First Time to Chicago

Hello,

4 of us from Seattle are heading to Chicago next week for first time before heading to the Kentucky Derby. We have created a list of activities that interest us but have no idea which ones to do and how to fit it all in. Any help planning our itinerary would be very much appreciated.

We are staying on the ';Magnificent Mile'; and arriving next Tuesday Mid-day and leaving around noon Thursday. Currently our only concrete plan is to go to the Mariner/White Sox game Wednesday at 1pm. Other than here is a list of activities/questions that interest us

-Wrigleyville (Cubs not in town but is it still worth visiting?)

-River or lake front boat tour. Are these open right now? Which tour is recommeneded?

-Lincoln Park

-Navy Pier

-Soldier Field

-John Hancock Building or Sears Tower for view?

-Mag Mile shopping for the wives?

-Chicago Style Pizza?

-We have a rental car, any suggestions for parking other than the hotel valet?

Any thoughts on how to organize our trip would be great

Thanks for the help

First Time to Chicago

Wrigleyville is a cool neighborhood for bar hoping, If you are baseball fan, it probably is not a bad idea to take the train out to Addison and seeing the park, grab a beer at a local pub, and head back downtown. Maybe less appealing if you are not into baseball or a beverage of an adult nature.

For boat tours, the more history is down the river, but if it is your first time, do a survey one that does both, in around 90 mins, you won%26#39;t get as in depth, but it will be more encompassing.

Lincoln park? Large neighborhood, has a zoo if you are in to that, more details on what you are thinking would be helpful.

Navy pier, touristy, probably not a bad visit, but not a whole lot to do.

Soldier field, probably only if you want to go on the tour.

Willis Tower, Vs Hancock, either is fine, go to whatever is more convenient.

Pizza, for downtown i like Giordanos, if you want to kill two birds with one stone, Dagostinos is great out by Wrigley, (near my apartment too,) you can check out Wrigley, walk over to southport, then after lunch, take the brown-line, (southport stop), back downtown. You will feel like a local!

Hope this helps.

First Time to Chicago

You can save a ton of money by not getting your rental car until you%26#39;re ready to head down to KY. You don%26#39;t need a car here. Public transit is cheap and abundant. Most of the car rental chains have offices downtown. You can return your car at the airport. Parking here%26#39;s expensive. ';Reasonable'; parking - www.millenniumgarages.com

If you%26#39;re staying on the Mag Mile, Hancock.

Shopping - www.themagnificentmile.com/shopping.cfm

There are tours of Wrigley Field - 鈥lb.com/chc/ballpark/wrigley_field_tours.jsp

Great dining search tool - www.chicagoreader.com

Please use the search function on this forum for pizza. The subject%26#39;s been covered extensively. All are good.

Public transit - www.transitchicago.com - there%26#39;s a trip planner function on the home page. A CTA visitor pass might come in handy for your visit.

If you%26#39;re planning to drive from Chicago to Louisville, I would strongly recommend not renting your car until you leave the city. Everything you%26#39;re planning to do is accessible via public transit. In addition to rental costs, hotel parking is around $50 per day. You can take the CTA Orange Line L from Midway or Blue Line from O%26#39;Hare into the central city. You can also take the Red Line to Cellular Field and Wrigley.

You can purchase a 3-day pass for $14 that allows unlimited rides on all CTA trains and buses. There are vending machines at both airports and a number of merchants around the city who sell them. Check www.transitchicago.com for a list as well as a trip planner.

As for a cruise, it depends on whether you want just a sightseeing cruise or something informative. The best architectural cruises are operated by the Chicago Architecture Foundation and leave from the corner of Michigan Avenue %26amp; Wacker Dr. Check www.architecture.org for schedules. There are other cruises near Navy Pier which operate along the river or the lake, but the guides aren%26#39;t as well-trained.

Search the forum for pizza and you%26#39;ll see all the possibilities with several opinions for and against each. Most is a matter of personal preference.

If the Cubs are not in town, don%26#39;t bother with the visit. Boat tour is great. Check out the architecture boat tour. You%26#39;re staying in the ';only'; place to stay in Chi. Best shopping, restaurants and bars on Mag. Mile. Navy Pier is neat and interesting. Chi. Pizza is just OK, nothing special. Hancock is best view and right on Mag. Mile. Good nighttime spots on Rush St. Parking is tough but you might get lucky with a parking lot, but probably as expensive as hotel valet. Dress warm. April/May still chilly. Great city,cheaper, cleaner and safer than NYC. nicer people. Enjoy!!

If you are a sports fan, I would take the redline over to Wrigley, take a photo in front of the park, take a tour of the field, lunch at the thousands of restaurants nearby.

If the weather is nice, I%26#39;d go to Navy Pier around sunset and sit in the beer garden. Watching the sun go down over the city is a pretty sight that is often taken for granted.

Thanks for all the info it really helps. The reason we have a rental car is that our trip is actually beginning in Niagara Falls. I think I am going to suck it up and just pay the hotel parking rate. Boat tour wise, does anyone have any recommendations for which to do?

From an architecture perspective: architecture.org/tour_view.aspx?TourID=8

From a tourist perspective - www.wendellaboats.com