Visiting Chicago for ballgame, would love ideas on trip planning...

[busy mom]

We have never been to Chicago, and my DH and I are flying into Midway this summer to see a White Sox game. We will need transportation from the airport, and would like to stay right in the city.

I would love any planning suggestions; city transportation, recommended hotels, places to visit, etc. from any Chicago experts out there...

Thank you!

 

[cjnix29]

I'm following this too!! We aren't going for a game, but rather a concert!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Following...want to take our boys to see the cubbies.

 

[sheetz]

Use the El (trains) to get around. The Orange line goes right to Midway and US Cellular is along the Red line. Lots of hotels so you shouldn't have any trouble finding something to your tastes and budget. The top attractions are the museums, Navy Pier, Michigan Ave, and the Willis (Sears) tower. It might be worth getting the Chicago Citypass.

 

[CoP Luv]

Use the El (trains) to get around. The Brown line goes right to Midway and US Cellular is along the Red line. Lots of hotels so you shouldn't have any trouble finding something to your tastes and budget. The top attractions are the museums, Navy Pier, Michigan Ave, and the Willis (Sears) tower. It might be worth getting the Chicago Citypass.

The ORANGE line goes to/from Midway, not the Brown line. I agree, take the L from Midway and to the game. If you end up staying close to the Red Line, you can easily transfer from the Orange Line at one of the stops.

I usually use Priceline or Hotwire Express Deals to book any time I am in Chicago. We stayed at the Omni Hotel right off of Michigan and Huron recently for under $100 for the night. I always search 4 stars, but you can easily get a great rate on a 3 star. You can usually figure out the exact hotel or maybe even narrow it down to two, so I have no problem not knowing what exact hotel I would be awarded. When using the search engines, River North/Magnificant Mile (depending on which you use) is a great place to start if you want to be close to the Red Line to get to the game, or anywhere else that is along there. You can take the Red line to the Museum Campus (though it is still about a 15-20 minute walk depending on speed) right on the lake.

I love the River North area. Great restaurants, shopping, close to the lake and Millennium Park, easy to walk around...

Have a wonderful trip and go SOX!

 

[Heidi K]

I went to Chicago for a weekend with friends last summer and the L was very easy to use from Midway airport and all around the city. You can buy a three day pass that was maybe $20 or $25 which was much easier than buying a ticket each time we wanted to ride. There are a variety of apps you can put on your phone that will tell you how to use public transportation to get from X to Y.

Probably our favorite touristy things were eating at Frontera Grill and going to the Art Institute.

 

[sheetz]

The ORANGE line goes to/from Midway, not the Brown line.

Doh! Thanks. Fixed it.

 

[Moomduck1]

We did last year and found airbnb to be much affordable than hotels. We stayed in Bucktown, used the El for transportation. Did a river boat tour, saw the art Institute, navy pier, Second City show and Cubs game.

 

[Alice Sr.]

Priceline will save you a significant amount if you aren't using hotel rewards points. I would take a limo from Midway, and stay in 4 star or above in Magnificent Mile or River North zones. Use the El to and from the games. If you like to walk, the City is very walkable. Taxi's/Uber are not outrageous since most places aren't that long of a drive, Water Tower to the Field Museum is only 2.5 miles.

 

[kellyepp1]

If you want an authentic Chicago experience, I second the air bnb suggestion (just make sure it's in a good area). I had a great experience with one in Wrigleyville, which is a fun area to check out. Linkin Park is another great neighborhood.
If you'd rather stay downtown, a hotel might be a better bet since air bnb's get pricey in the Loop.

 

[dex08]

DH and I are currently in the planning process for a trip to Chicago too but we're going for a Cubs game

We're also flying into Midway and will be staying on the Magnificent Mile near Navy Pier and plan to take the CTA "L" everywhere. Unfortunately I don't have any recommendations for hotel deals as we are using hotel points for a free room for the duration of our visit.

We've already ordered CTA Ventra 7-day passes online so that we don't have to deal with them when we arrive. They have a $5 charge for the card and can get it credited back to the card but it's a process to get it back in order to pay for the multi-day pass with those funds. Too much trouble! If you order them online in advance you don't have to pay the $5 fee plus it's free shipping! They have 1 ($10), 3 ($20), and 7 ($28) day passes. https://www.ventrachicago.com

We've scoped out all of the touristy things we want to do and decided the buy a Chicago CityPass as this will provide the greatest savings for what we want to do. I've looked everywhere online for discounts for this but there aren't any and even the website mentions how it's already a huge savings that they don't offer any additional discounts for them. I found discounted pricing for the Chicago CityPass through "Tickets At Work" which has a discount website which my employer is an affiliate and saved $13 on each adult pass (we paid $85 each vs. list price of $98 each). There are other passes out there too - Go Chicago and the Chicago Explorer Pass, but be careful if you get the Explorer Pass as I've read online that this pass doesn't allow for skipping lines/fast pass at sites.

We've also done loads of research on restaurants we want to try and have already made reservations for seatings even though our trip is many weeks out. And, although they have lots of great stores for shopping, DH and I have decided not to plan to shop there since their sales tax went up to 10.25% in January and there is no tax exemption for clothing.

We are so excited as we plan our upcoming trip!! Glad to see this thread and I'll also be following to get more tips!

 

[busy mom]

Thanks for all of the great suggestions, keep 'em coming!