Chicago Advice?

Driving to Chicago for a weekend get away in two weeks! Both DS's, 18 & 19 have visited with school trips, but I have never been. I have done a fair amount of planning, particularly using TripAdvisor reviews, but I am all ears :mickey: if any of you guys have any tips or advice! Any don't miss or SKIP this attraction advice? We are staying in the River North area downtown & definitely planning a trip down Michigan Ave, aka "Mag Mile", also a boat trip to see the architecture and the city skyline, we'll be seeing both the river and the lake. Both DS's want to return visit to the Art Institute of Chicago and of course Navy Pier and Millennium Park (the bean). Also planning to ride the "L" to check out Wrigley Field - alas no games while we are visiting. Am I missing any of the biggies or any tips on visiting any of these places?

Sounds like a lot for one weekend, and those are all great activities. Things I like doing in the city is the museum of science and industry, the Shedd aquarium, there are many tall ships that sail from navy pier or the harbor that will take you out at night in the lake to view the summer fireworks, check groupon, there's usually a deal for one, gives great views of the skyline. Out of town guests usually enjoy the Willis tower observation deck at the Willis (Sears) tower.

Thanks Dobby2010! Yes, we know that we'll be busy, but hopefully it's all doable. We're used to those trips on the go! :D Thanks for all the advice, everything on our schedule, just like our Disney trips, subject to change depending on everyone's desires. Willis Tower was one of those on the maybe list! Thanks for the tips! :thumbsup:

Sure! Hope you all enjoy Chicago! I am certainly biased but I think it is one of the greatest cities in the world, so much to do, and beautiful. Bring umbrellas, we have had one of the rainiest summers on record!

There are fireworks from the navy pier. If you plan a trip to the Hancock building you can watch them fom the observation deck. Andthe Cheesecake Factory is in the same building. :cloud9: Love the Art Institute! The Aquarium is also great. Have fun!!

If you love popcorn, check out Garrett's. You'll love it!

Hackney's in the loop has great burgers......Also the Museum of Broadcast Communications is fun and interesting....

Thanks everyone, the food tips are great as I haven't done any homework in that area, just figured we'd eat whatever we found where ever we are! ;) But it helps to know what you guys are recommending! And I'm hoping to find a spot to watch the fireworks on Saturday night. Can anyone tell me, do we need to actually be on Navy Pier to see them, and does it get crazy crowded for the fireworks?

No, you should be able to see them anywhere along the lakefront nearby, don't know how crowded it will be, have only ever watched from a boat in the lake. Also food wise, make time to try Chicago deep dish pizza if you've never had it. Everyone has their favorite, but I like Giordanos the best. Also our popular chain restaurant is Portillos. They have amazing Italian beef and Chicago style hot dogs, definitely try to go there if you can. I also really like the food court inside the water tower place shopping mall on Michigan ave. it's called food life and has a bunch of different stations with different genres of food. Really cool.

Don't forget the pizza:cloud9::cloud9::cloud9: We like Lou Malnati's, Pizza Uno, and want to go back to try Pizza duo!! My DD wants to make a road trip just for deep dish!

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Originally Posted by tundramom

Don't forget the pizza:cloud9::cloud9::cloud9: We like Lou Malnati's, Pizza Uno, and want to go back to try Pizza duo!! My DD wants to make a road trip just for deep dish!

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My best friend owes me a deep dish pizza from our first trip to Chicago, maybe one day another road trip to collect!

Thanks guys! I'm adding all of this info to my notes for the trip! An authentic Chicago deep dish pizza is definitely on our must do list as well as some Chicago style dogs for sure! :eat::pizza::tasty:Thanks so much, it's such a help to get your advice on the best of the best! :thanks:

And Dobby2010, I just reread your earlier post and caught the part about the umbrellas & the rain... Thank you for the tip! We've had an incredibly rainy summer here in Louisville as well. :rain: So we'll be packing the ponchos just like we do for our WDW trips and hopefully the rain won't slow us down too much. But I'll definitely be hoping this rainy season ends and that we'll have bright sunny days to enjoy our mostly walking tour of your fair city! :sun:

How did you like your trip to Chicago? Hope it went well!

dobby2010... Thanks so much for asking.... we had a fabulous weekend! It all went like clockwork! The hotel was decent and in a great area for what we went for, The Best Western River North, not a lot of frills, but clean, good staff, big room, loved the huge pool and the roof top sundeck to look out at the city! We spent Friday evening shopping the Mag Mile which was loads of fun! I just LOVED all the landscaping that your fabulous city has done on the city sidewalks! Such a lovely touch! :) And we really liked the Chicago Riverwalk - we took that route back from Michigan Ave back to the hotel - beautiful architecture, lovely & peaceful! Saturday we took the bus to the United Center so my youngest DS could see the Michael Jordan statue & then off to Millenium Park for all the sights there & then the Art Institute of Chicago, both DS's had previously visited on a school trip and we all thoroughly enjoyed! After dinner we boarded the 7pm cruise on the Wendellla River & Lake Cruise and enjoyed seeing the sights from Lake Michigan & the views of the architecture and learning so much of the city's history along the Chicago River was just so cool! Then we hoofed it to Navy Pier for more sights & shops & finished up with a ride on the "L" to Wrigley Field on Sunday to soak up the nostalgia! And then our tired selves made our way home and enjoyed seeing the "whirlybirds" as my DM calls them - the wind turbines in Indiana along the way! A great time was had by all and I very much appreciate all of your ( & everyone's) help in our trip planning! It was a huge success! :thumbsup:

Sounds like a fun weekend!

Yay, so glad you had a great trip!