I'm trying to plan a weekend trip to Chicago with my girlfriends and we're not sure what part of Chicago to stay in. We want to try and avoid the Mag. Mile area since we have been there before and we can find most of those shops anywhere. We're looking to find a funky neighborhood or area kind of like NYC's Greenwich Village (bars,restaurants and cool shops). Any suggestions?

You might like Lincoln Park. It's pretty funky with lots of bars and shops. Try the Days Inn:

http://www.lpndaysinn.com/index2.html

There aren't many hotels in the North Side neighborhoods, but you also may want to try Hawthorne Terrace in Lakeview. It's a terrific location--close to the lake, transportation, and lots of great shops and restaurants.

DH and I had lots of fun staying in Bucktown last fall.
We stayed at a B&B that had a really nice staff.

Everywhere we went gentrification was going on. There we so many great small eateries and shops.

Our favorite was Meritage Wine Bar & Restaurant.

We had no trouble finding on the street parking.

I'd go back there in a minute.

I would recommend the Lincoln Park/Lakeview area. There are several hotels, including the Best Western Hawthorne Place, two Days Inns (one at Diversey and Broadway, the other on Sheridan across from Lincoln Park), the Inn at Lincoln Park, the Willow, City Suites, the Belden Stratford. All are very close to the El, bus lines and restaurants and shops. The City Suites is literally right next to the Belmont el stop, which is both a positive and negative. I've heard good things about the Willow.

Wicker Park/Bucktown is great, but I don't think there are many hotels there.

I second Lincoln Park, there are plenty of small boutiques and restaurants centered around Armitage and Halsted. You can take the Brown Line L to the Armitage stop and walk about a block east from there.

How are you traveling? If you're flying, it's much easier to reach the downtown hotels, then take public transit to LP.

If you do choose one of the north side hotels, there is no Days Inn on Sheridan. The hotel across from Lincoln Park is on Clark Street and is no longer a Days Inn. It's not been well reviewed lately.

Thanks everyone for your excellent ideas! I think we are going to stay in the Lincoln Park area, it sounds perfect. I just need to book a hotel room, I'm going to call the Days Inn right now!! Thanks again