Gino's deep dish pizza.
What to see/do in Chicago
- Thread starter sisenor
- Start date
bhd812
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2003
- Posts
- 7,091
- Likes
- 22
what airport are you flying in too? what area of Chicago are you staying at?
chicago has lots of things but it depends on where you are located to make the best of them given the time you have...
your 28 so will you have a car or you riding public? (CTA and Pace).
again this helps for you to make the best out of the time you have, traffic in the wrong areas can be bad!
how old is your sister?
i'm joking..
chicago has lots of things but it depends on where you are located to make the best of them given the time you have...
your 28 so will you have a car or you riding public? (CTA and Pace).
again this helps for you to make the best out of the time you have, traffic in the wrong areas can be bad!
how old is your sister?
Spareribs
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- May 24, 2006
- Posts
- 5,916
- Likes
- 874
Chicago is nice especially in the summer.
skiflyer
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2008
- Posts
- 118
- Likes
- 0
The japanese gardens behind the Museum of Science and Industry are a great bang for the buck (free, and if you don't leave Lake Shore Drive at 57th street and instead go to the next stop light the parking is free too.)... I really think it's the best park in the city, huge lagoon back there from when they recreated the venetian canals for the world's fair.
Hyde Park in general is something most tourists don't get around to, but if you have an appreciation for the mafia dons of the 20's and 30's, or neo gothic architecture I think the whole area is a must.
Gino's East with the sausage patty (not the crumbles, the patty) is the best pizza ever created for a meat lover.
Wrigley is of course iconic and worth a visit... the sears tower is now officially no more, you have to visit big willy. And if you do go to the sears tower, take the extra two block walk and check out the great room of Union Station, it's not exactly knock your socks off spectacular (NY's Penn Station is more impressive in my mind, as is the Train Depot in DC whose name I forget), but it is pretty cool, and it's where they shot the baby carriage scene in the Untouchables. Plus if you're there just after work on the average weekday you'll probably see me drinking in the bar down there.
If the weather is even remotely nice you should check out the North Ave beach... I'm pretty sure it's the highest concentration of beach volleyball anywhere that doesn't have any natural sand (they truck it all in from Michigan). The bar there is terrible though, long lines, frightful service, and terrible food. Do yourself a favor and wander to Oak St. beach for a drink, or better yet, come back in a few blocks and find a good bar. If you don't mind writing a hefty check the 97th floor at the Hancock is right there and has a great view... best touristy bar in the city in my opinion.
If you're a meat eater Morton's steak house at State and Rush is a must (it's a chain, but in my estimation that location is just heads and shoulders better than all the rest and the wine list is killer).
All the museums, as have been stated, are world class... the lions of Tsavo were won in a poker game and still live (stuffed) at the field museum. The Art Institute just opened a modern wing that I still haven't seen.
If you can get a pass the pits at the CBOT or CBOE are probably worth a visit, while nothing near what they were at their peak I hear they're still worth visiting.
Musicbox movie theatre sometimes has a great weekend line up if the weather turns bad and you want to catch a smaller flick... one of my favorite chicago stops near christmas when they play it's a wonderful life with a pre-movie live piano sing along.
Don't know your musical tastes, but if you're into anything industrial there's a good chance there will be a good show in town at some small venue that will be awesome... worth scouring metromix or similar for bands you like.
Chicago in the summer is the king of fests, well over a 100 this summer... many free, many more in the 5-10 dollar range. If you can hit one up you might be surprised at the good music or good food.
Man, typing all this up is making me feel like a bum for wasting so much time in the train station bar.
Hyde Park in general is something most tourists don't get around to, but if you have an appreciation for the mafia dons of the 20's and 30's, or neo gothic architecture I think the whole area is a must.
Gino's East with the sausage patty (not the crumbles, the patty) is the best pizza ever created for a meat lover.
Wrigley is of course iconic and worth a visit... the sears tower is now officially no more, you have to visit big willy. And if you do go to the sears tower, take the extra two block walk and check out the great room of Union Station, it's not exactly knock your socks off spectacular (NY's Penn Station is more impressive in my mind, as is the Train Depot in DC whose name I forget), but it is pretty cool, and it's where they shot the baby carriage scene in the Untouchables. Plus if you're there just after work on the average weekday you'll probably see me drinking in the bar down there.
If the weather is even remotely nice you should check out the North Ave beach... I'm pretty sure it's the highest concentration of beach volleyball anywhere that doesn't have any natural sand (they truck it all in from Michigan). The bar there is terrible though, long lines, frightful service, and terrible food. Do yourself a favor and wander to Oak St. beach for a drink, or better yet, come back in a few blocks and find a good bar. If you don't mind writing a hefty check the 97th floor at the Hancock is right there and has a great view... best touristy bar in the city in my opinion.
If you're a meat eater Morton's steak house at State and Rush is a must (it's a chain, but in my estimation that location is just heads and shoulders better than all the rest and the wine list is killer).
All the museums, as have been stated, are world class... the lions of Tsavo were won in a poker game and still live (stuffed) at the field museum. The Art Institute just opened a modern wing that I still haven't seen.
If you can get a pass the pits at the CBOT or CBOE are probably worth a visit, while nothing near what they were at their peak I hear they're still worth visiting.
Musicbox movie theatre sometimes has a great weekend line up if the weather turns bad and you want to catch a smaller flick... one of my favorite chicago stops near christmas when they play it's a wonderful life with a pre-movie live piano sing along.
Don't know your musical tastes, but if you're into anything industrial there's a good chance there will be a good show in town at some small venue that will be awesome... worth scouring metromix or similar for bands you like.
Chicago in the summer is the king of fests, well over a 100 this summer... many free, many more in the 5-10 dollar range. If you can hit one up you might be surprised at the good music or good food.
Man, typing all this up is making me feel like a bum for wasting so much time in the train station bar.
-=Germania=-
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2005
- Posts
- 3,008
- Likes
- 12
1. Try to see a Concert for Free at Millenium Park
2. Concert at the outdoor theater Ravinia (lots of big name concerts ever single weekend)
3. Go to Belmont. Lots of interesting places and some of the best food in chicago. Very Hipster!
4. Second City
5. Avoid Navy Pier, once you get there its a big nothing to do...unless you go to the beer garden
6. Bars on Halstead (one half is mostly homosexual and the other half is mostly hetero, good any way you swing)
7. Art Inst. , Field Mus., Shedd Aq.
8. Michigan Ave (nice shopping, lots of traffic).
9. Buy a weekend Metro Pass if needed, Otherwise just load up an El Card (ALWAYS TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORT)
10. Spend time on the Beach if you want to relax.
If you haven't noticed some of my favorite things are not expensive or are basically free to go to. Play it by ear and don't make highly specific plans, you hav the best tiem just being spontanius!
2. Concert at the outdoor theater Ravinia (lots of big name concerts ever single weekend)
3. Go to Belmont. Lots of interesting places and some of the best food in chicago. Very Hipster!
4. Second City
5. Avoid Navy Pier, once you get there its a big nothing to do...unless you go to the beer garden
6. Bars on Halstead (one half is mostly homosexual and the other half is mostly hetero, good any way you swing)
7. Art Inst. , Field Mus., Shedd Aq.
8. Michigan Ave (nice shopping, lots of traffic).
9. Buy a weekend Metro Pass if needed, Otherwise just load up an El Card (ALWAYS TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORT)
10. Spend time on the Beach if you want to relax.
If you haven't noticed some of my favorite things are not expensive or are basically free to go to. Play it by ear and don't make highly specific plans, you hav the best tiem just being spontanius!
dBs
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2009
- Posts
- 471
- Likes
- 12
Will Summerfest be going on while your visiting? If so youll get to see a TON of live concerts going on with tons of free food, arts and crafts and a bunch of other things to see.
sisenor
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2005
- Posts
- 775
- Likes
- 10
Hey thanks for the nods. You guys gave me weeks/months*whatever* worth of suggestions; can't really go wrong for three days!
Oh, and if any of you ever are going to be in Boulder, let me know
Oh, and if any of you ever are going to be in Boulder, let me know
Billyk
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2005
- Posts
- 567
- Likes
- 10
It was over twenty years ago, I will never forget the two performers I heard in two different bars over a weekend I stayed there.
Users who are viewing this thread
