Chicago

martiac225

Hey ladies, looking for some help/suggestions...
My sister/MOH is planning a Bach party for us girls in Chicago over St. Patty's weekend.  I have never partied in Chicago and neither has she, sooo we are looking for suggestions on where to stay and the best bars to hit up at night and restaurants/shopping during the day.
Thanks for any help you can offer!
Angie

Bimbi284

Yay! I currently live in Chicago...as do theophania and debbiupper, so hopefully they'll help too.

Anyways, as far as lodging, downtown probably has your best (and the most) options. Most of these places will be easily accessible to public transportation (think the Red Line el train if you wanna go cheap and all night long), or you can easily get a cab pretty much anywhere. There's also a sh*t ton of bars all over the city. It depends on the kind of vibe you are going for. If you want a decent bar/pub crawl kinda thing, I suggest the bars in the Lincoln Ave stretch in Lincoln Park (lots of wristband deals on the weekends) or the Clark Street establishments north of Belmont Ave throughout Lakeview and Wrigleyville. If you're looking for more of a swank vibe, the River North area has a ton of stuff (Hub 51, LaSalle Power company, etc).

Basically, there's a lot of options!

Oh...one thing that may interest you is the recent opening of a Beauty Bar...probably a good place to begin??
http://thebeautybar.com/chicago/home.php


ETA: You may also be able to get some responses if you mosey on over to the Chicago board

wittyschaffy

I did this for mine too!  We stayed at my sister's house though one night and then the Ritz one night (where, ironically enough we had a HORRIBLE service and my Mom ended up with a free night to use at a later time because it was THAT bad.)  We didn't go too crazy, went shopping on Michigan Ave, hit up Blue Man Group, dinner at Brazaz (like Fogo De Chao) and walked over to a dueling Piano Bar called Howl at the Moon which was awesome.  Packed - but very fun.  If you want a hotel right on the Magnificent Mile, I recently stayed at the Hyatt and enjoyed my stay. 

Enchanted616

Blue Man group is amazing!  I'm not a huge bar hopping kinda person, so when FI and I went there, that was our big night out and it was AMAZING!

juliels53

I third Blue Man Group! I've seen it 3 times each in a different city. It's definitly fun! Also, Howl at the Moon is a dueling piano bar that we checked out from a few suggestions. It was fun. Perfect if you're dressing up and wearing the crown and sash etc. Have fun! (Jealous!)

debbieupper

Woo hoo! You're going to have a blast! My bachelorette party is in two weeks so I can give you more info then, but for now, I will say these things:

1. St. Patty's Day in Chicago is INSANE. Let me re-state that: I-N-S-A-N-E. Our Irish take it very seriously. And for that reason, you should book your hotel far in advance. So way to go for already being on the ball with that! St. Pat's weekend has a million things to do in addition to the regular "Chicago" stuff. For example, people are out at the bars starting around 7am on the day they dye the river green. That would be way fun to see, but be warned that in a sea of green shamrocks, your glittery tiaras and sashes might not be given the same attention they would on a regular day.

2. Shopping on the Magnificent Mile and roaming around Navy Pier are always fun. We're doing a cheesy tall-ship sail through the city with a touring company for mine - should be funny.

3. Vil (Bimbi) probably knows the hot spots for going out more than me. Although I will agree that the "swanky" clubs/bars are in River North or the Gold Coast (neighborhoods of Chicago), while the best 20-something bars are in Lincoln Park or Wrigleyville (by Wrigley Field). Wrigleyville is a more college-age bar scene.

@Vil That Beauty Bar looks super fun! And what would you know, it's within walking distance of where I live ... hmmm ...

Bimbi284

Hmmm Debbie...I think we may need to have a Beauty Bar date soon!

martiac225

Thanks ladies!!! Looking forward to it