So my wife and I are going to go to Chicago at the end of July to see the Foo Fighters play at Wrigley Field. I don't remember going to Chicago 20 years ago and she has never been.

We have no agenda other than a concert. Any places that one would recommend we stay? I have done preliminary searches - cheaper hotels run the same as Air BNB (which I've never done). If priced equally, I would rather stay in a hotel (around $250/night) - not trying to drop $400+ a night.

That said, we would like to do some touristy stuff, find some cool bars and also enjoy some local restaurants to enjoy. Don't need to go to the most expensive best name recognition spot.

Any and all recommendations appreciated.

4/15/2018 1:28:18 PM

Stay somewhere within walking distance to a train station, it's pretty easy to get around

The chicago zoo there is actually really nice, and is in a neighborhood with a lot of unique bars/shops/houses/etc (it's also the wealthiest neighborhood in Chicago). I recommend taking the train there and walking through the local downtown area to the zoo, but the bus is a lot faster if you are traveling from the "main" chicago downtown

I actually enjoyed the Segway tour of the downtown area

Obviously eat a deep dish pizza somewhere

The canal is a nice walk and there's a craft brewery taproom down there somewhere (near Trump tower...), also a place that has wines

There's a few rooftop cocktail bars that have good cocktails (I went to one in the chicago athletic club building)

There's a few independent dessert/pastry/coffee shops in the downtown area worth checking out if that's your thing

4/16/2018 12:11:03 AM

^great advice. Keep it coming. Probly going to stay at the James Hotel

4/16/2018 7:33:09 AM

museum of science and industry is awesome

4/16/2018 9:34:30 AM

I tend to stay at airbnbs, but I just enjoy that. I don't know about July, but we are going in a few weeks and we are staying in Logan Square/Wicker Park area for $140 a night with a 1 bedroom apartment to ourselves right near Milwaukee (and thus easy train access). Understood if hotels are more your thing though.

Definitely spend some time walking the river. The views and the architecture there are great. If you're really interested in a tourist activity, they do architecture boat tours.

As mentioned, there are several good museums in Chicago. If you happen to be a member of a museum, don't forget to check if there is any reciprocity for reduced cost etc. (I am a Dallas Museum of Art member and we get discounts or entry at some of the Chicago museums). Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry, and Museum of Contemporary Art are all worth it.

Of course you have the skydeck at sears/willis tower. The line can be long sometimes but the view is definitely good.

The Green Mill is a historic jazz club that's worth checking out.

For a somewhat first timer, the navy pier might be worth seeing.

I like spending time in some of the neighborhoods. As someone else mentioned, the area around the Lincoln Park Zoo is nice. Wicker Park, Logan Square, etc. To me it's kind of the closest thing in the US to walking around Brooklyn or something if you like those older urban neighborhoods (which I do).

There are tons of great shows in Chicago. Always good music, stand-up, improv, etc. If you're into that, keep an eye out for stuff. Some of the smaller theaters are really small, casual, and fun (but may also include a lot of crowd interaction). One that I really like there is called Under the Gun Theater.

The Whistler is an established and well known bar/music venue/art space that is worth checking out as well.

There is a place called Toni Patisserie & Cafe right near Cloud Gate/Millennium park that ive been to a couple times and always really enjoyed.

I'm open to any other suggestions people have myself as well since im going soon. I've been a handful of times but am not an expert.

[Edited on April 16, 2018 at 12:06 PM. Reason : ]

4/16/2018 12:05:03 PM

I didn't say I'm against Air BnB, just have never done it. That said, if pricing is equal, I'd prefer a hotel as I just feel like more services are offered and questions/issues get resolved quicker. If a hotel was $300/night and an Air BnB was $200/night, I'd consider the alternative, but all equal, I don't think I'd get a different "experience" by staying in an Air BnB.

The suggestions are great so far. Please keep them coming.

4/16/2018 2:19:29 PM

I'd recommend staying in River North/Gold Coast since they're both centrally located, super walkable, have good "L" access, and they're safe, but the food and bars are kinda meh imo (touristy crap). Some of the best food I've had was in Fulton Market/West Loop (Girl and the Goat, Publican Meats, Au Cheval, etc) and the Aviary is there too if you can get in. Wrigleyville is awesome and be sure to go to Murphy's Bleachers just to say you've done it. Obviously, you want to see Millennium Park and walk along the river, but I would highly recommend taking the water taxi to see some epic skyline views (I would skip any of the architecture tours since they're way more expensive). I preferred Chicago 360 over the Willis Tower because it's way less crowded and I find the view better, but they're both pretty cool. Also, there's a pretty phenomenal sky bar/lounge at the top of the Trump building that I'd check out if you're wanting something unique.

Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the world. Have fun.

4/16/2018 2:37:55 PM

+1 for chicago 360 (hancock) over willis

4/16/2018 3:06:30 PM

maybe we'll do Chicago 360 this time since I've done willis before

4/16/2018 4:47:05 PM

i actually really recommend the river architecture tour, i think it's a great way to see a lot of the city.

UJustWait had great food recomendations as well, Aviary has a fantastic bar. You won't be able to get into Girl and the Goat but you might have luck at Little Goat which is a diner concept on the same. Its next to Au Cheval which is known for and has an amazing burger. I can definitely suggest Roister https://www.roisterrestaurant.com/ and Longman & Eagle http://www.longmanandeagle.com/ if you want a more casual take with fantastic food.
Beer scene is fantastic everywhere provided you avoid the Goose Island hype.

4/19/2018 10:25:02 PM

https://pequodspizza.com

4/20/2018 7:56:20 AM

Quote :

"i actually really recommend the river architecture tour, i think it's a great way to see a lot of the city. "

hell yes, I loved the boat tour

I ate at Au Cheval, the burgers there are really good, but I dont think they are the best in the world by any means. If you need a breakfast/brunch spot go to Doves Lucheoenette and get the burnt ends hash

Do a quick google search to see what kind of events are going on in the city during the days you're there. The city is so big, there is almost always something fun going on, or a good band to see live. I happened to be there during their Blues Festival, and had a great time without being a huge blues fan.

Chicago is an awesome city

4/23/2018 11:48:35 AM

I mean the tour I took wasn't 'bad', but the river taxi was like $15 or something for an all day pass (I forget how much a one way ride is)? You can also hop on/off the water taxi if you get the all day pass, which I thought was cool. If you would rather see everything all at once and have a narrator, go with the tour. If you want to be more flexible and pay a lot less, I think the taxi is a better option.

4/23/2018 6:58:12 PM

Spent this past weekend there and had an awesome time as usual (I have been there a few different times, this was her first real time getting to visit).

For museums we did the Art Institute (always top notch), museum of contemporary art, museum of science and industry, and the planetarium. All fun, and we got free admission (for both of us) to a few of those via membership to our local museum which was super cool. They even gave us the member discounts at the restaurants/coffee shops. I'd recommend all of those, in the order I just listed them.

We hit up several different bars and events at night. Some of my favorites on this trip that I didn't mention in my previous post were:

The Milk Room - reservation recommended (with deposit) since it only holds 8 people at a time. But it is the best cocktail experience I've ever had. Inside the Chicago Athletic Association (which is already a cool building) and they have 50+ year old liquors plus some really unique items. Had an 'old fashioned' with some 70s fernet from the 70s and another Liqueur from the 50s mixed in, a neat pour of 40 year old bourbon, a really interesting pineapple and 20 year old brandy drink etc. Expensive tab but worth it.

Lost Lake - a kind of dive-y tiki bar in Logan Square. The drinks were fantastic and the vibe was very cool. Tiki can be hit or miss and this was maybe the most enjoyable place I've been too.

Beauty Bar - low key dance bar/dive bar/beauty salon mini-chain that is in a few different cities. The BB in Dallas is one of my favorite places to go here, so I check them out when I visit the few other cities that have them. This one was a lot of fun.

We also hit the Hancock/Chicago 360 experience. When we went in the morning, there was literally ZERO line. We walked right up and even got a free cocktail. By the time we left the line was out the door. Guess we got lucky. The views were great though. Outside of that we saw a show at Second City (it was just alright - but their improv set after was great) and a show at Under the Gun theater (one of my favs and it has never disappointed).

Outside of that we met up with a few friends and hit up a few other bars and restaurants on the trip. Decent food this time but not many super memorable things. Bang Bang Pies in the Logan Square area was great. Awesome breakfast and killer horchata pie. And the pancake house/diner around the corner was solid too.

[Edited on May 10, 2018 at 12:30 PM. Reason : ]

5/10/2018 12:30:06 PM

Quote :

" The Milk Room - reservation recommended (with deposit) since it only holds 8 people at a time. But it is the best cocktail experience I've ever had. Inside the Chicago Athletic Association (which is already a cool building) and they have 50+ year old liquors plus some really unique items. Had an 'old fashioned' with some 70s fernet from the 70s and another Liqueur from the 50s mixed in, a neat pour of 40 year old bourbon, a really interesting pineapple and 20 year old brandy drink etc. Expensive tab but worth it."

This sounds awesome, but the entire time all I could think of is how fucking expensive that must've been. What was the going rate for a drink there? Sounds like a really unique and worth it experience!

5/11/2018 7:12:39 AM

It was absolutely worth it if you're into cocktails or even just a specific type of liquor since they would certainly have distilleries and aged varieties you've never tried. They only had about 6 house drinks on the menu that I think ranged from $28 to $60. The rest of the menu was just an extensive list of the liquors and liqueurs and that you could start from to either get neat/on the rocks or have them make you a drink based around that of course. The liquors ranged from $18 to $500(70+ year old whiskeys) a pour .

We ordered 5 drinks between us and the bill was $215 before gratuity. We did get comp'd a couple small tastes. Super glad we did it though! It was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.

5/11/2018 10:27:10 AM

I recommend all the big museums. The wife and I went up last summer for a wedding and made a long weekend of it and did the museums and what not. The field museum rivaled the british museum in london in many ways.

5/11/2018 11:30:06 AM

I didn't read all the post but definitely make sure you have an Italian beef sandwich - they're amazing and really hard to find legit ones outside of Illinois. Portillo's or Al's Beef are the most common ones and both are very good. Pizzeria Uno's original location downtown is cool. Lincoln Park Zoo for sure. You could do a river tour at night. All of the museums are great (definitely Shedd Aquarium, Science and Industry, Field Museum). The Redhead Piano Bar is cool. Michigan Ave. for shopping, high-end stores if you/your wife is into that.

5/11/2018 2:54:49 PM