the museum campus for the Shedd, Adler, etc...

Trevor: Yes, the area is lakeview/wrigley on the web. Belmont is 3200 North. The Mag Mile is 800 North - don't know how much you walk but that is quite a stretch of the legs. The downtown area and the Magnificent Mile area are quite accessible by both the red line as "a" pointed out or by cab, from Lakeview. For directions sake, the lake is east. The city is laid out in a grid, with only a few streets running diagonally - it really is quite easy to get around and the transportation system is very good.

Also, approximately 8 blocks equal one mile so 3200 North to 800 North would be about 3 miles plus you would have to walk east from Halsted to Michigan (there is no Michigan up by Belmont - it would be under Lake Michigan . Without using mapquest or anything, I would wager it was about 4 miles or so. It is a safe walk if you are up for it. Boystown (what the area is called) is a fun and safe area for both hetero and homosexuals (one of my co-workers lives there) - you will have a blast.

Oops, one more. Check this site for info:

http://boystownclub.com/

I have no idea if it's a gay area, but the House of Two Urns was a really comfortable, somewhat quirky B&B I enjoyed 2 years ago. They have a web site that's really helpful.

Stay at City Suites on Belmont...charming historic hotel, but close to action