Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
However, if the goal is a nice walk, you could go to the neighborhood of Chicago (Oak Park IIRC) with all of the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. (BTW he was the architect for the original historic Imperial Hotel (that was lost to a fire) in Tokyo and the current hotel still shows some of his influence.) This is farther than Michigan Avenue. Closer to O'Hare, you could take a "subway" to Evanston ( a rather nice university suburban town) and walk among some bookshops and coffee houses, but mostly either go toward the Northwestern University campus, which is right on the lake and has walking and bike paths along the shore, or toward the city park along the lake on the southern edge of downtown.
While I like both Evanston (Northwestern alum) and Oak Park, they are not where I would send a first time tourist unless they specifically were specifically a FLW fan or really wanted to see Northwestern or something like that. Also, Evanston is *not* closer to O'Hare via subway/L, you have to go via the Loop on the Blue Line to get the Purple line, it's a nearly 2 hour trip. The direct bus (Pace suburban service) from O'Hare is not much faster and isn't super frequent.
OP, I agree with what others have said. The boat tour is a highlight (especially in good weather), as is the Bean and the Art Institute. If you want an alternate shopping option to the Mag Mile, Macy's (originally Marshall Field's) is on State much closer to the Bean and Art Institute.