8 hours in Chicago, what to do?
 

Hi All,
I will arrive into Chicago ex kansas around 9am on a friday morning. i will leave that night around 8pm. Basically I was hoping that more well-informed people than myself could give me a few ideas of what to do? Open minded about this so let me know. I will have a bag as well, is there anywhere to drop it off?

If there are already posts about this please direct me that way, i did search but nothing came up.

thanks in advance

MickV

At the airport follow signs to "TRAINS TO THE CITY / CTA." Buy either a day pass for $7 for unlimited use or load $5 on a card for roundtrip train travel. Take the BLUE LINE to the city. (BLUE LINE is the only "L" train serving O'Hare Airport).

If you get off at Clark & Lake, then you can walk over to State & Lake (just a few short blocks) and have lunch or coffee at THE ROOF restaurant at The Wit hotel. The views are amazing and the prices are quite reasonable.

Then you're within walking distance of museums (the new Modern Wing at the Chicago Art Institute is amazing), shopping, etc. Buses and trains are all covered by the unlimited $7 day pass.

Welcome to Chicago.

Have you been to Chicago before?
What are your interests? (Food, art, sports, shopping, etc.)
What's your budget?

Thank you BCH

It is my first time to visit the city. I love my sports budget isnt much of a problem. Planning on grabbing an early meal in Mortons. I will have two clients with me and I think they would like to see a few sights and maybe a little shopping?

Sights and shopping with limited time, you say? Take a stroll down Michigan Avenue, both north and south of the river.

Probably the best bet. Take a cab to Hancock Center (875 N. Michigan Avenue) and go up to the Observation Deck (I usually opt for the Signature Lounge, but it might be too early for you), then explore numerous sightseeing, shopping and dining opportunities along the Magnificent Mile. Consider taking a Chicago Architecture Foundation tour (either bus or walking): http://caf.architecture.org/page.aspx?pid=592.

You can get to Wrigley Field and US Cellular Field using CTA Red Line: http://www.yourcta.com or a cab (since budget isn't a problem), but neither is much of a sight in winter.

BTW, CTA trains (Blue Line to/from airport, as recommended earlier) and Red Line (north/south) are frequently the fastest way to get around the city due to traffic. Taxis are usually easy to find and more comfortable, of course.

Not sure about the bag. I don't think there are lockers inside O'Hare anymore. Perhaps get a day room at the O'Hare Hilton, if affordable?

Realistic advice would also need to take weather into consideration: can you enjoy walking outdoors or should it be a museum day? :) At least you might want to tweak the ratios. Let us know which Friday it is, and we might have a better idea that week.

Can't you through-check the bag, or is it your carry-on?

I'd recommend taking a cab to the city (getting off the expressway at Addison & cutting over to Lake Shore Drive, which will take you past Wrigley Field). Have the cab drop you off at Water Tower or the John Hancock. You can then walk down Michigan toward the river, and if the weather isn't too awful you might even make it to Millennium Park. After dinner, catch a cab & consider asking the driver to take you past Soldier Field before dropping you at the nearest blue line L stop.

My rec stays the same regardless of weather. You can make minor adjustments if you decide to spend more time indoors, since multiple shopping malls and, of course, the Art Institute are right on Michigan Ave.

Thanks everybody. Some great sounding ideas!!

It will be Friday the 11th.

You can always be a bit cheeky and leave your luggage at one of the downtown hotels. :) If you go into one of the big ones (Palmer House Hotel, for example, is just off Blue Line Washington stop), i bet they'd never know if you are staying at the hotel or not.

CTA 1 day pass is $5.75, but I believe they don't sell it in the machine at ORD that sell multi day passes, only 3 days and 7 days pass available.


Taking a cab is a waste of money ($40+ vs $2.25) considering OP has 8 hours, and it would also stuck in traffic in both morning and evening rush hour. Taking the blue line would just be the same duration or even faster than a cab at those hours.

For an out of town visitor I wouldn't ask the cab driver to drop me off at the nearest blue line L stop from downtown, not unless you don't know chicago cab drivers are sharks especially if they see you are out of towners. They would instead drive the longest way or take you to the farthest L stop. Even as a local I had cab drivers think that because I am not white or black (I am asian), I must be out of towner. From ORD, I told him to get to Irving and Broadway, he instead get off 90 on Lawrence and go all the way, not until I told him to turn at Kimball and get back on Irving ! (Who doesn't know Lawrence is like Belmont slowest street on the northside !) And it is just one example, there are many many more to tell.

I suggested an a.m. cab so he could see Wrigley on the way to downtown, since he's a sports fan & cost wasn't a huge issue. With a 9 a.m. arrival, he'll be in a cab at 9:20 a.m. or so, and shouldn't encounter much rush-hour traffic.

I"m white & a local, but I've rarely had a problem with cab drivers trying to take advantage of me by running up the fare/taking roundabout routes. (I think the bigger problem is the cab driver who brakes approaching every green light in an effort to run up the "waiting time" while sitting at lights.) If I were a cab driver and someone with luggage asked to go to the Blue Line, I'd assume the person was a local, but that's just me.

while you're walking to the CTA station at O'Hare you will be in a passageway with Hilton Hotel entrance on one side and a concession stand on another. That concession stand (city maps, etc) sells all kinds of travel cards.

Do they sell 1 day pass from there ? If yes then it will be my new source if I didn't buy a 1 day pass before I leave my home.

Which passageway are you talking about ? The lower level (CTA) from T1/T2/T3 to CTA, or the passageway with the concession stand next to the Hilton ballrooms/gym ?

EDIT: I had looked it up on the CTA website, can't find any listings in any stores in Ohare that sell CTA passes.