Chicago - Christmas 2011 in Downtown Chicago

Two of us will land at Chicago mid afternoon Christmas Eve to catch an Amtrak train early afternoon Christmas Day.

We are staying downtown inside the Loop. Any suggestions on places to eat
or things to see after 5 PM Christmas Eve downtown? My initial research seems not to show much is open or happening and we will not have a car to travel distances.

Thanks!

The Loop will be completely dead as just about everything will be closed by 5-6pm @ the latest (especially since Xmas eve is on a Saturday). Your best bet for restaurants would probably be to look in the River North area and the hotels.

Head over to the Rivers Casino near ORD. Buy overpriced food/booze and lose some coin in the bandits. Take the Blue Line to the Loop. Sleep tight.

Might we be better off staying in another part of Chicago that is subway accessible to Amtrak on Christmas, for purposes of Christmas Eve?

The Loop will be completely dead as just about everything will be closed by 5-6pm @ the latest (especially since Xmas eve is on a Saturday). Your best bet for restaurants would probably be to look in the River North area and the hotels.

A quick check of Open Table shows 104 Restaurants in the Loop/River North/Gold Coast area that have tables available the eveing of the 24th. They're in a variety of price ranges. You should be fine, but I think I'd make a reservation. Drop me a PM with a general idea of what you're looking for and I'll send some suggestions.

Might we be better off staying in another part of Chicago that is subway accessible to Amtrak on Christmas, for purposes of Christmas Eve?

The subway in Chicago is referred to as the "L". Not sure what you mean by "subway accessible", but none of the L stations connect directly with Amtrak @ Union Station. No worries though. If you're staying in the Loop, you won't be more than a $6-8 cab ride (15 min walk) from your hotel to Union Station.



A quick check of Open Table shows 104 Restaurants in the Loop/River North/Gold Coast area that have tables available the eveing of the 24th. They're in a variety of price ranges. You should be fine, but I think I'd make a reservation. Drop me a PM with a general idea of what you're looking for and I'll send some suggestions.

Agree that OP will be fine re restaurants. I was referring to everything else (stores, museums, etc.)

Next time stay a little longer hackensacknj. :cool:

Chinatown, easily accessible via CTA redline from the loop (12 min?) or cab seems to be a favorite for Dec 24/25 dining. Not sure if all the shops will be open, but certainly the restaurants will be.

If you arrive early enough, the Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza shuts down at 4pm, at the very least you could walk by the holiday windows at Marshall Fields, I mean Macy's on State St.Chinatown, easily accessible via CTA redline from the loop (12 min?) or cab seems to be a favorite for Dec 24/25 dining. Not sure if all the shops will be open, but certainly the restaurants will be.We have been to Chinatown on Christmas Eve many a time & then have taken in a movie. This is a tradition of our Jewish buds, we'll join them if our family isn't celebrating on Christmas Eve.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTq20prt0K8

Chinatown, easily accessible via CTA redline from the loop (12 min?) or cab seems to be a favorite for Dec 24/25 dining. Not sure if all the shops will be open, but certainly the restaurants will be.

Have an upcoming visit this month and will be staying nice and close to the redline -- would you be so kind as to advise what stop to get off for a Chinatown visit? I assume they are open 7 days each week? What kind of shops are there, just curious :)

We used to have Christmas Eve dinner quite often in the River North / Streeterville area. There are plenty of options, including some bars, as others have mentioned and Michigan Avenue is a nice stroll, especially during the Christmas season. From the Loop these areas and the Amtrak station are close by.

Have an upcoming visit this month and will be staying nice and close to the redline -- would you be so kind as to advise what stop to get off for a Chinatown visit? I assume they are open 7 days each week? What kind of shops are there, just curious :)

Don't worry about memorizing the red line stop, it's called Cermak-Chinatown, you won't miss it. Just get on a southbound train (to 95th/Dan Ryan) and it's the first stop after you come out of the subway. I think most places are open 7 days, there might be a few restaurants closed on mondays or something, but not most.

Have an upcoming visit this month and will be staying nice and close to the redline -- would you be so kind as to advise what stop to get off for a Chinatown visit? I assume they are open 7 days each week? What kind of shops are there, just curious :)

We had a FT Dim Sum lunch in Chinatown a couple weeks ago, and it was well regarded by our group:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/communitybuzz/1271130-chicago-chinatown-dim-sum-do-sunday-november-20-a.html

Eater had a nice round-up of what's open for Christmas. Hope it helps!

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2011/12/05/xmas-guide.php

Just curious about how it all turned out, if the OP is still watching the thread.