Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is one of the most well known cities in the United States and as the third largest city in the country it does not disappoint the traveler to this city. Chicago is of course famous for its pizza, hot dogs, and sports such as the Bulls, and Cubs but the city has much more to offer. The city is home to outstanding museums, shopping, a vibrant theater district, observation decks at some of the tallest buildings in the world and so much more. Donna and I visited Chicago in 2015 and saw a lot using the City Pass. There is still much more for us to see and we would like to go back in the future!
Getting to Chicago and Transportation
Chicago is a city that is very easy to get to. Chicago has two very well connected airports that you will possibly fly connect through even if you are not flying to Chicago. Chicago O’Hare International Airport is a huge airport that is a hub for United Airlines and has many international airlines that operate out of Chicago. Donna and I have connected through Chicago O’hare coming and going to Europe on a couple occasions. Chicago Midway airport is a smaller but still busy airport that is mainly a Southwest Airlines hub. Midway airport is named after the turning point in the War in the Pacific during World War II, The Battle of Midway. Its worth a stop at the Battle of Midway museum in the airport that displays a real SBD Dauntless dive bomber aircraft and has videos and artifacts about the battle. Both airports are connected to CTA trains that can easily take you into downtown or elsewhere in Chicago. The CTA train system is well done and we used it to get into the downtown area on one occasion. We also rented a car to get around town and other areas such as Northern Indiana and Western Michigan. If you are only staying in the downtown area I would stick to the trains, ride sharing or cabs.
The Field Museum
Our first stop on our quick trip to Chicago was The Field Museum. There we got our Chicago City Pass voucher book (we purchased online and they gave us the booklet). The Chicago City Pass is well worth the cost since it saves quite a bit of money at Chicago’s main sites. We parked at the Chicago Bear’s stadium (Soldier Field) and visited the many sites near it. The Field Museum is a massive natural history museum that covers many different ancient societies, animals and places all over the world. We saw replicas of ruins, Polynesian Islands, Dinosaurs, mummies and much more. Its a great museum to visit and if you looked at everything would take you an entire day at the one museum. Since we had limited time at each museum we spent half a day visiting the museum. The replicas of ruins, cities and the well preserved dinosaurs were impressive. I highly recommend making this museum a stop on your trip to Chicago.
Adler Planetarium
Just a short walk from the Field Museum on the banks of Lake Michigan is the Adler Planetarium. Its not your average planetarium that has one dome and a few small exhibits. There are multiple planetarium domes, quite a few permanent and temporary exhibits and even the chance to take a trip back in time in the 1913 Atwood Sphere that is a very old planetarium. The Atwood Sphere has many holes in the metal sphere that allows people to see the stars once inside. Donna and I took the time to see artifacts such as the final Gemini mission capsule Gemini 12, artifacts from Jim Lovell and Apollo 13 and other space related exhibits. We also or course went and saw a planetarium show. Its a great facility that I would like to visit again and spend more time. Depending on how many shows you see it can take a couple hours to visit if you go quickly. The City Pass allows entry to all shows and the exhibits.
The Shedd Aquarium
Near the Adler Planetarium and The Field Museum is the nice Shedd Aquarium. It is a well done aquarium that has exhibits on many rivers and oceans all over the world. They have programs where staff teach about the animals (some of them rescue animals) in the aquarium. The Shedd Aquarium also has temporary exhibits that come through. This was our last stop before we went to dinner. We were able to visit the three attractions above in one day but we had to go quickly at each. It would be best to do these in multiple days if you have the time. You can get priority access with the City Pass at the Shedd Aquarium and it saved us some money.
Skydeck Chicago
Our final stop that cost admisison after dinner was a couple CTA elevated train stops away. Downtown Chicago is pretty safe and walk able. The train system is well done and helps you get around the area a little easier. We went to one of the tallest buildings in the world (The Willis Tower formerly Sears Tower) to go visit its observation deck called Skydeck Chicago. We used our City Pass and went to the top. Before you head to the top we saw videos about the history of this huge building and the Skydeck. Once at the top you have a wonderful view of Chicago and Lake Michigan. The highlight of the Skydeck is being able to step out on glass and look down 103 stories to the ground below. Its an interesting view that’s for sure. Its a worthwhile and unique stop and its open later than the museums so you can do it after dinner like we did and you can catch sunset.
Cloud Gate (AKA the Bean)
As we walked back to our car we walked through some of the parks in the Chicago downtown area. We went through Millennium that has a concert venue and is home to the famous Cloud Gate sculpture that is also know as “The Bean”. Its a unique sculpture and a nice place to stop by and see. We also walked through Grant Park and saw the famous Buckingham Fountain that was turned off at the time (if you watched the show Married With Children the fountain is seen in the intro). That ended our first day in Chicago (we flew in early in the morning and then toured everything above). It was a very busy day but it was a great day!
Museum of Science and Industry
Another must see museum in Chicago is the Museum of Science and Industry. On our second day in Chicago we drove over to the museum and spent much of the day in this huge museum. As the name states this museum has many exhibits on things such as the weather, machines such as planes, trains, equipment and ships, new technologies, a city of the past and much more. One of the highlights is one of the last remaining German U-Boats in the world, U-505. U-505 was captured by the Allies in a daring raid in which movies were made about it later. You can tour the submarine at the museum and see a very well done exhibit about U-Boats and WWII. Many of the exhibits are interactive such as the Tornado and anatomy exhibits. There are also many interesting temporary exhibits you can visit. While we were there there was an exhibit on Artificial Intelligence. While there you can also tour a retired United Airlines Jet Airliner, look at models and replicas of ships, trains and even learn about heavy farm equipment. Its a great museum for both adults and children. The Museum of Science and Industry is included in the Chicago City pass and we used it to visit the museum. The museum for us took much of the day even going quickly so give yourself plenty of time. That evening we went back into downtown to eat at the famous Billy Goats Tavern (as seen in Saturday Night Live) and go to the Chicago 360 observation deck at the John Hancock Building.
Chicago 360 at the John Hancock Building
That evening we took the CTA train (Also known as the L) from Chicago Midway Airport into downtown to eat and then we visited the Chicago 360 observatory in the John Hancock Building. You get a different perspective of Chicago from the John Hancock building and we saw it around sunset. Lake Michigan is beautiful especially from up high. The view from the 94th floor was great and we enjoyed our time there. This is part of the City Pass but we used our voucher for the Museum of Science and Industry.
The Magnificent Mile
Donna and I took some time to walk the Magnificent Mile. Along Michigan Avenue there are many shops, restaurants, hotels and other places you can visit. We just walked past the shops since most of them were too expensive for our budget but it was a nice walk. We stopped to visit the historic Chicago Water Tower that was one of a few buildings the survive The Great Chicago Fire in the area. If shopping is what you like to do then this is an area of Chicago you will want to spend some time in. We just walked through to experience the area.
Day Trips from Chicago
Since Donna and I have a goal of visiting all 50 states we decided to make our final day a quick trip to some sites in Northern Indiana and South Western Michigan. We visited the Indiana Dunes National Seashore and the Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan. Along Lake Michigan in Indiana and Michigan are some huge sand dunes and some nice beaches. We visited the Visitor Center in Indiana and the beaches. Lake Michigan is more like an Ocean than what you would expect when thinking about a lake. It was too cold in September to go swimming but the blue water looked very nice. As we drove from at the time sunny Chicago and Indiana we were able to see the “Lake Effect” in person as we drove just a few miles to the Warren Dunes State Park and got into sleet and some light snow. We quickly looked at the dunes in Michigan and headed back towards Illinois. We stopped in the small industrial city of Whiting, Indiana and stopped by the Bulldog Brewery to sample their beer and have a quick stop. The city has a nice little historic shopping district. There is a Northern Indiana Brewery tour you can take. Much of Northern Indiana is an industrial area with steel plants but there are some interesting areas to visit like we did. Another day trip option that we did not take at the time would be to take the hour and a half drive to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After our trip to Indiana and Michigan we headed back to Midway Airport and got a bite to eat before we headed back home on this short 3 day trip.
Other things to do in Chicago and tips
There are many other things you can do in Chicago that we would like to do someday when we get time. There are other museums such as the Art Institute of Chicago, tours that highlight the unique architecture of Chicago and boat tours along the Chicago River. You can also visit the shops and attractions at the Navy Pier or catch a show at Chicago’s impressive theater district. You could also catch a Cubs game at historic Wrigley Field or many other things. We found the hotel prices cheaper if you stay close to the airports (Midway in our case) since its more expensive downtown. You can easily ride a CTA train into downtown from the airport area. In general you can get away without renting a car if you do not plan on leaving the Chicago area.
Food in Chicago
Chicago is of course know for its food. The Chicago Style Hotdog and my personal favorite the Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza. Donna and I did not try a Chicago Hotdog while we were in Chicago but we did try the pizza. We recommend Giordano’s (there is a location near the Willis Tower) or our personal favorite Pizzeria Uno (or the second location Pizzeria Due for the great pizza. There are many other great places to eat and explore in Chicago. Its a wonderful place to visit for attractions and to eat!
