Looking for a Quaint Chicago Neighborhood

My husband and I are going to be traveling near/through Chicago in a few weeks and we%26#39;re looking for a nice neighborhood to spend the night/day in. Something with shops and store fronts, book stores, coffee shop, maybe a theater? Does such a thing exist? We%26#39;ve done the Michigan Ave thing and want to scale it back a few notches. Upscale is fine, but we want to walk around vs. driving and enjoy outdoor dining and such. Any suggestions are appreciated.

LB

Looking for a Quaint Chicago Neighborhood

Try Lincoln Square on the north side (Lincoln Avenue south of Lawrence), which is a trendy neighborhood mixed with some traditional German elements. Look for concerts at the Old Town School of Folk Music; not only is it a nice place to hear music, but there is a large public parking lot across the street.

Looking for a Quaint Chicago Neighborhood

Also try - http://www.wickerparkbucktown.com/

explorechicago.org/city/en/neighborhoods.html

I would go to Lincoln Park or Old Town. Near the lake, you can have lunch on the boat at North ave beach. Go to the zoo, conservatory, take a paddle ride in the LP lagoon. Go to Pizza Oven Grinders for fabulous pizza. Or go to Mon Ami Gabi for fabulous french. I like Orso%26#39;s on Wells for Italian and the famous second city comedy is down the street. Boutiques and bookstores are all over wells street and clark street.

Another vote for Old Town, although with Old Town, to me that%26#39;s something that%26#39;s best paired up with something else (a visit to the nearby Lincoln Park Zoo, for example, or the Chicago Historical Society - or both of those things.)

I second Lincoln Square. It has everything you listed, a book store called The Book Cellar, which has a cafe that also serves beer and wine. There are several coffee shops on the stretch of Lincoln from Lawrence down to Irving Park. That are also has plenty of shopping. There is a movie theater (The Davis) and a very small theater (The Cornservatory) which has improv usually on Friday and Saturday. Best of all, the Cornservatory is BYO, so bring a couple beers or bottle of wine to enjoy during the show. There is also a large park, Welles Park, which has horseshow courts, tennis courts, a running path and baseball diamonds. There is even a bowling alley above the hardware store a block north of Lawrence.

The biggest difference you will find is that you can actually park in this part of town, unlike Old Town or Licoln Park. So you can park and explore the area with relative ease.

The Chamber of Commerce site has some good info. http://www.lincolnsquare.org/

Old Town is a great neighborhood, but in my opinion it is becoming as touristy as the Gold Coast. I think Lincoln Square maintains a really great neighborhood feel.

Another vote for Lincoln Square, and look into nearby Andersonville, too--a quaint North Side neighborhood with lots of picturesque architecture, a great shopping street (Clark St.), cool restaurants and bars (and breakfast spots), boutiques, a great bookstore, and an easy walk to Foster Beach along Lake Michigan.