Chicago?

cschuma2 · March 2011

Have any of you ever been to Chicago? Because I never have.

A friend and I are planning a girl's weekend away for sometime in July. We're thinking 3 days, 2 nights. Mostly I wanted to ask if any of you have any experience with taking a train there? I looked at amtrak's website and it looks like the train for 2 people will be similar to the cost of gas+ turnpike tolls. It would kind of suck because we couldn't leave and come home necessarily at the time of our choosing. However, I'm concerned that having a car there will be an added expense and just an inconvenience. I'm open to staying outside of downtown and relying on the L to get us around if we find an amazing hotel deal. However, at this point, we're leaning toward staying downtown.

We're not really bar and club kind of people. I figure that we will hit up either the Sears Tower or John Hancock Observatory and Navy Pier for sure. Are there any touristy must-sees that you really enjoyed?

I've also read a little about Magnificent Mile for shopping, what kind of shopping is this? Are these the same stores that I can find here in Toledo and really not worth our time? Or are these a bunch of stores like Armani, Versace, etc. that we can't afford? I probably don't want to do that either.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

CoCo'sMommy · March 2011

My future sister in law lives right in dowtown chicago. I honestly havent been to visit her yet. Although I plan on going very soon to find wedding shoes there. She actually lives right next door to the ritz carlton. I think (from what she has described) there is a mix of shopping there some macys/bloomingdales and some more high end. Honestly though what I have experience from visiting my family in california you can go into the same store for instance H&M or old navy and the merchandise is completely different because they adapt to the style/culture around them. So dont completely give up on shopping! Also there is an aquarium there I want to go to when I visit (I love sea animals) Not sure if thats your thing. FIance wants to go to the natural history museum. Visit LUSH! its my absolute favorite store(its a chain) lots of all natural smelly good products(soap, shampoo, massage bars, bath bombs) Its not like bath and body its waaaaay cooler trust me. also did you think of taking the megabus? I know people who have done that also.

abbeylynne06 · March 2011

I have gone by train one time before and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to be able to sit and read, get up and walk around, and not worry at all about traffic. It was a little bit slower than by car, but it was a decent trade off. And, not having a car in Chicago will really save you alot of money. It's like $25+/day just for a car to sit in a parking garage. The city is easy to get around in by cab, walking, and hte L.

Navy Pier for sure!

Magnificent Mile was a pretty good mix of things, if I remember correctly. Some big, higher-end department stores, but I don't really remember much else.

chicadelpadre · March 2011

I did 2 years of undergrad in Chicago and went back several times for visits after transferring back here to finish up. I LOVE the city (and miss it dearly - trying to convince FI it's worth a quick weekend honeymoon type thing sometime this summer).

If you're just going to stay in a hotel, as opposed to visiting someone at their house/apartment, it's probably easier to take the train. I've taken the train between Toledo & Chicago way too many times to count. The downside is that it was usually pretty stinky when you boarded at Toledo, but the train had also come from NY or DC (depending on which train it was I think), so there had been many people in and out of the cars and restrooms. It was also rarely on time (hopefully they've changed this though) and was usually at least an hour late by the time it got to Chicago. When I was taking the train back and forth I was always in the city earlier than check in time for hotels, so be sure to request an early check in time or figure out something to do with yourself and your luggage until you can check in.

Shopping on MIchigan Ave is pretty cool, though sometimes overpriced and touristy. They have all sorts of stores there, and around there from music stores to NIketown and everything in between. Watertower mall is also on Michigan Ave. It's a HUGE mall that puts Franklin Park to shame. It's also usually very crowded. It's also worth checking out the shopping on State Street - there's a HUGE Old Navy, Sears, Carson's (their version of Elder-Beerman) and Macy's.

I have a ton more stuff I could tell you, so if you want to know anything specific let me know :-)

rak123 · March 2011

The aquarium is very cool and there are some very nice museums. I am blanking on their names at the moment.

Have fun! I have been there several times. The last time we went there, we got a hotel room outside the city and then took the train in so we didn;t have to deal with parking in the city.

cschuma2 · March 2011

You ladies are the best! Thanks!

Altoid_Storm · April 2011

I LOVE CHICAGOOOOO.

Please go. I'm sure there isn't much else I can add, but I took a trip there recently on the train for 3 days and it was fantastic. The Mile is great for shopping, but it's a lot of trendy stores. Not sure if that's what you like. But we stayed in The Loop and it was a great area. Lots of fantastic restaurants. And you can't beat The Bean!! Also, go to the Chicago Art Institute. Mind-blowing.

Chicago is an amazing city. I love it. Have fun!!

Chicago?

Re: Chicago?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards