Layover in Chicago
 

Moderator: Not sure if this is a Travel Destination post or AA post -

Looking at flight itineraries to go LAX to EZE or MVD; AA offers an attractively priced flight that has an 8-hour layover in ORD.

Is that enough time to get into the city to grab lunch, go up the Hancock? tower, or something, then get back? I assumed we'd be ticketed all the way to EZE we we check-in at LAX?

I think another itinerary routes through JFK with a long layover.

I think 8 hours would be fine. The blue line takes ~45 minutes max to downtown, but I am not sure about now with the construction. One of the Chicago locals would have to chime in on that.

Have fun.

As it has nothing to do with AA, but is about a specific destination, it probably belongs (and may well be moved) there.

Cheers.

I live in Chicago and I agree with your assessment. Within an hour, you should be able to get to downtown on the blue line (even with construction). Figure about 2-3 hours for lunch and Hancock tour, and you'd still have plenty of time to return to the airport for your flight.

and if u have at least plt status or ac member, come back, take a shower and enjoy ur flight :)

Provided no delays, yes, it's doable. It's a 45min-1hr subway ride to downtown, and you wouldn't spend more than 1-2hr at the Hancock (unless you eat there too).

If it's a weekend, you need to allow at least 90 minutes for that subway ride to downtown-- there is construction on the line and they occasionally insert a bus ride into the middle of the trip on Saturdays and/or Sundays. But you should still have enough time to play!

Love the views from the Sears Tower!

Definitely do-able in a day. I've done it several times. Hop on the CTA and head downtown. Leave yourself enough time for a shower at the AC before your flight to EZE. If you are EXP, you could use the Flagship Lounge as well.

ORD Layover
 

I live in Chicago, and agree that you'll have plenty of time. The only problem with the Blue Line is that it comes in way west of the Hancock and Mich. Avenue. Your best bet is to take it all the way downtown, get off at Lake or Washington, and either cab it up to N. Michigan, or switch to the Red Line and get off at Chicago Avenue-- then you're only a few blocks west.

If money is not a huge concern and depending on your arrival and depature trimes, a car service is often a better opton. And yes as many have said, you have more than enough time to go into the city.


The Blue Line does not drop you within easy walking distance of anyting you'd likely want to see and has been delay ridden with construction.

Worse case, traveling to downtown ( or the reverse) via car takes about an hour and half and best case can be done in 30 minutes. All depends on time and day of week.

CTA has gone way down hill in recent years with all the budget cuts, so not an ideal option in my view any more.

Be aware....we had a 3 hour + loop to airport trip on the blue line last week (after midnight) because of the construction. We were unloaded and had to take a bus between two blue line stops.:mad:

I've done this before and it worked out fine. Good luck

Lesser known tip: There is a restaurant on the 95th floor of the Handcock with the same fantastic views as the observation deck. If you eat lunch there, you'll save yourself the observation deck fee. Admittedly though, the restaurant is rather over-priced.

Was just about to recommned the same thing. You get the same great views and lunch while paying only slightly more. I would suggest making a reservation.

I would take a taxi, I am not sure when your flight lands be aware of rush hour.

I do the following side trip whenever I have a long layover at ORD:

1. Take CTA Blue Line to Rosemont Station (the next station after ORD)

2. Take PACE bus #606, get off at Algonquin & Arlington Heights. There is a Japanese supermarket called Mitsuwa. They have a great food court, lots of Japanese goods and even a nice bookstore. I usually eat some nice Japanese style curry, do a little shopping for snacks and books for my flight.

3. To get back to ORD, just do the same thing the opposite way.

Wheres the fun in that?

I think the OP is specifically looking to see the downtown area. Blue line during the day is fine and better than before as some of the construction has been completed. Since the construction is happening mostly at night after 10pm, I would avoid it, including the fact that it gets pretty shady at night on the train.

Hancock tower (95th floor) has an excellent lunch buffet for about 20+ bucks which would be ideal. Otherwise there are plenty of restaurants in the loop that you can look up. I would recommend taking a cab from wherever you get off the Blue Line.

Sigmund Freud would be proud. :-::-:

Funniest post of the year (so far)!

Actually, that sounds far more fun than sitting in an AC for 2 or 3 hours.
It would be useful to know approx. how long this takes in each direction?
And do the buses run every few minutes, or only once or twice per hour?
Thanks.

Happy Travels

The little side trip I mentioned shouldn't take more than an hour each direction and food is a lot cheaper and better than buying food at the airport or going into downtown Chicago. I did this when I had a 4 hour window between my previous MR to FRA via ORD. It did wonders to kill time while doing something interesting. And as you said, it was much more fun than spending time at the AC.

In fact, I've done it in about 30 minutes one way, although this is dependent on catching the train and the bus at the right time. Considering reasonable "cushion time," this sidetrip works best when you have a layover that is 3 hours or more. Getting acquainted with the Japanese supermarket/bookstore/food court shouldn't take more than an hour too.

The PACE bus frequency depends on the day of the week and the time of hour. Usually around 20-30 min per hour on a weekday and about 45 min per hour on a weekend. The buses are timed with the arrival of the CTA Blue Line so it shouldn't be that long of a wait (as opposed to our buses in LA which aren't timed at all :mad:).

You can download a copy of the latest schedule and map here:
http://www.pacebus.com/sub/schedules...sp?RouteNo=606
They also have the latest bus schedule posted on a billboard right before you exit Rosemont Station.

Interestingly, the PACE bus route also passes by UA HQ, so if you are riding this bus early in the morning or late in the afternoon, you'll see some UA corporate employees on the bus :D

Note:
When you add up the fare for the roundtrip CTA Blue Line ($2.00 x 2) and the PACE bus ($1.75 x 2), you're better off in getting a one-day fun pass ($5). http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/fares.html (scroll all the way down to the visitor's pass section). You can obtain this one-day fun pass at one of the automatic ticketing machines just before riding the CTA in ORD.

Brilliant.
Thanks, Kebosabi.

No problem! I actually made this Japanese minimall adventure when I stumbled upon the Chicago Traveler review written here: http://www.thechicagotraveler.com/mitsuwa-marketplace/

When I looked up how far this was from ORD, it was only one CTA station away! I just had to try this out and once I did, I never ventured out into downtown Chicago ever again. I would like to add this to a wiki of "what to do when you have a layover in XXX" if there is one. Can anyone point me in the appropiate link to such a thread?

I'll be looking forward on your review of this interesting sidetrip :D