What to do in Evanston, IL -- no car??
 

Accompanying dd to a workshop in Evanston. We'll be commuting from Chicago, so I will have about 6 hours on my hands waiting for her.

Any suggestions on how to spend my time? Shops, bookstores -- maybe a museum? The workshop is located at the intersection of Davis & Chicago.

thanks!

Brookside, why not go out to the Chicago Botanic Gardens? Easily gotten to by Metra.

Sorry, I hit post instead of preview!

The Metra station isn't at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, but you can walk to them from the Braeside station or take a bus from Evanston.

If it's nice out, you can walk around the lakefront campus of Northwestern University. It starts about two blocks north of the Davis/Chicago intersection.

Take the "EL" to the end of the line - Wilmette. Visit the Baha'i Temple just two blocks East. Lots of flowers all summer long. See http://www.bahai.us/content/view/72/133/ or http://www.photography-plus.com/project/Bahai.htm

Two more blocks to Lake Michigan.

Eat and/or drink in Evanston. Flattop Grill http://www.flattopgrill.com/index.htm
or a million other restaurants await you.

Or take a walk on the Northwestern's campus.

Great suggestions, everyone! Restaurants also important -- DD will be ravenous when she's finished, so thanks, galeso! She also wants to visit the NW campus - glad it's so close!

ExiledP -- The Botanic Gardens are a lovely suggestion, but aren't they in Glencoe? How far is that from Evanston?

Thanks again, everyone!

Brookside, yes, the Chicago Botanic Gardens address is Glencoe.

If you take the Metra from Davis in Evanston to Braeside, it's 22 minutes by their schedule. (It's always been on time when I've taken it from Chicago.) The walk to the Chicago Botanic Garden is about 15 minutes (1.3 miles).

I've never taken the bus from Evanston so cannot comment on that. Sorry.

For a casual place with tasty Italian food, try Trattoria Demi, just around the corner from your workshop. My teens love it.

You are very close to the Evanston library, and a giant Borders bookstore. The clothing stores in the area are small, non-chain places worth checking out (best if you wear a college student size.)

There are two decent museums near downtown Evanston, the Historical Society in Charles Gates Dawes'house, and the Block Museum on NU's campus. You can get the addresses on metromix.com Also, the homes along Evanston's lake front are lovely and worth a stroll. Baha'i Temple is unique and not hard to get to; you'll also be close to the lakefront parks in that part of Wilmette.

Wonderful - thanks!!

Check these listings for special events during your visit
http://www.cnscvb.com/

The Bahai Temple would be a great place to spend a couple hours wandering or reading, and it's very easy to get to via the L. There's also a lighthouse just north of campus (I forget if it's walkable from the Temple, it might be a bit far). The Evanston public library is a very nice library, and as others said the "downtown" area has nice shops, restaurants and coffee houses. Glad to hear Trattoria Demi is still good!

One of my favorite things to do when I'm bumming around Evanston is to grab a cup of coffee and walk down to the Evanston dog beach. It's a public beach where dog owners can bring their pets to play in the lake, and there is also a little fenced-in puppy beach! You can wander around the lakefront and look at the beautiful houses.

On the same block as Borders, there's a costume jewelry store called Francesca's Collections that I love, there's also a Cost Plus World Market and a great Urban Outfitters.

Another great Evanston store is Eve J'Alfille. She specializes in rare and exotic pearls. Here is her website with directions and hours.

http://www.evejewelry.com/